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SKETCHES 
 
 OK 
 
 UPPER CANADA. 
 
Oliver &[ Boyd, Printers, 
 
SKETCHES 
 
 OF 
 
 UPPER CANADA, 
 
 DOMESTIC, 
 
 LOCAL, AND CHARACTERISTIC: 
 
 TO WHICH ARK ADDED, 
 
 PRACTICAL DETAILS 
 
 FOR THE INFORMATION OF 
 
 EMIGRANTS OF EVERY CLASS, 
 
 AND SOME RECOLLECTIONS OF 
 
 THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 By JOHN HOWISON, Esq. 
 
 In vain does the imagination try to roam at large amidst cultivated plains, for every 
 where the habitations of mankind oppose its wish; but in this desert region the soul 
 delights to bury and lose itself amidst boundless forests—it loves to wander, by the 
 light of the stars, on the borders of immense lakes— to hover on the roariDg gulf of 
 terrific cataracts— to fall with the mighty mass of waters—to mix and confound itself, 
 as it were, with the wild sublimities of nature.”— Chateaubriand. 
 
 EDINBURGH; 
 
 OLIVER & BOYD, HIGH-STREET. 
 
 G. & W. B. WHITTAKER, AVE-MARIA-LANE, 
 LONDON. 
 
 1821 . 
 

 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 The following Sketches relate to a coun¬ 
 try, whose greatest misfortune has been 
 the obscurity in which its peculiar circum¬ 
 stances have tended to involve it, and the 
 ignorance and misconception that have 
 prevailed with respect to its real condi¬ 
 tion and local advantages. The author 
 does not profess to give a particular ac¬ 
 count of the present political, commercial, 
 and agricultural state of Upper Canada, 
 much less to treat these important sub¬ 
 jects with that minuteness and attention 
 which they eminently deserve; but the 
 details which the ensuing pages contain 
 
IV 
 
 will, it is believed, prove acceptable to all 
 descriptions of readers; for, being chiefly 
 of a domestic and personal nature, they 
 will convey a kind of information concern¬ 
 ing the country, such as has not hitherto 
 been offered to the public, and such as one 
 could not expect to meet with in a book 
 that is essentially devoted to the consi¬ 
 deration of its general circumstances and 
 condition. 
 
 The author spent two years and a half 
 in Upper Canada, and, in the course of that 
 time, resided in various parts of the Pro¬ 
 vince. He enjoyed numerous opportuni¬ 
 ties of inspecting its new settlements ; so 
 that all the statements, for the informa¬ 
 tion of emigrants, contained in the four¬ 
 teenth letter, are the result of personal 
 observation. 
 
VI1 
 
 The interest that almost all works on 
 North America have recently excited, 
 will, it is hoped, be extended to this, 
 which has some claim upon the public at¬ 
 tention, in so far as it relates to the most 
 valuable and important of our colonial 
 possessions in that part of the world. 
 

 
 no gsTiovr Y* Jaorin'i J r » y. : • 
 
 .1 iiiuxs > iaoDJi avftrf rol r<; . * 
 
 
 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Montreal—Emigrants landing—Story of the Cabin Boy—Out¬ 
 skirts of Montreal—La Chine—Fine scene there—Calash 
 and Driver—French Canadians—American Innkeeper—St 
 Ann’s—River Ottawa—Forests—Appearance of the country 
 and crops—Boy and broad-rimmed hat—Rapids of Les Cedres 
 —Navigation of the St Lawrence, ™ 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 Glengary Settlement — Settler’s account of it — Treatment at a 
 private house — Present state of the settlement — Scenery 
 there — Age of the trees — Nature of the soil — Prospects of the 
 settlers — Monotonous scenery — Village of Prescott — Broke- 
 ville—Carousing scene there — Tavern and ball-room,-18 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Batteaux—Water of the St Lawrence—Its singular effects 
 Canadian boatmen—Lake of the Thousand Islands—Currents 
 —We land upon an island—False alarm—Deer-hunt by 
 torch-light—Party of Indians arrive—Their dress and beha¬ 
 viour—Supper party—Picturesque groups—A day upon the 
 banks of the St Lawrence—Adventure with a canoe—Tavern, 
 and host and hostess—Mouth of Lake Ontario—View of King- 
 
X 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Pleasures of a good tavern—Town of Kingston-—Frigates—Na- 
 val depot and armoury—Kingston during the last war Ar¬ 
 rivals of emigrants—Equality and the bricklayer Steam¬ 
 boat Frontenac—Pleasure of travelling by steam—Lake On¬ 
 tario—Septennial increase of its waters—Stormy night— 
 Error in the reckoning—Arrival at York,.- . . . — 42 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 Town of York—Disadvantages of its situation—Proposal to re¬ 
 move the seat of government—Re-embark on board the 
 steam-boat—Lake Ontario at night—Spray of Niagara 
 Falls—Village of Niagara—Its amusements—Affecting inci¬ 
 dent—Reflections on the condition of emigrants—Road to 
 Queenston — Niagara river —Peach orchards—Canadian 
 peasantry, .. . —— 5 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 Village of Queenston—Situation—Ferry—Portage—Romantic 
 environs—Heights—Breadth of the Niagara river—Death and 
 character of General Brock—Last American war—Bravery of 
 the Canadians—Effects of the war—Prodigality—Commercial 
 embarrassments—Vanity of the farmers—Tuscorora Indians— 
 Account of their village—Conversation and characters there— 
 Indian hymn—View from Queenston heights—Whirlpool— 
 Thunder storm—Meteorological phenomenon,. . r ... r f ..-7Q 
 
XI 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 Niagara Falls—Different views of them—View from the Table 
 Rock—Rainbows—A bold experiment—Appearance of the 
 sheet of water—Noise—Difficult road to the bottom of the 
 cataract—A perilous attempt there—View from the river 
 under the cataract—American Fall—Dimensions of the Falls 
 —People carried over them—Anecdote of an Indian—Wild 
 ducks—Visit to Manchester—Mr Porter’s bridge above the 
 Falls—Goat Island—Speculations—Rapids of the Niagara 
 river_________^91 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 Scenery above the Falls—Curious mineral spring—Village of 
 Chippowa—Merchants there—Mode of carrying on business 
 —Scarcity of specie—Barter injurious to honesty—Mouth of 
 Lake Erie—Ferry—Town of Buffalo—Lake Erie—Excur¬ 
 sion along its shores—Canadian Taverns—Sugar-loaf country 
 —Frog concert—Extraordinary scene at a cottage—Banks 
 of the lake—Wild vines—Story of an Indian woman and 
 child—Grand River Ouse—Naval post there—Lands belong¬ 
 ing to the Mohawks—Night scene upon Lake Erie—Interest¬ 
 ing Indian, ~—~~~~— ---110 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 Lundy’s Lane—Orchards—St Catharine’s—Salt springs there 
 —A Sunday at St Catharine’s—Methodists—Farmers of 
 Upper Canada—Their manners and character—Forests on 
 fire—Emigrants travelling—Yankcy and Yorkshireman — 
 
Xll 
 
 Burlington Bay—Coote's Paradise—Village of Ancastcr— 
 Deficiency of churches in Upper Canada—Manufactory of 
 maple sugar—Grand River Ouse—Plaster of Paris Its use 
 in agriculture—Mohawk village—Indians not susceptible of 
 civilization—Acuteness of their senses—Indian department 
 Presents—Indian secrets—Major Norton, ~~——— 132 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 Long Point—Change of scenery—Perfume from snakes Fas¬ 
 cination—Frog and black snake—Human beings sometimes 
 charmed by serpents—Instances of it—Theory of fascination 
 —Illustrations—Hawk and chickens—Partridges—Human 
 fascination—Story in proof of it—Long Point described— 
 Iron ore and foundery there—Game —\\ ild pigeons—Sul¬ 
 phurous spring—Night adventure with an Indian—Conver¬ 
 sation with him—Coltman s tavern—Effects of a residence in 
 the woods—Sublimities of the forest, - - - — 153 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 Talbot Settlement—Its founder—Distribution of lands—First 
 occupants of a new settlement—Slow improvement—Condi¬ 
 tion of the inhabitants of the Talbot Settlement—Emigrants 
 from the Highlands of Scotland—Their clannishness—State of 
 society in the settlement—Natural depravity of Man—State 
 of mind during a residence in the Settlement—Physiognomy 
 of the material world,—— —-—,—_167 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 Journey to the head of Lake Erie—Picturesque group at a ta¬ 
 vern, and characteristics—River Thames—Interesting scene 
 upon it—Delaware village and hotel—The Long Woods—A 
 snow-storm there—Scene in an Indian wigwam—Alarming 
 
Xlll 
 
 accident and subsequent difficulties—Singular means of extri¬ 
 cation—Assisted by an Indian—His hospitality—Ward's ta¬ 
 vern—Interesting adventure at midnight—Settlement upon 
 the bank of the Thames—Its present state—Mineral oil— 
 Quack doctor and patient—Town of Chatham—Lake St 
 Clair—French Canadians—Climate and fruit upon the De¬ 
 troit river—Sandwich and Amhcrstburgh—North-west coun¬ 
 try—Lakes Huron and 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 Departure from Sandwich—Dangers of the bordage—Violent 
 snow-storm—La Vallee’s tavern—Company there—Evening’s 
 amusement—Scene on Lake St Clair—Effects of intoxication 
 —Sleigh-riding on the ice—Dangers that attend it—Cana¬ 
 dian skies—American economy—A new Catholic prohibition 
 —Arnold’s mills—Cottage there, and inmates—A walk in the 
 woods—The upper part of the Talbot Settlement—Scarcity 
 of money there—Amusing rencontre and conversation— 
 Death-bed scene—Conclusion of the journey,-204. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Climate of Upper Canada—Winter—Sleigh-riding—Degree of 
 cold—Spring—Summer—Autumn—Indian summer—Im¬ 
 provement of climate from cultivation—Wild fruits—Soil 
 and productions—Price of lands—Expense of clearing them 
 
 _Rate of labour—Prices of grain and cattle—Taxes—Scarcity 
 
 of money—Manner of paying labourers—Different classes of 
 emigrants—Peasants and mechanics—Advantages Upper Ca¬ 
 nada affords them—What descriptions of them succeed best— 
 Directions about embarkation—Expense of the voyage to 
 
XIV 
 
 Quebec—Plan to be pursued on arriving there—Manner of 
 travelling up the country—Steps to be taken at York 
 Terms upon which government grants lands—Fees upon 
 grants—Where the emigrant should choose his lands Things 
 to be attended to in selecting a lot—Plan to be followed by 
 poor emigrants—Different modes of settling—Their compara¬ 
 tive advantages—Importance of arriving early in the season 
 —Manner of building a house, and expense—Stock necessary 
 for a new settler—Provisions, and expense of them—Art of 
 chopping soon acquired—Different modes of clearing land 
 Expense paid by the first crop—Profits of the second Barn 
 to be erected—Garden to be made—Manner in which settlers 
 assist each other—Their mutual advantages—Different ways 
 of disposing of surplus produce—Occupations during winter 
 —Hauling firewood—Shooting—Mode of life—Articles of 
 diet—Substantial comforts—Advantage of emigrating to Up¬ 
 per Canada—Proofs of this—Fineness of the country—Second 
 class of emigrants—Inducements that the Province offers 
 them—Objections and inconveniences—Emigrants possessing 
 capital—Different ways of employing it—Profits of specula¬ 
 tions in laud-—— -227 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 Emigration a serious step—Ideas of different people upon the 
 subject—Attractions of Upper Canada—Happiness of its po¬ 
 pulation—State of society in the Province—Favourable to 
 personal importance—Amusements—Field-sports—Eques¬ 
 trian pleasures—Horticulture—Balls and cards—Character 
 of the Canadians—Beauty of the ladies—Emigration recom¬ 
 mended to a certain class of persons—A consolatory hint to 
 the ambitious—Conclusion,.. r - MJJ . ofiq 
 
XV 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 Lewiston—Hatred between the Canadians and Americans—De¬ 
 parture from Lewiston—State of the farmers near it—Con¬ 
 versation at a tavern—Cambria post-office—Driver’s account 
 of himself—Story of the methodist priest— Sa?ig froid of the 
 Americans exemplified—An American breakfast—Rochester 
 —Gennesee Falls—Clyde Bridge—Grand Canal—Beauties of 
 Canandaguia—Oeneva—Reflections—Waterloo village —An 
 American hotel—Cayuga Bridge—Arrival at Auburn— Tabic 
 d'hote there—Specimens of new phraseology—Village describ¬ 
 ed—States prison—Divine service there—Criminals—Their 
 behaviour—Shopkeeper at Weed’s port—Canal track-boat— 
 Conversation with the captain—Town of Utica—Cotton ma¬ 
 nufactory near it—An American stage-coach—Scenery on the 
 Mohawk—A female traveller—Albany—State legislature, 
 and De Witt Clinton—North River steam-boat—Regulations 
 on board—Dinner—High lands of the Hudson—A disap¬ 
 pointment—Arrival at New York,- - - -2 7 3 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 New York—People on the streets—Blacks—Broadway describ¬ 
 ed—A fashionable promenade—Personal appearance of the 
 ladies—Gentlemen—New York hotels— Table d’hotcs —Style 
 
 5 
 
XVI 
 
 of manners at these—Americans indifferent to convivial plea¬ 
 sures—Private boarding-houses—Anniversary of national in¬ 
 dependence—Festivities of the day—Scene on Broadway 
 Quietness of the populace—Amusements of New York Thea¬ 
 tre—Vauxhall Gardens—American museum—Wax-work 
 Apollino—Academy of fine arts—Colonel Trumbull His 
 pictures and style of painting—Chatham Garden—Steam-boat 
 cotillion parties—American troops—Not respectable—Charac¬ 
 teristic anecdote—Military College—American navy—Its high 
 state of discipline—Booksellers’ shops—British authors most 
 in repute in America—Circulating libraries—Advantages of 
 New York as a place of residence—Departure from it—East 
 River—First view of Philadelphia—Quakerism—Loungers 
 in Chesnut-street—West’s picture—Almshouse and hospital— 
 Regularity of the town—Characteristics of its inhabitants, 312 
 
SKETCHES 
 
 OF 
 
 UPPER CANADA. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Montreal—Emigrants landing-—Story of the Cabin Boy—Out¬ 
 skirts of Montreal—La Chine—Fine scene there—Calash 
 and Driver—French Canadians—American Innkeeper—St 
 Ann’s—River Ottawa—Forests—Appearance of the country 
 and crops—Boy and broad-rimmed hat—Rapids of Les Cedres 
 —Navigation of the St Lawrence. 
 
 You may remember, my dear friend, when I 
 promised to present you with occasional sketches 
 of those things that might fall under my observa¬ 
 tion, after I reached this side of the Atlantic, I 
 did not include Lower Canada in my engage¬ 
 ments, as the rapidity with which I expected to 
 pass through it, would, I supposed, prevent me 
 from becoming much acquainted with what it 
 contained, and likewise, because it is infinitely 
 better known, and more familiar to every one, 
 than the sister province. However, before I en¬ 
 ter into any details connected with Upper Ca- 
 
 A 
 
2 
 
 nada, I shall give you a superficial account of 
 my journey from Montreal to Glengary, which 
 is the first settlement beyond the boundary-line 
 that divides the two countries. This will enable 
 me to introduce you gradually to the barbarisms 
 of Upper Canada; for were I to plunge suddenly 
 into the woods, and bring you among bears, In¬ 
 dians, and log-huts, your nerves might receive 
 such a shock as would render you timid about 
 continuing longer in my company. 
 
 I shall always feel a pleasure in recollecting 
 the time I spent in Montreal. The lightness of 
 the streets, the neatness of the buildings, the hos¬ 
 pitality and polished manners of the people, and 
 the air of enterprize and activity that is every 
 where exhibited in it, are truly attractive, and 
 appear to particular advantage when contrasted 
 with the dulness, gloom, and dirtiness of Quebec. 
 
 Those individuals of the lower classes that one 
 meets in the streets of Montreal, carry with them 
 an appearance of vigour, contentment, and gayety, 
 very different from the comfortless and despond¬ 
 ing looks that characterize the manufacturing 
 population of the large towns of Britain. When 
 in the midst of a crowd, the tone of our feelings 
 often depends more upon the degree of happiness 
 exhibited by those around us, than by what we 
 actually enjoy ourselves ; and a man cannot fail to 
 experience a lively pleasure when he walks through 
 
3 
 
 a town, and perceives that a large proportion of 
 its inhabitants are strangers to beggary and wo. 
 The streets of our cities in Britain display such a 
 succession of miserable beings, that one is often 
 inclined, while traversing them, to become inimi¬ 
 cal to civilization; as half the objects that present 
 themselves afford evidence of the waste of hap¬ 
 piness which its purchase occasions. Montreal is 
 as yet a stranger to those miseries which a sur¬ 
 plus labouring population never fails to produce, 
 and will probably continue so, as long as vacant 
 lands lie open, in all parts of Canada, for the re¬ 
 ception of settlers. 
 
 Quebec has much more the appearance of a 
 commercial city than Montreal. At present, com¬ 
 paratively few vessels come up the St Lawrence 
 as far as the latter town, for they cannot move 
 from Quebec unless by the help of the tide, or a 
 strong breeze directly astern. But the tide flows 
 only to Three Rivers, about sixty miles below 
 Montreal, and when they have gained this place, 
 they must lie at anchor until a favourable wind 
 enables them to stem the current, which is very 
 rapid. However, six steam-boats now ply be¬ 
 tween the two cities, and transport all sorts of 
 lading much more safely and expeditiously than 
 square-rigged vessels can do. 
 
 One morning, I observed a ship and two brigs 
 entering the harbour, and on going down to the 
 
 6 
 
4 
 
 river some time afterwards, I witnessed the in¬ 
 teresting spectacle of the disembarkation of a 
 number of British emigrants. The greater part 
 were from Scotland, as I quickly discovered, and 
 a seven weeks passage across the Atlantic did not 
 appear to have divested them of a single national 
 peculiarity; but their robust forms were a little 
 reduced by the sickness and confinement attend¬ 
 ant upon a long voyage. It amused me to ob¬ 
 serve how the officiousness of the Canadian por¬ 
 ters was damped by the watchfulness and suspi¬ 
 cion of the Highlanders; many an active Cana¬ 
 dian, who had lifted a trunk upon his shoulders, 
 with the intention of putting it in his little cart, 
 was stopped by the alarmed owner, and divested 
 of his burden, amidst abusive exclamations in 
 Gaelic. Most of the emigrants had families, and 
 the children formed a large part of the groupe. 
 However, I observed several grandfathers and 
 grandmothers, who, though feeble from age and 
 infirmity, had accompanied their offspring thus far 
 in their voyage to the terra incognita of Upper 
 Canada. They looked round with disconsolate and 
 inquiring eyes, and if any feature in the appear¬ 
 ance of the town chanced to resemble some part 
 of their native village or city, it caused a joyful 
 exclamation, and was eagerly pointed out to the 
 notice of the whole crowd. 
 
 The vessel in which I had come across the 
 
5 
 
 Atlantic lay near the quay, and on approaching 
 her, I observed a constable having in custody 
 two fellows whom I remembered having seen 
 during the voyage. In extreme poverty, and an¬ 
 xious to get to America, they had concealed them¬ 
 selves in the hold a few days before the vessel 
 sailed; but hunger soon compelled them to make 
 their appearance on deck, and supplicate for pro¬ 
 visions. The captain, of course, received them 
 very ungraciously (for any shipmaster, having on 
 board his vessel persons whose names are not in¬ 
 serted in the list examined by the custom-house 
 officer before he leaves port, is liable to a penalty 
 of one hundred pounds); however, he allowed 
 them small rations; but they were not satisfied 
 with these, and displayed the atrocity of their 
 characters in the means they employed to obtain 
 more. There was a young cabin-boy on board, 
 who had formerly been a shepherd, and this being 
 his first voyage, he was altogether untainted with 
 the vices of a sea life. Destitute of guile, he fell 
 a prey to these men, who, by means of whipping 
 and menaces, made him steal provisions for them 
 from the store-room, to which he had frequent 
 access; but these thefts being soon discovered, a 
 severe punishment was inflicted by the captain 
 upon this miserable boy. His feelings were har¬ 
 dened, and he became an adept in deceit and 
 petty roguery. I shall never forget the counte- 
 
 5 
 
6 
 
 nance of one of those wretches who forced him 
 to commit theft, for it was not the face of a com¬ 
 mon villain. This fiend and his companion were 
 strongly suspected of having evaded the laws of 
 their native country, and were therefore placed 
 under the charge of a constable, that they might 
 undergo an examination. 
 
 Montreal improves with great rapidity, and 
 will soon contain some very pretty streets. Its 
 suburbs and outskirts are embellished by nu¬ 
 merous villas, built in the English style, and 
 many of these are surrounded by pleasure 
 grounds, the variety and beauty of which, prove 
 the wealth and taste of their owners. The inha¬ 
 bitants of this city possess much liberality of sen¬ 
 timent, which they alike display in their hospi¬ 
 tality to strangers, in their mode of life, and in 
 their mercantile transactions; and they lay out 
 their money with a spirit, and an ardour for im¬ 
 provement, which is by no means common among 
 those who reside in small commercial towns. 
 
 In travelling from Montreal to La Chine, a 
 village nine miles further up the St Lawrence, I 
 could not but remark the warm and glowing ap¬ 
 pearance which every part of the country exhi¬ 
 bited. The air was so pure and transparent, that 
 every beam of the sun seemed to reach the earth 
 in unimpaired brilliancy, quickening the luxu¬ 
 riant verdure that covered the fields, trees, and 
 
7 
 
 shrubbery. Beautiful and improved farms lay 
 on each side of the road; and instead of being 
 immured among forests, as I had anticipated, I 
 saw extensive tracts of land waving in all the 
 gayety and loveliness of harvest. 
 
 After an amusing ride, which lasted more than 
 an hour, I stopped at La Chine. There is a 
 portage between the two places, for the Rapids of 
 the St Lawrence interrupt the navigation, and 
 consequently all stores and goods, intended for 
 the upper country, are conveyed from Montreal 
 to La Chine by land. At the latter place, they 
 are put into flat-bottomed boats, called batteaux , 
 which are rowed up the river, with incredible la¬ 
 bour, by Canadians, whom the forwarders engage 
 at a certain sum during the season. La Chine is 
 thus rendered a place of some importance, which 
 otherwise it would not be; but still it merely 
 consists of a few dwelling houses, and several 
 large stores for the reception of the goods. This 
 village is agreeably situated upon the St Law¬ 
 rence, which expands into a breadth of several 
 miles, and forms what the Canadians term Lake 
 St Louis. The sun was just setting when I con¬ 
 templated this scene. Not a sound could be 
 heard, but the dull paddling of a canoe which had 
 just left the shore. The picturesque dresses of 
 the Indians who sat in it, the glittering of their 
 tomahawks, and the figure of the chiefi as he 
 
8 
 
 stood erect, appearing almost gigantic from the 
 state of the horizon, were all impressive in the 
 highest degree. There is something powerfully 
 affecting in the scenery of a foreign country. 
 Any trivial object, if peculiar to it, will render 
 the mind susceptible of receiving increased emo¬ 
 tion from other features, which might have be¬ 
 fore been so familiar, that they scarcely excited 
 any at all. Often had I contemplated lakes and 
 forests with something like indifference, but the 
 mere introduction of the Indian canoe awakened 
 me to a new feeling concerning them. 
 
 I remained all night at La Chine, and at an 
 early hour next morning, was provided with ano¬ 
 ther calash and driver. This man possessed a 
 most happy disposition, and was altogether so 
 free and degage in his manner, that he afforded 
 me much amusement. Though a carpenter by 
 trade, he kept a calash for the accommodation of 
 travellers, and would either drive a horse or a 
 nail, as best suited his purpose. The Canadian 
 post-horses are in appearance the most wretched 
 animals imaginable, being lank, clumsy, and 
 rough-coated; but they become both active and 
 spirited under the influence of the whip, which 
 their drivers generally use very freely. I believe 
 no member of the Four-in-hand Club, when 
 mounted on the box, feels more elated than the 
 Canadian peasant does while driving his sorry 
 
9 
 
 horse and shackling chariot. He is all life and 
 gayety, and talks to his horse and to the traveller 
 alternately. He points out the beauties of the 
 prospect, and if the carriage or harness gives way, 
 he dismounts and repairs it, regains his seat, and 
 dashes on. He relieves his horse by walking up 
 every hill, and compliments himself upon this 
 sacrifice, by calling to the animal, “ Ah pauvre 
 cheval! Vous avez un bon maitre ,” &c. The Ca¬ 
 nadian peasantry display a native politeness, a 
 presence of mind, and a degree of address, which, 
 though extremely pleasing, sometimes betray 
 their possessors into too much familiarity; how¬ 
 ever, there is so much gayety and sentiment in 
 these mistakes, that one cannot but heartily ex¬ 
 cuse them. My drivers always shook hands with 
 me, and wished me a good journey, before we 
 parted, and they sometimes politely asked me to 
 join them in drinking a glass of cider. The 
 Canadians are dark-complexioned, and generally 
 meagre, although rather athletic. Their eyes are 
 small, sparkling, and animated; but none of the 
 men have any pretensions to personal beauty. 
 
 I stopped to breakfast at a beautiful spot call¬ 
 ed St Anns. The Grand River Ottawa, in the 
 midst of which is the island of Perrot, here joins 
 the St Lawrence. I now, for the first time, had 
 an opportunity of observing the manners of an 
 American innkeeper of the lower order. Gentle- 
 
10 
 
 men of this description, in their anxiety to dis¬ 
 play a noble spirit of independence, sometimes 
 forget those courtesies that are paid to travellers 
 by publicans in all civilized countries; but the mo¬ 
 ment one shews his readiness to be on an equality 
 with them, they become tolerably polite. I found 
 the maitre d’hotel at St Ann’s seated at his door, 
 poising his chair on its hind legs, and swinging 
 backwards and forwards. He took no notice of 
 me when I alighted from the calash, nor when I 
 walked into the house; no—not even when I de¬ 
 sired him to get breakfast ready. But I had for¬ 
 got myself—“ Will you have the goodness,” said 
 I, “ to order breakfast for me, if convenient ?” 
 “ Immediately, squire,” replied he, as he rose 
 from his chair, and shewed me into an apartment. 
 
 In a short time my host returned, and having 
 seated himself beside me, entered into familiar 
 conversation, and inquired into my affairs, re¬ 
 specting which I did not fail to give him such 
 information as put his curiosity upon the rack. 
 At first, the familiarities of the tavern-keepers 
 used to irritate me a good deal; but afterwards 
 they only appeared ridiculous, and as it was ne¬ 
 cessary to submit to them, I found it my inte¬ 
 rest to do so with as good a grace as possible. 
 
 Having been thoroughly scrutinized by “ mine 
 host,” I was conducted into a neat room, where 
 an excellent breakfast awaited me. The house 
 
11 
 
 / 
 
 was situated in the midst of an orchard, and the 
 boughs, loaded with blossoms, clustered round 
 the window, through which I had a view of the 
 Grand River Ottawa, rolling majestically, and 
 glittering in the sun. In the midst of the river 
 was the island of Perrot, so luxuriantly wooded, 
 that the foliage of the trees descended to the sur¬ 
 face of the water, and completely concealed the 
 bank on which they grew. Numerous birds 
 fluttered in the sunshine, sometimes plunging 
 into the bosom of the forest, sometimes issuing 
 from its recesses to revel upon the surface of the 
 water; and the king-fisher, with orient plumage, 
 would often spring out of the thick copse, like 
 a fragment of the rainbow darting from behind 
 a dark cloud. All was glorious, animated, and 
 beautiful. 
 
 It is necessary to cross the Ottawa here, and 
 the intervention of the island of Perrot occasions 
 a double ferry, and, as it were, divides the 
 river into two branches. We crossed the first 
 branch, which is about a quarter of a mile broad, 
 on a raft. I then resumed my seat in the calash, 
 and we drove along an excellent road, and were 
 soon completely embowered in the forest. My 
 situation was new and interesting in the highest 
 degree, for I had never before experienced the 
 sublimity of a real forest, nor witnessed a succes¬ 
 sion of trees of such magnitude and beauty. Im- 
 
12 
 
 mense oaks grew so close to each side of the road, 
 that the intervening space was merely wide 
 enough to admit the passage of the calash with¬ 
 out difficulty. The thick recesses of the shade 
 around, were impenetrable to the eye, the limit¬ 
 ed prospect being closed by a rich green obscu¬ 
 rity, except where a ray of the sun found its 
 way through some distant interstice among the 
 trees, and betrayed the glittering waters of 
 a rivulet, or the inviting freshness of a green 
 bank. 
 
 On reaching the opposite side of St Perrot, we 
 again embarked in a raft, and were conveyed 
 across the other branch of the Ottawa, and land¬ 
 ed upon the continent of America. 
 
 The country, through which we now passed, 
 was open, level, and in a high state of cultivation. 
 Red wheat, buck wheat, rye, and Indian corn, 
 were the principal kinds of grain to be met with ; 
 but I saw several fields of excellent barley, and 
 oats were not unfrequent, though they seemed to 
 be stinted in growth, and of inferior quality. 
 But, notwithstanding the fine crops, one might 
 easily perceive, that the British system of hus¬ 
 bandry was not pursued, for the lands w r ere in¬ 
 differently ploughed, and for the most part over¬ 
 run with w r eeds. The potatoes and turnips were 
 carelessly put in, and had evidently received no 
 attention afterwards. With respect to farming, 
 
13 
 
 I believe, the French Canadians are fully as bi- 
 gotted as the lower orders of our Scotch agricul¬ 
 turists ; for, like the latter, when any innovation 
 is proposed, they invariably refer to the practice 
 of their ancestors, and often act alike against in¬ 
 terest and evidence. 
 
 The houses of the Canadian farmers are almost 
 all formed of wood. The proprietors display no 
 taste whatever in selecting sites for their dwell¬ 
 ings, which are as often placed in a swamp as on 
 a dry eminence, and never have a tree near them, 
 if it is possible to avoid it. There is no difficulty 
 in explaining the cause of the aversion with 
 which the Canadians regard trees. Their earliest 
 labour is that of chopping them down—they pre¬ 
 sent on every side an obstacle to the improve¬ 
 ment of their farms—and, even after the land is 
 cultivated, the roots and stumps impede plough¬ 
 ing, and other field occupations. What would 
 be the conceptions of an uninformed Canadian, 
 were he told, that the Agricultural Society in 
 England give a reward, annually, to the person 
 who plants the greatest number of trees ? 
 
 The country continued extremely level, and 
 perfectly dry, with the exception of a few scat¬ 
 tered marshy spots. But the fields, though 
 smooth, had no regularity of form, and were di¬ 
 vided by wooden fences. This is annoying to 
 the eyes of a British traveller, who has been ac- 
 
14 
 
 customed to see lands enclosed with thorn hedges; 
 for the animation and variety they communicate 
 to an open and cultivated country, can only be 
 estimated, by contemplating a prospect of which 
 they do not form a part. 
 
 The road was enlivened with carriages of va¬ 
 rious descriptions, but I saw very few foot pas¬ 
 sengers. Almost every farmer is able to keep 
 what is called an establishment, viz. a horse and 
 calash, and indeed the heat in Lower Canada, 
 during summer, is so extreme, that no person at¬ 
 tempts to walk any distance except from neces¬ 
 sity ; therefore one seldom sees any of those hum¬ 
 ble half-gentleman pedestrians, that are so often 
 to be met with on the public roads in Britain, 
 dressed in tarnished clothes, and carrying bun¬ 
 dles over their shoulders, suspended from the 
 end of their walking-sticks. 
 
 I was much struck with the politeness of the 
 common Canadians. They never passed without 
 uncovering; and when two drivers came within 
 call, they always saluted each other by the word 
 monsieur . The children make a low obeisance to 
 every genteel stranger; and I cannot help men¬ 
 tioning a trifling incident which was occasioned 
 by this custom. A little boy, who had apparently 
 just begun to walk, stood at the door of a cottage, 
 with an immense broad-rimmed hat upon his 
 head. When I approached, he took it off and 
 
15 
 
 bowed, but in attempting to regain the erect pos¬ 
 ture, he found the weight of his chapeau too 
 great, and fell forward on his face, but with¬ 
 out receiving any injury. I thought at the mo¬ 
 ment, that it would have been well if the British 
 government had furnished Lord Amherst with a 
 hat of this description, to be used on his first au¬ 
 dience with the Emperor of China. It would 
 have occasioned a prostration highly gratifying 
 to his Majesty, and from its being entirely acci¬ 
 dental, of course quite satisfactory to our admi¬ 
 nistration. 
 
 I now began to think the scenery a little mo¬ 
 notonous, when a sudden turn of the road brought 
 us again upon the banks of the St Lawrence, and 
 to the Rapids of Les Cedres, which present one 
 perturbed expanse of foam, rushing over a rocky 
 bed with terrific grandeur and vehemence. The 
 river is half a mile broad here, and such is the ra¬ 
 pidity of the current, that the water, when it 
 strikes against the projecting rocks, is thrown up 
 in large jets many feet high. The channel must 
 be composed of immense jutting and fantastic¬ 
 shaped rocks, for the river is so torn and convuls¬ 
 ed by the inequalities over which it is whirled, 
 that it presents an appearance truly frightful. 
 Distinct bodies of water appear to dispute the 
 passage, and to rush against each other, without 
 intermingling. In some places, the stream glides 
 
16 
 
 in a state of glassy smoothness over beds of stone, 
 till, impeded by fragments of rock, it is dashed 
 into a state of comminution, and partly whirled 
 into the air in clouds of spray, and in these, mi¬ 
 niature rainbows may be seen forming and dis¬ 
 appearing at intervals. The middle of the Rapids 
 is occupied by a small island, which, being rich¬ 
 ly wooded, adds much to the splendour of the 
 scene. 
 
 Notwithstanding the dangerous nature of these 
 Rapids, the Canadians pass down with boats and 
 rafts almost every day, and very few accidents 
 happen ; but when a boat does fill, or upset, the 
 crew inevitably perish. 
 
 The inhabitants of Lower Canada propose to 
 render the navigation of St Lawrence uninter¬ 
 rupted, by cutting canals at those places where 
 the Rapids impede it. This is quite practicable, 
 but I fear there are not wealth and public spirit 
 enough in the two provinces for such an arduous 
 undertaking. I say the two provinces, because 
 the inhabitants of both would in an equal degree 
 be benefited by any improvement in the naviga¬ 
 tion of that river, which ministers in so great a 
 degree to their mutual convenience and prospe¬ 
 rity. However, an incorporated company have 
 lately undertaken to cut a canal between Mon¬ 
 treal and La Chine, the expense of which is es¬ 
 timated at £80,000 Sterling. It will be about 
 
17 
 
 eleven miles in length, and will receive a supply 
 of water from the St Lawrence. The trade be¬ 
 tween Upper and Lower Canada is at present so 
 great, that the stockholders in the concern con¬ 
 fidently believe, that a large dividend will be¬ 
 come due to them in the course of three or four 
 years after the canal has been completed. 
 
 B 
 
LETTER II. 
 
 Glengary Settlement—Settler’s account of it—Treatment at a 
 private house—Present state of the settlement—Scenery 
 there—Age of the trees—Nature of the soil—Prospects of the 
 settlers—Monotonous scenery—Village of Prescott—Broke- 
 ville——Carousing scene there—Tavern and ball-room. 
 
 I shall now introduce you to the Upper Pro¬ 
 vince, and for the present dismiss the polished and 
 interesting peasantry of Lower Canada, that I 
 may make you acquainted with the blunt and-un- 
 cultivated inhabitants of Glengary, which is the 
 first regular settlement in the Upper Province, 
 and contains a large proportion of Scotch, as you 
 may conceive from its national appellation. 
 
 I entered the settlement in the evening, and 
 the first person I met was a common labourer, 
 whistling and walking gaily along, with his axe 
 over his shoulder. I accosted him, and had some 
 conversation with him, in the course of which he 
 informed me, that he had commenced farming 
 two years before, not being then possessed of 
 subsistence for two months; but things had pros¬ 
 pered with him, and he now owned a house, three 
 cows, several sheep, and seven acres of very fine 
 wheat. He seemed in high spirits, and conclud- 
 
19 
 
 ed his narrative with wishing, that his country¬ 
 men could be made acquainted with the advant¬ 
 ages which Upper Canada afforded to the poor. 
 
 This account filled me with high expectations, 
 and the more so, as I had been told that the 
 upper part of the settlement was in a state of 
 rapid advancement. I therefore hoped to see my 
 countrymen elevated in their characters, and im¬ 
 proved in their manners, by the influence of in¬ 
 dependence, and stopped at a private house, 
 which my driver had recommended as being 
 much superior to the tavern. Here I found a large 
 family devouring pork and onions, and a room 
 containing as much dirt as it could conveniently 
 hold. I had scarcely passed the threshold, when 
 I was importuned by signs to take my seat on 
 the head of a cask, and helped abundantly to the 
 family fare. Resistance was vain, as none of 
 the party seemed to understand a word of Eng¬ 
 lish, and I suppose my unwillingness to join in 
 the repast was attributed to false modesty. 
 
 The evening being far advanced, I was oblig¬ 
 ed to resolve upon remaining with them all 
 night. After listening for a couple of hours to 
 Gaelic, I followed the landlord to my bed-room; 
 but the moment he opened the door, a cloud of 
 musquitoes and other insects settled upon the 
 candle, and extinguished it. He made signs 
 that I should remain a few moments in the dark; 
 
20 
 
 but I followed him down stairs, and firmly declin¬ 
 ed paying another visit to the apartment intend¬ 
 ed for me, as it seemed to be already occupied. 
 
 As our road lay through the Glengary settle¬ 
 ment, I had an opportunity next morning of 
 seeing it, and was rather disappointed, the im¬ 
 provements bearing no proportion to what I had 
 anticipated. The majority of its inhabitants 
 were indeed very poor when they commenced 
 their labours, and had a variety of discouraging 
 circumstances to contend with, the principal of 
 which were, the peculiarities of the climate, the 
 almost inaccessible situation of their farms, the 
 badness of the roads, and the immense woods 
 which encumbered the soil. They have, in 
 some degree, surmounted the greater number of 
 these difficulties; but still the settlement is not 
 in a very flourishing state, and its inhabitants 
 seem too unambitious to profit by the advan¬ 
 tages of their condition. A very great majority 
 of the houses are built of logs, and contain only 
 one apartment; and the possessors display no in¬ 
 clination to improve their mode of life, being 
 dirty, ignorant, and obstinate. Few of the 
 settlers have more than sixty or seventy acres 
 cleared, and the generality only thirty or forty; 
 yet, how many comforts, and even luxuries, 
 might persons of moderate industry derive from 
 a domain of this extent! 
 
21 
 
 While they were preparing breakfast, at the 
 tavern at which I had stopped, I strolled out 
 for amusement. Diminutive log-houses, sur¬ 
 rounded with a few acres of cleared land, pre¬ 
 sented themselves in various directions, and the 
 feeble vestiges of civilization which these objects 
 • exhibited, seemed to be derided by the clumps 
 of immense oaks that every where waved their 
 colossal boughs as if threatening destruction to 
 all below. A profusion of decayed and half- 
 burnt timber lay around, and the serpentine 
 roots of trees, blown down by tempests, stretch¬ 
 ed into the air, in the most fantastic forms. 
 In different places, piles of blazing timber sent 
 forth columns of smoke, which enveloped the 
 forests far and wide. Axes rung in every thick¬ 
 et, and the ear was occasionally startled by 
 the crashing of trees falling to the ground. I 
 attempted to ascertain the age of an oak, that 
 had recently been cut down, by counting the 
 circumgirations of the wood, and found it had 
 flourished at least two hundred and sixty-seven 
 years. Its size, however, was very moderate, 
 when compared with that of many others which 
 grew beside it, and which, from their dimensions, 
 I judged to be five or six hundred years old. 
 
 The surface here, to the depth of several 
 inches, is composed almost entirely of decayed 
 vegetable matter. The withered leaves, strewed 
 
22 
 
 by every autumn, speedily decompose and unite 
 with the soil, and a thin layer being thus added 
 annually, a stratum of considerable thickness is 
 soon formed, which has hitherto been allowed, in 
 most places, to accumulate without disturbance 
 from the plough or harrow. Falien trees likewise 
 add a great deal to the surface by their decom¬ 
 position ; they may be observed in all stages of 
 decay, from simple rottenness to that of absolute 
 desintegration. A soil of this description, as 
 you may easily conceive, is rather too rich for 
 the common purposes of agriculture; and conse¬ 
 quently the first crops never are so good as those 
 that follow. As a proof of its luxuriant quality, 
 I may mention, that two fields were pointed out 
 to me which had been cropped twenty-one years 
 in succession, without receiving any manure 
 whatever. That part of the soil which has been 
 some time under cultivation, presents an appear¬ 
 ance superior to any thing of the kind I have 
 ever seen ; being formed entirely of a rich black 
 loam resting upon a bed of clay. This combi¬ 
 nation is peculiarly adapted for agricultural pur¬ 
 poses, as it possesses the double advantage of 
 being easily worked, and, under proper manage¬ 
 ment, not capable of exhaustion. 
 
 Indeed, were it not for the uncommon rich¬ 
 ness of the soil, which yields profusely almost 
 without cultivation, the settlers could not obtain 
 
23 
 
 a subsistence from their farms until after many 
 years occupation. In sowing wheat, they use 
 the small proportion of one bushel, and one 
 bushel and a half, to the acre. In England, 
 three are required. This extraordinary differ¬ 
 ence can alone be accounted for by supposing, 
 that, in Upper Canada, the fertility of the 
 ground causes every individual grain to germi¬ 
 nate and come to maturity. 
 
 If I were merely a theorist, and omitted to 
 take into consideration the influence which the 
 character of the inhabitants of Glengary must ne¬ 
 cessarily have upon the prosperity of their settle¬ 
 ment, I might say that their present condition af¬ 
 forded rather a pleasing subject of contemplation. 
 Provided the slow, but progressive improvement, 
 of the country, is not interrupted by a second war 
 or any other political circumstance, every farmer 
 will certainly soon become independent. This 
 may possibly produce an amelioration in their 
 manners and habits, which are at present suffi¬ 
 ciently uncouth, and likewise, perhaps, an ambi¬ 
 tion to distinguish themselves by other qualities 
 than those of prudence and industry. The means 
 of education, now very limited, must increase 
 with the settlement; and the children of its pre¬ 
 sent inhabitants, if allowed to enjoy the advan¬ 
 tage of intellectual cultivation, will be raised 
 several degrees in the scale of society, and their 
 
24 
 
 descendants, possessing superior opportunities 
 still, will triumph over rusticity and ignorance, 
 and become respectable alike from their circum¬ 
 stances and their acquirements. 
 
 I travelled upwards of sixty miles, after leav¬ 
 ing the Glengary settlement, without observing 
 any thing remarkable in the country through 
 which I passed, or meeting with a single adven¬ 
 ture that is worthy of notice. Half-cultivated 
 fields, log-houses, and extensive forests, all along 
 composed the monotonous scene, except when an 
 occcasional glance at the St Lawrence relieved 
 the eye, and awakened in the mind hopes of 
 soon enjoying a more animated prospect. The 
 scenery of Upper Canada is rather destitute of 
 variety and interest. A level country, when in 
 a high state of cultivation, and embellished with 
 villas, gardens, and pleasure-grounds, may appear 
 both beautiful and picturesque, but without these 
 objects, it must always afford a dull and unvaried 
 prospect. 
 
 There are two small villages, situated on the 
 bank of the St Lawrence, within twelve miles 
 of each other, called Prescott and Brokeville.— 
 Prescott contains twenty or thirty houses, and 
 likewise a mud fort, which is occupied by a few 
 soldiers. Within the fort stands a block-house, 
 proof against musketry. The cannon, planted 
 upon the mud wall which encircles it, are so 
 
25 
 
 fixed, that an enemy, although in possession of 
 the ramparts, could not turn them upon the be¬ 
 sieged without much labour and difficulty, while 
 he would be completely exposed to the dis¬ 
 charge of small arms from numerous loop-holes 
 in the block-house. This place is called Fort 
 Wellington, and was a position of some impor¬ 
 tance during the last war. The officer in com¬ 
 mand would not admit me within the walls, un¬ 
 til he had ascertained that I was not an Ameri¬ 
 can ; but this precaution has been quite ineffec¬ 
 tual in excluding our rivals, for individuals, be¬ 
 longing to the army of the United States, have 
 repeatedly visited and examined this fort. 
 
 Prescott, although no more than a village at 
 present, must eventually become a place of some 
 importance, for it may be termed the head of 
 the schooner and sloop navigation. If proper 
 canals are cut at the Rapids in the Lower Pro¬ 
 vince, schooners, and even square-rigged vessels, 
 will find no difficulty in plying between Mon¬ 
 treal and Prescott; but they cannot go farther, 
 as, from the latter place to Kingston, a distance 
 of fifty-five miles, the channel of the river is so 
 obstructed, and the current so rapid, that small 
 steam-boats, or flat-bottomed craft, could alone 
 navigate it with safety. Prescott must thus 
 be made a depot for all the merchandize sent to 
 the western parts of the province, and likewise 
 
26 
 
 For all the produce forwarded from thence to 
 Montreal. 
 
 The opinion and recommendation of an ex¬ 
 perienced traveller, induced me to discharge my 
 carriage at Brokeville, and determine upon pro¬ 
 ceeding to Kingston by water. The road, I was 
 told, was extremely bad, and the face of the 
 country almost a fac simile of what I had seen, 
 consequently I felt no inclination to follow the 
 
 land route. 
 
 I accordingly secured a passage in a bateau, 
 and in the evening, after it got dark, I strolled 
 to the side of the river, that I might ascertain 
 whether or not my baggage was safely put on 
 board; and there I found the crew carousing 
 after the fatigues of the day. They had kindled 
 a fire upon the beach, and were making ready 
 supper. Some reclined around the fire, talking 
 barbarous French, and uttering the most horrid 
 oaths; others sat in the boats, and sung trouba¬ 
 dour songs; and a third party was engaged in 
 distributing the provisions. They resembled a 
 band of freebooters. Most of them were very 
 athletic, and had the sharp physiognomy and 
 sparkling eyes of a Canadian. The red glare of 
 the fire communicated additional animation to 
 their rude features; and their bushy black beards, 
 and discordant voices, rendered them rather a 
 formidable-looking set of people. 
 
 5 
 
27 
 
 After my return to the tavern, my host con¬ 
 ducted me up to the second story of his hotel, 
 and into a large room, nearly fifty feet long, and 
 broad in proportion. I could imperfectly dis¬ 
 tinguish, by the feeble light of a single candle, 
 that there was a bed in each corner of it, and at 
 the same time, I heard distant stertorous mur¬ 
 murs, which seemed to proceed from the lungs 
 of some person who was asleep. My attendant 
 informed me that the apartment was a ball¬ 
 room, and as it occupied the whole upper floor, 
 he had no bedchambers in his house. I inquir¬ 
 ed if dances frequently took place there : “ Well, 
 I guess not,” said he, “ but I calculate upon 
 there being one next winter; in these low times 
 people a’nt so spry * as they used to be.” I have 
 since found that very many inns are built upon 
 the same principle as that at Brokeville. To 
 have a ball-room seems to be the height of every 
 publican’s ambition in Upper Canada, and the 
 convenience, comfort, and symmetry, of their 
 houses are often sacrificed, that they may be 
 able to furnish accommodations for a dancing 
 party once a-year. 
 
 * Lively. 
 
LETTER III. 
 
 Battcaux—Water of the St Lawrence—Its singular effects— 
 Canadian boatmen—Lake of the Thousand Islands—Currents 
 —We land upon an island—False alarm—Deer-hunt by 
 torch-light—Party of Indians arrive—Their dress and beha¬ 
 viour—Supper party—Picturesque groups—A day upon the 
 banks of the St Lawrence—Adventure with a canoe—Tavern, 
 and host and hostess—Mouth of Lake Ontario—View of King¬ 
 ston Bay. 
 
 Early in the morning, I found the boatmen 
 preparing to leave port. There were five bat- 
 teaux, and this number constitutes a brigade. 
 The crew of each boat consisted of five rowers, 
 and a man with a paddle to steer; and the whole 
 equipment was under the command and super¬ 
 intendence of an individual who was styled the 
 conductor. 
 
 The freshness of the morning breeze was ren¬ 
 dered truly delightful by the odour proceeding 
 from young pine trees, which grew in profusion 
 on each side of the river; and as the sun rose, 
 every little gale that shook the dew-drops from 
 their branches, seemed to scatter a thousand gems 
 upon the bosom of the St Lawrence. The noise 
 of the oars sometimes startled the deer which 
 were browzing along the banks, and I occasion- 
 
20 
 
 ally saw them thrust their beautiful heads through 
 the branches, and then suddenly start away into 
 the recesses of the forest. 
 
 The water of the river is exquisitely pure and 
 transparent, and, when it sparkles round the oars, 
 one is almost induced to drink it, whether he 
 feels thirsty or not. The effects which it pro¬ 
 duces on those unaccustomed to its use, are rather 
 difficult to account for. It occasions nausea, 
 pain in the stomach, and diarrhoea; but the boat¬ 
 men, who use it every day, never experience any 
 of those effects. Several gentlemen who live in 
 the western parts of Upper Canada, and are 
 in the habit of going to Montreal once a-year, 
 told me, that they regularly had an attack of the 
 kind I have described during their passage down, 
 but never suffered at all on their way back 
 again. These effects probably proceed from the 
 extreme softness of the water, which, being 
 mingled together in such prodigious quantities, 
 and exposed so long to the influence of the sun, 
 loses its carbonic acid, and likewise the greater 
 part of the atmospheric air that is loosely com¬ 
 bined with it. 
 
 After rowing nearly two hours, we landed up¬ 
 on a small island, and the boatmen began to make 
 ready breakfast for themselves. They take a 
 meal regularly every four hours during the four 
 and twenty, and it is to be supposed that the 
 
80 
 
 great labour they undergo must create a propor¬ 
 tionable appetite; but it does seem astonishing 
 that they should be contented with the quality 
 of the provisions they subsist upon. Pork, pease- 
 soup, and biscuit, compose their daily fore; and 
 though they give their meals the appellations of 
 breakfast, dinner, &c. this distinction is founded 
 upon the time at which they are taken, not upon 
 the difference of the articles presented at each. 
 But, notwithstanding all this, they are the hap¬ 
 piest race of people imaginable. Inured to hard¬ 
 ship, they despise it; and after toiling at the oar 
 during the whole day, and lightening their la¬ 
 bour with songs and jests, when night comes, 
 they kindle a fire and sleep around it, in defiance 
 of the elements and every thing else. 
 
 The men having refreshed themselves, took to 
 their oars with alacrity, and we again stem¬ 
 med the translucent surges of the St Pa wren ce. 
 There is something so wearisome and depressing 
 in the steady unvaried motion of the batteaux, 
 and the regular noise of the oars, that when the 
 banks of the river presented no variety, I often 
 felt an uncontrolable desire to sleep, though I 
 had been particularly warned to resist any incli¬ 
 nation of the kind, because an indulgence in it 
 would produce the ague; however, the fear of an 
 attack was not strong enough to enable me to 
 keep my eyes open, and I enjoyed several slum- 
 
31 
 
 bers, in the course of the passage, without expe¬ 
 riencing any bad consequences. 
 
 We now entered that part of the river which 
 is called the Lake of the Thousand Islands. The 
 St Lawrence expands into a large basin, the bo¬ 
 som of which is diversified by myriads of islands, 
 and these are characterized by every conceivable 
 aspect of nature, being fertile, barren, lofty, low, 
 rocky, verdurous, wooded, and bare. They vary 
 in size as much as in form. Some are a quarter 
 of a mile long, and others only a few yards; and, 
 I believe, they collectively exhibit, on a small 
 scale, a greater variety of bays, harbours, inlets, 
 and channels, than are to be found throughout 
 the whole continent of America. Nature seems 
 here to have thrown sportively from her hand a 
 profusion of masses of the material world, that 
 she might perceive what combinations of scenery 
 would be produced, when they assumed their re¬ 
 spective positions on the bosom of the waters. 
 
 The number of islands has never been correct¬ 
 ly ascertained, but it is generally supposed to ex¬ 
 ceed seventeen hundred. Many of them are of 
 little value, being covered with scraggy pine, and 
 having no depth of soil; and, I believe, any per¬ 
 son, whose romantic fancy might inspire him 
 with the desire of possessing one, would find no 
 difficulty in getting it granted by government. 
 
32 
 
 But some of the larger islands would form de¬ 
 lightful little farms; and the energies of a future 
 people may perhaps bring them under cultiva¬ 
 tion, and embellish them with all the beauties 
 that'arts and agriculture can communicate. When 
 this takes place, the scene will realize all that 
 fairy loveliness in which eastern historians have 
 
 The scene reminded me of the beautiful de¬ 
 scription of the Happy Islands in the Vision of 
 Mirzah, and I thought at the time, that if the 
 Thousand Islands lay in the East, some chaste 
 imagination would propose, that they should be 
 made an asylum for suffering humanity, and dis¬ 
 tributed according to the respective virtues and 
 merits of those who deserved them. 
 
 The current between some of the islands is so 
 rapid, that the boatmen, with all their exertions, 
 can scarcely make way against it. There are par¬ 
 ticular channels with which the Canadians are 
 well acquainted, and which they invariably fol¬ 
 low, for if they ventured upon others, they would 
 soon be bewildered among the islands, and might 
 probably continue in search of the true course 
 during many days, as has several times been the 
 case. 
 
 Shortly after sunset we landed upon a small 
 
 island, and the Canadians having moored their 
 
 6 
 
33 
 
 boats, proceeded to make a fire, as they intended 
 to enjoy themselves for several hours. We were 
 just opening a basket of provisions when we were 
 all startled by hearing shouts, which apparently 
 proceeded from people on the other side of the 
 island. The ruddy glare of a fire likewise attract¬ 
 ed our attention, and the continuance of the cries 
 induced several boatmen to hasten to the spot 
 where the light seemed to be. My imagination 
 was instantly excited, and when I heard the wind 
 whistling among the trees, and the perturbed 
 waters of the St Lawrence dashing against the 
 island, and saw a lurid sky stretched above me, 
 the most alarming impressions crowded upon my 
 mind. All the stories I had heard of the horrible 
 atrocities often committed by the Indians rose in 
 my memory, and I already conceived that I saw 
 my companions tomahawked, and their mangled 
 bodies struggling convulsively among the whelm¬ 
 ing surges of the river. 
 
 However, the return of the Canadians put an 
 end to my fears. The supposed Indians were no 
 other than the crew of a brigade of batteaux, 
 and the shouts we heard were raised in conse¬ 
 quence of their having seen three deer, in the 
 pursuit of which they requested us to join. This 
 proposal was acceded to by all parties, and some 
 began to kindle large fires in several parts of the 
 island, while others stript the hickory tree of its 
 
 c 
 
34 
 
 hark, and made torches. Thus prepared we sal¬ 
 lied forth, some carrying arms, and the others 
 being provided with blazing flambeaux. Intend¬ 
 ing to surround the deer, and gradually close 
 upon them, we dispersed into a large circle, and 
 sent two dogs among the brushwood to rouse 
 the game, which they soon accomplished, and we 
 accordingly made regular encroachments upon 
 their precincts. The deer, when they saw them¬ 
 selves thus environed, sprung from one side to 
 the other, leaped into the air, reared upon their 
 hind-legs, and at last sunk down apparently in 
 despair; but upon the discharge of a couple of 
 fowling-pieces, they again started, and having 
 escaped our circle, plunged into the river. 
 
 Several of the boatmen had remained upon the 
 banks of the island, that they might prevent the 
 deer from taking the river; but when they found 
 this impracticable, they shouted to us and ran to 
 the batteaux, and immediately unmoored them. 
 The remainder of the crew soon followed, with 
 arms and torches, and they all rowed out in pur¬ 
 suit of the game. Nothing could be more bril¬ 
 liant and picturesque than the scene which suc¬ 
 ceeded. We saw the heads and antlers of the 
 beautiful animals moving with graceful rapidity 
 upon the surface of the water, while the bright¬ 
 ness of their eyes rivalled that of the transparent 
 drops which sparkled around them. When tire 
 
35 
 
 shouts of the crew and the dashing of the oars 
 assailed their ears, the exertions they made to 
 escape were inconceivably strong—sometimes 
 raising themselves almost entirely out of the wa¬ 
 ter, and sometimes springing forward several 
 yards at one leap. The bustle among the boats, 
 the glare of the torches, and the ferocious coun¬ 
 tenances of the crew, were finely contrasted with 
 the meekness and timidity of the deer, and the 
 whole effect was heightened by the islands 
 around, the wild and romantic features of which 
 were strikingly displayed at intervals, when the 
 ruddy light of the torches happened to fall upon 
 them. 
 
 Several shots were fired, though apparently 
 without effect, and I began fervently to hope 
 that the deer might escape. Two of them elud¬ 
 ed their pursuers, but the batteaux surrounded 
 the other, and the Canadians beat it to death 
 with their oars, and, having taken it on board, re¬ 
 turned to the shore. 
 
 While we were around the fire, dividing the 
 booty, two canoes, full of Indians, suddenly 
 emerged from behind a point of land, and steered 
 directly towards us. The women were seated, 
 but the men stood erect, and managed their pad¬ 
 dles with the utmost elegance and dexterity. 
 Their heads were adorned with steel crescents 
 and waving feathers. The rest of their dress 
 
36 
 
 consisted of the skins of wild beasts, and long 
 scarlet cloaks covered with ornaments, which, 
 though mere tinsel, had a very shining effect. 
 This was the first time I ever heard the Indian 
 language, and never could its harsh and fantastic 
 sounds have been more impressive to any one 
 than they were to me, surrounded as I was with 
 objects the most wild and uncivilized in their 
 character. 
 
 These unexpected visitors landed near us, but 
 seemed not at all incommoded by our presence, 
 for the women immediately began to cut fire¬ 
 wood, and their husbands having collected a few 
 poles and some birch bark, set about making 
 a wigwam. At my request, some venison and 
 spirits were sent them, which they received with 
 many acknowledgments. 
 
 Assisted by my fellow-passengers, I now spread 
 a table, and obtained the necessary furnishings 
 from our respective provision baskets. Our repast 
 proved both a comfortable and an amusing one. 
 On one side, were the Canadians loitering round 
 the fire in different groups, some half asleep and 
 others singing and wrestling with their comrades; 
 while a few attempted to read a half worn-out 
 French hymn-book, the devout expressions in 
 which were heard at intervals among the oaths 
 that proceeded from almost every mouth. On 
 the other side, we saw the Indians seated under 
 
37 
 
 their wigwam, and dressing their venison. The 
 rum they had drank began to affect them. The 
 men looked ferocious, sharpened their toma¬ 
 hawks, and occasionally uttered the war-whoop. 
 The women talked incessantly, and their children 
 played the Jew’s harp. Our party completed 
 the group; and, though our voices were almost 
 drowned amidst the confusion of tongues, a spec¬ 
 tator would easily have ascertained, that at least 
 three different languages were spoken on the is¬ 
 land. 
 
 About four in the morning we again took to 
 
 o o 
 
 our boats, and soon passed the termination of the 
 Lake of the Thousand Islands. However, a 
 strong westerly wind began to prevail, and ren¬ 
 dered the working of the batteaux so very labo¬ 
 rious, that the crew were obliged to rest a little 
 every half hour. The Canadians row at the rate 
 of three miles an hour when the weather is per¬ 
 fectly calm, and, of course, rather more when 
 they have a favourable breeze to assist them ; but, 
 at best, they never go further than thirty miles in 
 twenty-four hours. The average length of the 
 passage from La Chine to Kingston is seven 
 days. 
 
 The wind at length became so strong, that we 
 resolved to stop until it moderated. As the day 
 was extremely hot, we remained upon the bank 
 of the river, and constructed a small tent of sails 
 
38 
 
 and oil-cloth to protect us from the sun, and laid 
 down under its shade; however, I soon got tired 
 of this, and having left my companions asleep, I 
 walked out alone. The sunshine was so intense, 
 that the St Lawrence sparkled too bright for the 
 eye to bear, and at each step I took, a thousand 
 insects sprung from the flowers on which they 
 had been feeding. I wandered along the side of 
 the river, until I reached a little bay paved with 
 smooth rock, against which the glittering waves 
 broke in rapid succession. Here I found a canoe 
 tied to a tree. Having embarked in it, I paddled 
 out from the shore, and laid down at my ease, 
 and committed myself to the guidance of the 
 current. The influence of the heat and scenery 
 was overpowering, and I fell into a half slumber. 
 I was occasionally awakened to a consciousness 
 of my situation, by the radiant flashes which were 
 shot forth by the sun-dipt wings of the humming 
 birds, as they flew over me. My mind was in a 
 state of perfect quiescence. The most dazzling 
 and enthusiastic conceptions rose in it without 
 effort, and faded away without resistance. Had 
 a super-human voice told me that I was entering 
 the vortex of the most terrific Rapids, I believe I 
 would scarcely have had energy to ascertain 
 whether it was so or not. 
 
 When 1 returned to my companions, I found 
 that they had just been awakened from a pro- 
 
39 
 
 found sleep by the fall of the tent, and, as they 
 would not take the trouble to erect it again, we 
 all walked to a tavern at a little distance from the 
 shore. This tavern consisted of two rooms, and 
 was built of logs, and had a sign swinging before 
 the door, so covered with gilt and emblematic 
 paintings, that it probably cost more than the 
 house itself. We inquired of the landlord if we 
 could get any thing to eat, and he asked in reply if 
 we w'ere from the United States. We repeated the 
 question, but he answered that he did not know. 
 However, after waiting a quarter of an hour, We 
 were conducted into the second room, and there 
 found a table amply furnished with tea, beef¬ 
 steaks, cucumbers, potatoes, honey, onions, eggs, 
 &c. During this delectable repast, we were at¬ 
 tended by the hostess, who poured out the tea as 
 often as we required it, and having done so, seat¬ 
 ed herself in the door-way, and read a book 
 (which I afterwards found to be Miss Edge - 
 worth's Tales of Fashionable Life), while her 
 husband, who was a tall raw-boned fellow, occa¬ 
 sionally entered the room, and stood gazing up¬ 
 on us for several minutes, with his hands in his 
 pockets, and his hat stuck upon one side of his 
 head. 
 
 About sunset the wind fell completely, and 
 the boatmen again set forward, in the confident 
 hope of reaching Kingston early next morning. 
 
 * 
 
40 
 
 Nothing remarkable occurred during the night. 
 When we were half a mile below the town, a 
 sudden turn of the river brought into view the 
 mouth of Lake Ontario, and though the scene 
 itself was not imposing, yet the reflections it pro¬ 
 duced were replete with splendour. The mind 
 involuntarily traversed the waters of those im¬ 
 mense lakes, which have their source in mysteri¬ 
 ous and unexplored regions far beyond the bounds 
 of civilization, and supply a mighty river with 
 resistless and unceasing torrents. Every drop 
 which fell from the oars had perhaps been once 
 agitated by tempests in the bosom of Lake 
 Michigan or Superior. 
 
 Kingston Bay was for some time concealed 
 from our sight by a projecting point of land; but 
 when we had cleared this, the dockyard and 
 shipping came into view all at once. In one di¬ 
 rection, the great war ship St Lawrence, and se¬ 
 veral frigates, floated at anchor, as if guardians of 
 the town, which rose indistinctly behind them, 
 and in another, two unfinished seventy-fours lay 
 on the stocks. The wind whistled drearily 
 through the chinks in their sides, which had long 
 since ceased to vibrate under the hammer of the 
 carpenter. The whole scene was magical in its 
 effect. We had seen nothing but rocks, forests, 
 and uninhabited islands, during two days, every 
 thing appearing to indicate that we had passed 
 
41 
 
 the confines of civilization; but we now found 
 ourselves in an emporium of busy life, and saw 
 vessels of war floating on those waters, whose 
 surfaces, we might well have previously sup¬ 
 posed, had never been traversed by any bark 
 larger than an Indian canoe. 
 
LETTER IV. 
 
 Pleasures of a good tavern—Town of Kingston—Frigates—Na¬ 
 val depot and armoury—Kingston during the last war—Ar¬ 
 rivals of emigrants—Equality and the bricklayer—Steam¬ 
 boat Frontenac—Pleasure of travelling by steam—Lake On¬ 
 tario—Septennial increase of its waters—Stormy night— 
 Error in the reckoning—Arrival at York. 
 
 I shall now take leave of the St Lawrence, and 
 vary the scene, by introducing you to the inha¬ 
 bitants of Kingston, and leading you a ramble 
 through their town, which is the largest in Up¬ 
 per Canada. You, who have never experienced 
 the discomforts of travelling through a newly- 
 settled country, cannot easily conceive the plea¬ 
 sure I felt in occasionally reaching a respectable 
 tavern. For three days, I had been disgusted 
 with the dirtiness, noise, and grossness of the Ca¬ 
 nadian boatmen, and, during as many nights, 
 had been prevented from sleeping by the fumes 
 of rum and tobacco, the bites of musquetoes, and 
 the hardness of the planks which formed my bed. 
 The hotel at Kingston happened to afford toler¬ 
 able accommodations, and I enjoyed them so 
 much, that I believe I was less industrious in ob- 
 
4 $ 
 
 serving the city and its environs than I ought to 
 have been. 
 
 Kingston contains about five thousand inhabit¬ 
 ants, including military. The plan of the town 
 is elegant and extensive, but not yet nearly re¬ 
 alized. Most of the houses are built of lime¬ 
 stone ; inexhaustible quarries of which lie in the 
 immediate vicinity of the town, and are of the 
 greatest importance to it, as Kingston, being the 
 key to Upper Canada, will always require strong 
 fortifications. There is nothing the least inter¬ 
 esting, or remarkable, in either the streets or 
 buildings of this place. The better class of peo¬ 
 ple, most of whom are in the mercantile line, 
 live in good style, but are not very hospitable; 
 and there appears to be little polish among them, 
 and not much social communication. 
 
 The natural position and local advantages of 
 Kingston are such, that, by means of proper for¬ 
 tifications, it might be made almost impregnable. 
 It lies behind a point of land, on the extremity 
 of which there is a strong fort that commands 
 the town and the entrance into the harbour so 
 completely, that although an enemy had pos¬ 
 session of the former, he could not occupy it 
 with safety, nor receive any supplies by means 
 of the latter. 
 
 The bay affords so fine a harbour, that a vessel 
 of one hundred and twenty guns can lie close 
 
44 
 
 to the quay. The St Lawrence, which carries 
 one hundred guns, was in this position when I 
 visited Kingston, and I enjoyed an opportunity 
 of seeing every part of her. She is built in the 
 plainest style, but is amazingly strong and beau¬ 
 tifully modelled. Near her lay the Prince Re¬ 
 gent, a sixty-gun frigate, the elegant form and 
 just proportions of which have excited the ad¬ 
 miration of the best judges of naval architecture. 
 There were seve al other frigates in the harbour, 
 the names and dimensions of which I have now 
 forgot. 
 
 I likewise visited the naval depot, which con¬ 
 tains the guns, yards, and rigging of the differ¬ 
 ent vessels, all separate, and arranged so judi¬ 
 ciously, that any of them might be equipped in 
 the course of a few hours. There is also a large 
 building appropriated for the reception of spare 
 gun-carriages, masts, cables, tops, &c. But what 
 gratified me more than all this, was the appear¬ 
 ance of the armoury, which, in boldness of effect 
 and neatness of arrangement, equals any thing 
 of the kind I have ever seen, and reflects much 
 credit upon the superintendant. The small 
 arms of the St Lawrence and frigates are placed 
 (distinct from each other) around the walls of a 
 large apartment in the most ingenious and fanci¬ 
 ful manner, and so as to occupy the least possi¬ 
 ble space. The effect is very imposing, every 
 
45 
 
 article being in a high state of brightness, and 
 fit for immediate service. 
 
 Kingston was a place of great importance dur¬ 
 ing the last war, as it alone afforded us the means 
 of successfully carrying on our naval operations 
 on Lake Ontario. You are aware that no af¬ 
 fair of any importance ever took place between 
 the American fleet and ours; the respective 
 forces were for a long time so exactly balanced, 
 that neither of the parties deemed it prudent to 
 venture upon a general engagement; and the 
 warfare consisted almost entirely of a system of 
 reconnoitering, in the course of which we were 
 alternately the pursuers and the pursued. How¬ 
 ever, at last, when the St Lawrence was finish¬ 
 ed, we gained a decided superiority, for she made 
 us master of Lake Ontario without firing a single 
 gun, the enemy’s fleet never having ventured far 
 out after she left Kingston harbour. 
 
 The Americans had built their ships of war 
 with much expedition, and they were greatly 
 inferior to ours in point of strength and dura¬ 
 bility ; but, on the other hand, their sloops and 
 schooners were admirably constructed, and sailed 
 infinitely quicker and more close to the wind. 
 The Americans certainly excel all nations in 
 modelling small vessels; and even their common 
 packet-boats are formed with an elegance and 
 
46 
 
 beauty, which one will look for in vain among 
 British craft of a similar description. 
 
 The soil around Kingston is indifferent, being 
 of a cold clayey nature, and such as would re¬ 
 quire much lime or plaster of Paris to render it 
 productive. It is not in a high state of cultiva¬ 
 tion ; and indeed all improvements are confined 
 to the limits of the town, in which there were 
 eighteen or twenty houses building when I was 
 there. 
 
 I frequently amused myself with strolling to 
 the wharfs, and watching the arrival of the bat- 
 teaux, several brigades of which came in every 
 day, full of emigrants, and loaded with their bag¬ 
 gage. The majority of these people seemed to 
 have no idea that the necessaries of life could be 
 obtained in Upper Canada, for they brought from 
 their native country, tables, chairs, chests of 
 drawers, and great quantities of other lumber, the 
 carriage of which must have cost infinitely more 
 than the articles did themselves. 
 
 How quickly do mankind discover those things 
 that gratify their vanity ! Many of the emigrants 
 I saw had been on shore a few hours only, dur¬ 
 ing their passage between Montreal and King¬ 
 ston, yet they had already acquired those absurd 
 notions of independence and equality, which are 
 so deeply engrafted in the minds of the lowest 
 
47 
 
 individuals of the American nation. On accost¬ 
 ing two Scotsmen, whom I had seen at Montreal, 
 instead of pulling off their hats, as they had in¬ 
 variably done before on similar occasions, they 
 merely nodded to me with easy familiarity. I 
 addressed them by their Christian names, and in¬ 
 quired if they had any prospect of obtaining em¬ 
 ployment. “ This gentleman,” said one, point¬ 
 ing to his companion, who w r as a bricklayer, “ has 
 been offered four shillings a-day at Prescott, but 
 his good lady does not like the place.” 
 
 In the evening I embarked on board the steam¬ 
 boat Frontenac, which was to sail for York at 
 midnight. I went to bed at an early hour, and, 
 on awaking next morning, found myself in the 
 middle of Lake Ontario, and out of sight of 
 land. I could not but invoke a thousand bless¬ 
 ings on the inventors and improvers of the steam¬ 
 boat, for the delightful mode of conveyance with 
 which their labours had been the means of fur¬ 
 nishing mankind. Next morning, I got up re¬ 
 freshed ; and it required some recollection to 
 perceive that I was not in the Kingston hotel. 
 I immediately repaired to the deck, where I 
 found the greater number of the cabin passengers 
 enjoying the morning breeze, and soliciting an 
 appetite for breakfast. 
 
 The Frontenac is the largest steam-boat in 
 Canada; her deck is one hundred and seventy- 
 
 o 
 
48 
 
 one feet long, and thirty-two feet wide. She is 
 seven hundred and forty tons burden, and draws 
 only eight feet water when loaded. Two pad¬ 
 dle-wheels, each about forty feet in circumfer¬ 
 ence, impel her through the water. Her length 
 is so great, that she answers very slowly to the 
 helm; but I understand she was built of the 
 dimensions I have stated, that she might cover 
 three seas, and thus be prevented from pitching 
 violently in boisterous weather. 
 
 Breakfast being announced by the ringing of 
 a bell, we descended, to the number of four 
 or five and twenty, to a well-furnished table. 
 Of all modes of conveyance, a steam-boat is the 
 most favourable to the excitement of sociality 
 among travellers, for there are none of those 
 petty miseries or trivial annoyances to be en¬ 
 dured, that so often occur on board a ship or in 
 a stage-coach. At sea, a whole party is some¬ 
 times incommoded by the complaints and ap¬ 
 pearance of some individual who suffers under 
 sickness; and in a carriage, people soon become 
 fatigued, and are prevented from talking by the 
 noise of the wheels. In a steam-boat, however, 
 there is no impediment to lively conversation, 
 or the reciprocal interchange of all those sweet 
 courtesies of life that gild the path of the travel¬ 
 ler, as pleasingly as varieties of scenery in the 
 country through which he passes. Agreeable 
 
49 
 
 company and entertaining incidents smooth the 
 roughest road, and our feelings, our judgment, 
 and even our vision, are unconsciously affected by 
 the degree of personal comfort we enjoy, and the 
 mode of conveyance to which we are subjected. 
 —Dr Goldsmith somewhere observes, that the 
 man who makes the grand tour of Europe on 
 foot, will make very different remarks, and form 
 very different conclusions, from him who rolls 
 along in a post-chaise. Nothing can be more 
 true, and, I believe, upon this principle we may 
 ascribe the diversities and contradictions which 
 often characterize the accounts that different 
 persons give of the same country, to the mode in 
 which they have travelled,and the difficulties they 
 have encountered in the course of their journeys. 
 A series of hardships will distrub tbe placidity 
 of the most philosophic person, and make him 
 believe that the things around him are perma¬ 
 nently stamped with the temporary colouring 
 which they have derived from accidental cir¬ 
 cumstances. But he who is whirled along by 
 the magic power of steam, meets with nothing 
 to modify his impressions; and I would say to 
 all testy and irritable travellers, that the best 
 way of keeping out of the hot ’water into which 
 every cross accident plunges them, is to keep 
 under the influence of the steam. 
 
 Lake Ontario is two hundred and thirty miles 
 
 D 
 
50 
 
 long, and sixty broad at its widest part. Its 
 waters are quite transparent and colourless, but 
 vapid and unpleasant to the taste. Soundings 
 are rarely to be met with, except near the shore; 
 and, as very few islands or points of land present 
 themselves upon its expanse, it is adapted for 
 every kind of navigation, and will, of course, 
 admit vessels of the largest size. The current 
 which moves forward this immense body of 
 water is distinctly perceptible, being, on an ave¬ 
 rage, at the rate of half a mile an hour, but va¬ 
 rying with the direction and strength of the 
 wind. 
 
 The most remarkable phenomenon which this 
 and the other lakes exhibit, is that increase and 
 rise of their waters which is said to take place at 
 regular periods. It occurs, in a moderate degree, 
 every seven years, and to a very great extent once 
 in thirty or forty. In the year 1816, the waters of 
 Lake Ontario were seven feet and a half per¬ 
 pendicular above their average height, and Lake 
 Erie was affected in a similar way. I have visit¬ 
 ed the shores of Lake Ontario several times, ac¬ 
 companied by a person who resides upon them, 
 whose intelligence and indisputable veracity 
 made me put full confidence in the informa¬ 
 tion he gave, and from whom I received proofs 
 of the accuracy of what I have now stated. I 
 likewise saw the remains of a large storehouse 
 
 
51 
 
 which had been built a few years before, in a 
 situation that seemed quite inaccessible to the 
 lake, although the waters have surrounded and 
 nearly demolished it. 
 
 This singular phenomenon affords a problem 
 very difficult to solve. The quantity of water 
 that must be required to increase the depth of 
 Lake Ontario, and all the other lakes, seven and 
 a half feet perpendicular, is so vast, that it is im¬ 
 possible to conceive where its source can lie.— 
 The height of the waters of the lakes, indeed, 
 varies a few inches almost daily ; but this is occa¬ 
 sioned by changes in the direction of the wind. 
 When it is east, or north-east, the waters are 
 driven back, or at least impeded in their course, 
 and consequently an accumulation takes place, 
 which makes the lakes rise; but if it blows from 
 the south, or south-west, the direction in which 
 they flow, their waters are hurried towards the 
 St Lawrence, and, of course, decrease in height 
 in proportion to the strength of the wind. 
 
 Sir Alexander Mackenzie, during his voyage 
 to the north-west, observed that the waters of 
 the rivers and lakes which he navigated under¬ 
 went considerable variation in their height, the 
 increase and decrease sometimes amounting to 
 two or three feet; which proves that this pheno¬ 
 menon is not confined to the lower lakes. If 
 
52 
 
 this augmentation of the waters took place only 
 at irregular periods, we might suppose that it pro¬ 
 ceeded from the occasional melting of part of 
 those immense quantities of ice and snow which 
 are accumulated in the northern regions; but 
 even this would scarcely be adequate to produce 
 the effect which cannot at present be rationally 
 accounted for. 
 
 During locomotion, the mind is little disposed 
 to give continuity of attention to any thing, and 
 had the Frontenac been furnished with a library, 
 I believe few of my fellow-passengers would have 
 troubled it; therefore, when they had got tired 
 with playing at backgammon, and surveying the 
 machinery, the sum of their amusement seemed 
 to be exhausted; and the successive occurrence 
 of dinner, tea, and supper, had but little effect 
 in preventing symptoms of ennui from appear¬ 
 ing among them. 
 
 The night proved dark and unpleasant; a 
 host of threatening clouds obscured the hitherto 
 spotless sky, while a dreary blast careered along 
 the lake, and made its waters noisy and turbu¬ 
 lent. Notwithstanding the darkness, I conti¬ 
 nued to walk the deck till near midnight, my 
 steps being guided by the irregular light shed 
 by the showers of glowing sparks that flashed 
 in rapid succession from the flue, and were 
 
53 
 
 whirled aloft in every direction. At last it be¬ 
 gan to rain, and I retired to my birth; however, 
 after some time, I was induced to go on deck again 
 by the noise which awakened me. The wind hav¬ 
 ing became boisterous,the lake was now excessive¬ 
 ly rough, and the steam-boat rolled in a violent 
 manner, particularly when she lay in the trough 
 of the sea. The confusion that had roused me 
 was occasioned by the appearance of a light oft’ 
 the bow of the vessel, which was immediately 
 believed to proceed from York light-house, and, 
 as it was too dark to attempt gaining the har¬ 
 bour, there seemed no alternative but to lay to 
 till morning. This was accordingly done: how¬ 
 ever, when the day dawned, and the mists clear¬ 
 ed away, it was found that an utter mistake had 
 been made in the reckoning, for we were up¬ 
 wards of twenty miles below York. The light 
 which occasioned this false alarm belonged to 
 a small schooner, as I was afterwards informed 
 by a gentleman who had been on board of her 
 at the time. 
 
 In the morning the boisterous weather had 
 subsided, and a gentle breeze soon dispelled all 
 remains of the storm. However, the fears of 
 some of my fellow-passengers were not so easily 
 dissipated, and many of them appeared at the 
 breakfast table, wan, dejected, and sea-sick. 
 
54 
 
 The steam-boat Frontenac, when the wind is 
 favourable, sails nine knots an hour with ease. 
 We fortunately had a strong breeze directly 
 astern, which soon brought us in sight of York, 
 the seat of government, and the capital of Upper 
 Canada. 
 
LETTER V. 
 
 Town of York—Disadvantages of its situation—Proposal to re¬ 
 move the seat of government—Re-embark on board the 
 Steam-boat—Lake Ontario at night—Spray of Niagara 
 Falls—Village of Niagara—Its amusements—Affecting inci¬ 
 dent—Reflections on the condition of emigrants—Road r to 
 Queenston — Niagara river — Peach orchards—Canadian 
 peasantry. 
 
 The town of York is situated on the shore of 
 Lake Ontario, and has a large bay in front of it, 
 •which affords good anchorage for small vessels. 
 The land all around the harbour and behind the 
 town is low, swampy, and apparently of inferior 
 quality; and it could not be easily drained, as it 
 lies almost on a level with the surface of the 
 lake. The town, in which there are some good 
 houses, contains about 3000 inhabitants. There 
 is but little land cleared in its immediate vicinity, 
 and this circumstance increases the natural un¬ 
 pleasantness of its situation. The trade of York 
 is very trifling; and it owes its present popula¬ 
 tion and magnitude entirely to its being the seat 
 of government, for it is destitute of every natu¬ 
 ral advantage except that of a good harbour. 
 
 York is nearly defenceless at present, and the 
 
56 
 
 character of the surrounding country precludes 
 the possibility of its ever being made a place of 
 strength. There is no eminence or command¬ 
 ing point of land suitable for the erection of a 
 battery; and the fort, which was lately built, is 
 so incapable, from its low situation, of effectually 
 annoying an enemy, that a single frigate might 
 lay the town in ruins without any difficulty.— 
 From this circumstance, it is evident that York 
 is not at all calculated for the seat of government, 
 which, in colonies particularly, should be either 
 
 situated in the interior, or, if in an exposed si¬ 
 tuation, nearly impregnable. 
 
 I believe it was once proposed by parliament 
 that the seat of government should be removed 
 to Kingston, which town, although not alto¬ 
 gether unexceptionable, has, from its position 
 and resources, many more claims to this distinc¬ 
 tion than York; but it seems that the govern¬ 
 ment officers, residing in the latter place, esti¬ 
 mated the depreciation which their property 
 would suffer, and the loss which they themselves 
 would necessarily incur, if this arrangement took 
 place, at such an immense amount, that the pro¬ 
 ject was abandoned. It was likewise urged as an 
 objection, that were the seat of government re¬ 
 moved to Kingston, the members of parliament 
 for the western parts of the province would suf¬ 
 fer much inconvenience, in being obliged to tra- 
 
57 
 
 vel a distance of four or five hundred miles every 
 time the legislature met. 
 
 The country adjacent to Lake Simcoe has 
 lately been talked of as affording an eligible site 
 for the provincial capital. The fertility of that 
 part of Upper Canada, and its inland and central 
 situation, doubtless render it preferable to York; 
 however, at present, there does not seem to be 
 the least probability that the seat of government 
 will be removed from the spot which it now oc¬ 
 cupies. 
 
 After strolling around York for an hour or 
 two, I re-embarked on board the steam-boat, in 
 company with the greater number of my former 
 fellow-passengers. The paddle-wheels were soon 
 put in motion, and we were impelled gaily on to¬ 
 wards Niagara, which is thirty-six miles distant 
 from York. It was now evening ; the receding 
 lights of the town twinkled dimly through the 
 rising mists that shrouded the houses and garri¬ 
 son from our view, and a beautiful moon soon 
 appeared, which clad the waters of Lake Ontario 
 in a “ mantle of light.” The air was keen and 
 frosty, but though I felt cold, I was unwilling to 
 leave the deck. The beauty of the night did not 
 detain me among the dews, (for 1 had seen many 
 lovelier), but Lake Ontario was new to me, and 
 you know I always love to treasure first impres¬ 
 sions, the remembrance of which is as dear 
 
58 
 
 and reviving to the soul in future life, as the warm 
 but imperfect sketches made during the first 
 efforts of genius are to the recollection of a 
 painter. My attention was soon roused by an 
 interesting object; for one of the passengers ap¬ 
 proaching, asked me if I observed a faint cloud 
 towards the west. “ That cloud,” said he, “ is the 
 spray which arises from the Falls of Niagara. 
 A thin white vapour was all I could discover, 
 for we were yet more than thirty miles distant 
 from the cataract itself. However, I could not 
 soon withdraw my eyes from an object so af¬ 
 fecting. 
 
 We reached Niagara village about ten at night, 
 when, after nearly two hours’ examination of the 
 spray of the Falls, I went to sleep. On awaking 
 next morning, I found every thing enlivened by 
 the influence of a brilliant sun. The Niagara 
 river, at whose mouth we lay, reflected in its 
 deep and pure waters every rock and tree that 
 adorned its banks, and every little cloud that 
 sailed along the face of heaven. The village, sur¬ 
 rounded by plains which were variegated with 
 clumps of natural shrubbery, appeared neat, gay, 
 and picturesque; and was crowned by a small 
 fort at a little distance, the ramparts of which 
 were crowded with soldiers. Two schooners had 
 just left the harbour in full sail. On the deck 
 of one of them were several cattle, and the lake 
 
59 
 
 was so still, that every motion the animals made 
 was pictured in its silvery expanse. 
 
 The population of Niagara amounts to seven 
 or eight hundred souls, and it is one of the most 
 thriving villages in Upper Canada. It contains 
 a great many merchants’ shops, and has a regular 
 market, as the farmers who occupy the country 
 around frequent it weekly, that they may sell 
 their produce, or dispose of it to the merchants 
 in exchange for goods. The mouth of the river 
 forms an excellent harbour. Some time ago a 
 considerable number of schooners and small craft 
 plied between Kingston, York, and Niagara, 
 which were employed in transporting goods, pro¬ 
 duce, and lumber; but the steam-boat now mo¬ 
 nopolizes almost all the carrying business, to the 
 great detriment and annoyance of the owners of 
 the vessels. 
 
 A detachment of military are always stationed 
 at Niagara, and this circumstance tends to make 
 the place more lively and flourishing than it 
 would otherwise be. The village contains some 
 pretty houses, with several decent taverns; and 
 the military and civilians together form a small 
 society, which, on particular occasions, is im¬ 
 proved and augmented by the addition of those 
 families who reside in the vicinity. During the 
 winter season, public dancing assemblies are held 
 once a fortnight in one of the hotels, and, when 
 
60 
 
 the roads are in a favourable state, these are at¬ 
 tended by people from all parts of the district. 
 Races likewise occur twice a-year, which, though 
 they do not afford much amusement, are of 
 advantage to the place, being the means of as¬ 
 sembling people together. Two weekly news¬ 
 papers are published in Niagara. The press from 
 which one of them issues has acquired some ce¬ 
 lebrity, from its having afforded Mr Gourlay the 
 means of carrying on a political cannonade against 
 the provincial administration, during nearly two 
 years. 
 
 One evening, as I strolled along the beach of 
 the Lake, in front of Niagara, a woman, whom I 
 had observed at some distance, approached, and, 
 after several low curtsies, requested me to fol¬ 
 low her; and, as she seemed to be in deep afflic¬ 
 tion, I immediately complied, without asking an 
 explanation. She conducted me to a kind of 
 cave, under a high sand-bank, the mouth of which 
 was barricadoed with a chest of drawers, several 
 trunks, &c. A mattress occupied the floor of 
 this wild abode, and two children played gaily 
 with one another upon it, the one attempting to 
 beat his merry companion with an old pillow, 
 and raising shouts of laughter and delight every 
 time he succeeded in giving a blow. The mo¬ 
 ther, who continued to shed tears, told me, that 
 she and her family were Irish emigrants. They 
 
61 
 
 had been induced, by a series of misfortunes, to 
 set sail for Canada, with the intention of obtain¬ 
 ing land, and had, after many difficulties, got 
 thus far in their voyage; but, being now destitute 
 of money, they were unable to procure a lodging, 
 and knew not where to apply for work, assist¬ 
 ance, or information. “ A husband and these 
 two boys,” said the woman, “ are all that now re¬ 
 main to me. My little girl died in the ship, and 
 they threw her into the sea. Aye, sure, that was 
 the worst of all,” continued she, in an agony of 
 grief. “ Poor babe! she had neither prayers nor 
 a wake!” 
 
 On my way back to the village, I was occu¬ 
 pied with reflections upon the helpless condition 
 of most of the emigrants who come to Canada, 
 and the indifference which the supreme govern¬ 
 ment have ever manifested about the welfare 
 and prosperity of the colony. Those people, who 
 came to the province with an intention of set¬ 
 tling in it, are totally destitute of the means of 
 obtaining authentic information respecting the 
 place to which they should proceed, or where or 
 in what manner they should apply for a grant of 
 land. Inexperienced, ignorant of the country, and 
 often disappointed with it at first, it cannot be 
 expected that they should resolutely struggle 
 with the difficulties that present themselves on 
 every side. The slaves of vague reports, and 
 
 6 
 
62 
 
 false and exaggerated descriptions, they know 
 not where to direct their steps; and, after being 
 alternately encouraged, depressed, and deceived, 
 they perhaps prematurely determine to return 
 to their native country, wretched as the asylum 
 is which it at present affords to the poor and un¬ 
 fortunate of all classes. When I was in Quebec 
 and Montreal, I had opportunities of knowing, 
 that many of the hovels of these cities contained 
 crowds of British emigrants, who were strug¬ 
 gling with those complicated horrors of poverty 
 and disease, whom the hope of being exempted 
 from such evils had induced to abandon the clime 
 of their birth. The greater number of these peo¬ 
 ple, when they first landed, had funds enough to 
 carry them to the Upper Province, and even 
 settle them comfortably on their locations; but 
 they knew not where the “ promised land” lay, 
 and were detained in Lower Canada, by anxious 
 and unavailing efforts to obtain correct informa¬ 
 tion upon the subject. All the misery occasion¬ 
 ed by this circumstance, and various others of a 
 similar nature, might be easily prevented, and 
 thousands of active settlers annually added to 
 the province, if the supreme government would 
 bestow a moment’s attention upon the matter, 
 and place in Quebec, Montreal, and the other 
 towns, an agent, to whom the emigrants could 
 
 apply for advice and information. I am aware 
 
 & 
 
63 
 
 that Emigrant Societies have already been esta¬ 
 blished in the principal towns of Lower Canada, 
 but such owe their existence entirely to the be¬ 
 nevolent exertions of private individuals, and are, 
 comparatively speaking, superficial and limited 
 in their operation. Nothing but the interference 
 of the supreme government can effectually rid 
 poor emigrants of the difficulties they have at 
 present to encounter when they arrive in Lower 
 Canada. A regular, cheap, direct mode of con¬ 
 veyance should be established between Quebec 
 and York for them alone; they would then be 
 enabled to reach the Upper Province at a very trif¬ 
 ling expense, and the concern would not cost go¬ 
 vernment any thing, as people might be carried 
 up the St Lawrence and lakes for one-third the 
 sum they pay for their passage at present. When 
 the emigrants had reached York, I should con¬ 
 sider further assistance unnecessary. Were all 
 persons to get there as cheaply and expeditious¬ 
 ly as the plan recommended would enable them 
 to do, there would be few of those instances of po¬ 
 verty and distress which are at present so common 
 among new-comers. Almost all emigrants, after 
 paying their passage to Quebec, have what they 
 conceive to be enough, and what really is far 
 more than enough, to pay their expenses to 
 York; but the present mode of travelling up 
 the country is so unreasonably expensive, and 
 
64 
 
 the delays and uncertainties which attend their 
 movements are so numerous, that they spend 
 twice as much in the course of their journey as 
 is necessary, and four times as much as would 
 be required, were government to take the charge 
 of transporting them into its own hands. 
 
 Some years ago, government gave liberal en¬ 
 couragement to those who were disposed to emi¬ 
 grate to Canada. Besides paying their passage 
 across the Atlantic, it provided them with ra¬ 
 tions and farming utensils, during one year 
 subsequent to their arrival in the country. But 
 this plan apparently did not answer; the lowest 
 and most worthless members of society immedi¬ 
 ately took advantage of the facilities which it 
 afforded to emigration, and lived in idleness as 
 long as they received rations; and at last sold 
 their agricultural utensils and went to the Unit¬ 
 ed States. The conduct of these people made 
 government abandon all idea of assisting emi¬ 
 grants farther, than by granting them a certain 
 quantity of land. At first there was too much 
 done for them —now there is too little. The 
 mode of assisting the lower classes should always 
 be regulated by the knowledge we possess of their 
 character. They abuse and undervalue every 
 thing they can obtain without exertion or indi¬ 
 vidual merit, partly because their pride enjoys 
 no triumph in obtaining it, and partly because 
 
65 
 
 they suppose that nothing really valuable will 
 ever be gratuitously bestowed upon them. For 
 these reasons, it is inexpedient to allow emigrants 
 a free passage to Canada, or to give them any 
 thing but land w T hen they arrive there. The 
 great object is to lessen the expense of the voy¬ 
 age across the Atlantic, and of the journey 
 through the interior of the country. The pas¬ 
 sage-money to Quebec might be made so low 
 as £2, provisions included; and small as this 
 sum is, it may be proved by calculation, that 
 government would not lose any thing by tran¬ 
 sporting emigrants at such a rate, except the use 
 of the vessels that were engaged in the under¬ 
 taking. An individual might be conveyed from 
 any port in Great Britain to York, in Upper 
 Canada, for £3, 3s., if a proper system of manage¬ 
 ment were pursued both at home and abroad. 
 Every man, whose constitution and age fitted 
 him for the labour of clearing land, could raise 
 this sum without difficulty; and the more trouble 
 he had in procuring it, the more disposed would 
 he be to value the cheapness of his voyage and 
 journey, and to become industrious when he 
 reached his place of destination. Idle and 
 worthless characters would in some measure be 
 deterred from crossing the Atlantic; while the 
 relief of the honest poor, and the prosperity of 
 
 our North American settlements, would alike 
 
 E 
 
66 
 
 be the result of adopting these simple means for 
 facilitating emigration. 
 
 Hitherto I have not made much mention of 
 the peasantry of Upper Canada, nor attempted 
 to give you any idea of their manners, condition, 
 or mode of life ; and I have also deferred mak¬ 
 ing various remarks, which were suggested by 
 the details contained in my former letters. My 
 object in omitting these things was, to be able 
 to concentrate all the information I had to offer 
 you upon such subjects, when I came to de¬ 
 scribe the most fertile, populous, and impor¬ 
 tant part of Upper Canada.—The portion of the 
 Province to which these characters more parti¬ 
 cularly belong, commences at the mouth of the 
 Niagara river, and extends westward to the head 
 of Lake Erie. This tract of country, from the 
 superiority of the soil, the comparative mildness 
 of the climate, the largeness of the population, 
 and various other circumstances of a local nature, 
 will always be the most valuable part of Upper 
 Canada, and, consequently, is at present the 
 most interesting. I shall therefore, by occasion¬ 
 al sketches, endeavour to make you acquainted 
 with its inhabitants. 
 
 The village of Queenston lies seven miles 
 above Niagara. The road winds along the bank 
 of the river for a considerable part of the way, 
 and, in point of dryness and smoothness, equals 
 
67 
 
 any turnpike in England. Excellent and im¬ 
 proved lands border both sides of it, except 
 where it adjoins the river; and in these places 
 the farms have a delightful open front, which 
 commands a very agreeable prospect, and lies 
 within call of every vessel that passes. The 
 banks of the Niagara river, towards Queenston, 
 are for the most part high and bold, but not 
 rocky or covered with trees; and, from this last 
 circumstance, they have a tameness which does 
 not harmonize well with the grandeur of the 
 stream that flows between them. This beauti¬ 
 ful river,—broad, deep, smooth, and moderate in 
 its course,—affords an excellent harbour for ship¬ 
 ping of any burden from its mouth even to 
 Queenston; and can be navigated to the latter 
 place by experienced persons whether the wind 
 is favourable or not, there being such a close 
 succession of eddies along its banks, that, if a ves¬ 
 sel is merely steered from one to the other, she 
 may be brought up without difficulty or danger. 
 
 The soil and climate here seem to be admirably 
 adapted for the production and growth of fruit. 
 Numerous apple and peach orchards ornament 
 the sides of the road, and are, every season, load¬ 
 ed with a profusion of delightful fruit, which, 
 however, appears to be very little valued by the 
 owners, for in many places they allow their pigs 
 to range among the trees, and pick up all that 
 
68 
 
 fall from ripeness, or are blown off by the wind. 
 These animals, I am told, soon begin to be in¬ 
 different about delicacies of this kind, and often, 
 at last, become so satiated, that they will eat 
 those peaches only that have very recently dropt 
 from the tree. 
 
 These orchards may almost be said to grow 
 wild ; at least they receive no attention after they 
 are first planted,—being neither fenced, pruned, 
 nor manured, at any time. Indeed, the peasant¬ 
 ry evince the utmost indifference about every 
 thing that is not absolutely necessary to support 
 existence. They raise wheat, Indian corn, and 
 potatoes enough, to place themselves beyond the 
 reach of want; but rarely endeavour to increase 
 their comforts, by making gardens, or adorning 
 the sites of their rude abodes with those rural im¬ 
 provements that so often grace the cottages of 
 the British peasantry. Among the humble 
 dwellings in Upper Canada, 
 
 No roses wreathing. 
 
 Or woodbines breathing. 
 
 Around the lattice their tendrils spread. 
 
 Nor does the bee, in the stillness of a glowing 
 summer day, hum among the honeysuckle, and, 
 weighing down its flowers, rob them of their 
 luscious treasures, for the benefit of him who 
 reared and watered the parent plant. 
 
In my opinion, the love of rural economy and 
 improvement, among the lower classes, is a to¬ 
 lerably sure indication that they have virtuous 
 dispositions. Idleness, intemperance, and dis¬ 
 honesty, are habits which eradicate from the hu¬ 
 man mind all inclination for any thing that is 
 less hideous and deformed than themselves; 
 while sobriety, industry, and other domestic vir¬ 
 tues, give birth to that desire for innocent luxury 
 and useful recreation, which makes the peasant 
 both amiable and respectable, without alienat¬ 
 ing his affections from the circumscribed sphere 
 that his condition necessarily assigns them. 
 
 I had anticipated much pleasure from the idea 
 of being an eye-witness of that neatness, taste, 
 and inviting simplicity, which, I was told, cha¬ 
 racterised the peasantry of Upper Canada, and 
 showed them to be, what they really are, the 
 happiest people on earth; but I, indeed, felt 
 disappointed, when, even in the oldest settle¬ 
 ments, I saw every thing in a state of primitive 
 rudeness and barbarism. However, this circum¬ 
 stance did not make me prematurely draw any 
 conclusions respecting the real character of their 
 inhabitants. I first entered the houses and got 
 acquainted with their inmates, and you, my 
 friend, must do so likewise, in company with 
 me, before you form any prepossessions either 
 favourable or unfavourable. 
 
LETTER VI. 
 
 Village of Queenston—Situation—Ferry—Portage—Romantic 
 environs—Heights—Breadth of the Niagara river—DeatLand 
 character of General Brock—Last American war—Bravery of 
 the Canadians—Effects of the war—Prodigality—Commercial 
 embarrassments—Vanity of the farmers—Tuscorora Indians— 
 Account of their village—Conversation and characters there— 
 Indian hymn—View from Queenston heights—Whirlpool— 
 Thunder storm—Meteorological phenomenon. 
 
 Now that I have reached that part of the province 
 called the Niagara district, I shall lay aside the 
 form of a journal, which I have hitherto adopted, 
 and present you with sketches of the interesting 
 objects I have met with in different parts of the 
 country, without noticing the order in which 
 they fell under my observation. My wanderings 
 through the more westerly parts of Upper Cana¬ 
 da have been so various, and have taken place at 
 so many intervals, that it will be much better for 
 me to generalize a little, and give you the results 
 of my different journeyings, than to impose upon 
 you the task of perusing a detailed account of 
 them individually. 
 
 The village of Queenston is beautifully situat¬ 
 ed at the foot of a hill, and upon the side of the 
 
71 
 
 Niagara river, the bank of which is high and 
 precipitous. The imagination is agreeably struck 
 with the first view of the place. On one side of 
 the village is a mountain covered with shrubbery 
 and verdure;—behind, a rich and cultivated plain 
 extends backwards, which is bounded in every di¬ 
 rection by luxuriant woods, while in front, the 
 Niagara river glides in majestic stillness, and 
 may be traced, with all its windings, till its wa¬ 
 ters are swallowed up in the vast expanse of 
 Lake Ontario. The soil around Queenston con¬ 
 sists chiefly of a red clay, the bright colour of 
 which, upon the roads and declivities where it is 
 exposed, forms a singular contrast, during sum¬ 
 mer, with the pure green of the trees and fields 
 in the vicinity. 
 
 The narrowness of the river here, and its suit¬ 
 ableness for a ferry, render this one of the prin¬ 
 cipal channels of communication between Upper 
 Canada and the United States; consequently 
 there is a continual interchange of waggons, cat¬ 
 tle, passengers, &c. which makes Queenston ra¬ 
 ther more lively than it would otherwise be. 
 However, all its external attractiveness depends 
 upon the fineness of its situation. The build¬ 
 ings are irregular and inelegant; and an air 
 of depression and inactivity pervades the whole 
 place, to a degree I never saw equalled in any 
 village of the same extent. 
 
72 
 
 Queenston must infallibly acquire magnitude 
 and importance when the Province becomes po¬ 
 pulous and flourishing, for it is situated at the 
 commencement of a portage, which never can be 
 evaded by any improvement in the navigation, it 
 being rendered necessary by the Falls of Niagara; 
 therefore all vessels, containing goods and stores 
 destined for the western parts of Upper Canada, 
 must unload and leave their cargoes at Queenston, 
 that they may be conveyed overland to Chippo- 
 wa, where the Niagara river again becomes navi¬ 
 gable. Even now, a good deal of this carrying 
 business goes on during the summer months. 
 The North-west Company forward a consider¬ 
 able quantity of stores to the Indian territories 
 by this route, and the country merchants receive 
 annual supplies of goods from Montreal, and 
 send down pork, flour, staves, and potash, in re¬ 
 turn. 
 
 The environs of Queenston are beautifully pic¬ 
 turesque and romantic, and nothing can be finer 
 than the prospect up the Niagara river. Imme¬ 
 diately above the village its channel narrows very 
 much, and the banks rise to the height of three 
 hundred feet perpendicular, while at the same 
 time they become wild and rocky, and are thick¬ 
 ly covered with trees of various kinds. In some 
 places they partly over-arch the river, and throw 
 an appalling gloom upon its waters, now dashed 
 
73 
 
 into turbulence and impetuosity by the rugged¬ 
 ness of their sloping bed. It was night when I 
 first viewed this scene, and as the moon gradual¬ 
 ly rose, she threw a broken light successively 
 upon different portions of the stream, and some¬ 
 times brought to view the foamy bosom of a Ra¬ 
 pid, at other times unveiled the struggling and 
 heaving waters of a whirlpool, while the mingled 
 roar, on all sides, excited a shuddering curiosity 
 about those parts of the river that rolled along in 
 darkness. 
 
 Over the precipice, on the summit of which I 
 stood while I contemplated this scene, many of 
 the American soldiers had rushed at the close of 
 the battle of Queenston heights. They were so 
 warmly pressed by our troops and the Indians, 
 and had so little prospect of obtaining quarter 
 from the latter, that a great number wildly 
 flung themselves over the steep, and tried to 
 save their lives by catching hold of the trees that 
 grew upon it; but many were frightfully dashed 
 to pieces by the rocks, and others who reached the 
 river perished in their attempts to swim across 
 it. Several, who had dropped among the cliffs 
 without receiving any injury, were afterwards 
 transfixed and killed by falling upon their own 
 bayonets, while in the act of leaping from one 
 spot to another. I almost imagined I saw these 
 unfortunate men writhing in all the agonies of a 
 
74 
 
 protracted death, and gazing with envy at their 
 companions, who were convulsively catching for 
 breath among the sullen waters below. Were 
 the Canadians inclined to be superstitious, they 
 could not select a more suitable place than this 
 for the haunt and appearance of unearthly beings. 
 The wildness of the scenery, the gloom of the 
 cliffs, and the melancholy incident I have just re¬ 
 lated, would subject Queenston heights to the 
 suspicion of any people more under the influence 
 of imagination than the Canadians are, and make 
 them conjure up half a dozen bleeding sentinels at 
 the top of the precipice every night after sunset. 
 
 At the ferry, the Niagara river is twelve 
 hundred and fifty feet in breadth, and from two 
 to three hundred in depth. The current is very 
 rapid, and the wreathing and perturbed appear¬ 
 ance of the water, shews that its course is much 
 impeded by the narrowness of the channel, which 
 must be entirely composed of rocks; for, other¬ 
 wise, the continual and rapid attrition of such a 
 large river as that which flows through it, would 
 undermine and wear away the banks, and thus 
 gradually enlarge and widen its course. I could 
 not survey this noble stream without awe, when 
 I contrasted it in the state in which it flowed be¬ 
 fore me, with the appearance it has when mingling 
 with the ocean. I recollected having beat about 
 the mouth of the St Lawrence during two days, 
 
75 
 
 and having been alarmed by the prospect of ship¬ 
 wreck, while in the vessel that conveyed me to 
 Lower Canada; but now the waters which form¬ 
 ed the dangerous gulf all passed silently before 
 me, within the narrow limits occupied by the 
 Niagara river. The St Lawrence derives but a 
 small proportion of its torrents from tributary 
 streams, the Ottawa being the only river of great 
 magnitude that joins it. The rivers Chaudiere, 
 Saguenai, Pepechaissinagau, Black River, &c. 
 are trifling indeed, when compared with that in¬ 
 to which they discharge themselves. 
 
 The Niagara river is subject to those periodical 
 alterations in height, which, as I have already 
 mentioned, occur in the lakes. This can be sa¬ 
 tisfactorily proved by the wharfs at Queenston, 
 some of which are five feet higher above the sur¬ 
 face of the river than they were in the year 1817, 
 and also by the water-marks left on the perpen¬ 
 dicular sand-banks near the ferry. 
 
 General Brock was killed at the battle of 
 Queenston heights, and the place where he fell 
 was pointed out to me. The Canadians hold the 
 memory of this brave and excellent man in great 
 veneration, but have not yet attempted to testify 
 their respect for his virtues in any way, except 
 by shewing to strangers the spot on which he re¬ 
 ceived his mortal wound. He was more popu¬ 
 lar, and more beloved by the inhabitants of Up- 
 
76 
 
 per Canada, than any man they ever had among 
 them, and with reason; for he possessed, in an 
 eminent degree, those virtues which add lustre 
 to bravery, and those talents that shine alike in 
 the cabinet and in the field. His manners and 
 dispositions were so conciliating as to gain the 
 affection of all whom he commanded, while his 
 innate nobleness and dignity of mind secured 
 him a respect almost amounting to veneration. 
 He is now styled the Hero of Upper Canada, 
 and, had he lived, there is no doubt but the war 
 would have terminated very differently from 
 what it did. The Canadian farmers are not over- 
 burthened with sensibility, yet I have seen seve¬ 
 ral of them shed tears, when an eulogium was 
 pronounced upon the immortal and generous- 
 minded deliverer of their country. 
 
 General Brock was killed close to the road 
 that leads through Queenston village, and an 
 aged thorn bush now marks the place where he 
 fell, when the fatal ball entered his vitals. This 
 spot may be called classic ground, for a view of 
 it must awaken in the minds of all those who 
 duly appreciate the greatness of his character, and 
 are acquainted with the nature of his resources and 
 exertions, feelings as warm and enthusiastic as the 
 contemplation of monuments consecrated by anti¬ 
 quity can ever do. Oft, at night, have I sat under 
 the thorn tree, when every light in the village was 
 
77 
 
 extinguished, and nature participated in the repose 
 that which sealed the eyes of’ mortals. Then the 
 fire-flies, twinkling among the recesses of the dis¬ 
 tant forests, would be the only objects that exhi¬ 
 bited an appearance of life to the eye; while the 
 Niagara river rolled its sublime tide silently 
 along, and drank, in quiescent luxuriance, the 
 floods of light that were poured upon its bosom 
 by a glorious moon. On one side, the setting 
 stars were struggling with the mists that rose 
 from Lake Ontario; and on the other, clouds of 
 spray, evolved from the mighty cataract, ascend¬ 
 ed majestically to heaven,—sometimes shaping 
 themselves into vast pyramids that resembled 
 snow-capt mountains, and sometimes extending 
 their volumes into phantom-like forms, which 
 imagination might figure to be the presiding 
 genii of the water-fall. 
 
 The last American war forms an important 
 era in the history of Upper Canada, and as 
 such, it is continually referred to by the people, 
 who, when alluding in a general way to the time 
 at which any circumstance occurred, say that it 
 happened before or after the war. The invasion 
 of the Province excited no attention in Europe, 
 or even in Britain, for at the time it took place 
 we were engaged, in conjunction with the great 
 continental powers, in a contest so gigantic and 
 
 6 
 
78 
 
 momentous, that all minor concerns of the same 
 nature were forgotten amidst the anxiety and 
 alarm which the varying anticipations of its result 
 produced on the public mind. However, the 
 hostilities which took place in Upper Canada, 
 although conducted on a small scale, were very 
 interesting in their character, and would furnish 
 excellent materials for a work such as is usually 
 called a Campaign. A warfare carried on in a 
 wild and wooded country, and with the assist¬ 
 ance of Indian allies, is productive of incidents 
 and events, which never occur in an open field 
 of battle, nor during the rencounter of regular 
 troops. 
 
 The bravery of the Canadian militia, which 
 was brilliantly conspicuous on many occasions, 
 has neither been sufficiently known, nor duly ap¬ 
 preciated, on the other side of the Atlantic. The 
 regular troops on foreign service have generally 
 a good opportunity of securing to themselves all 
 the glory that results from a successful campaign, 
 although a part only may belong to them; as 
 they are always inclined to undervalue the ser¬ 
 vices of the militia, and often treat them with 
 contempt and ridicule, merely because they have 
 not been initiated into the minutia; of military 
 discipline and parade. I am aware, that the gal¬ 
 lantry of the native battalions of Upper Canada 
 
79 
 
 has been kept in the back-ground, by this want 
 of generosity which prevails among the regular 
 troops. 
 
 The last war was productive of most injuri¬ 
 ous consequences to the colony, and these have 
 not been counterbalanced by a single advantage, 
 except that the militia now feel a confidence in 
 the efficiency of their arms, which may induce 
 them to take the field with boldness and alacrity, 
 should hostilities again commence. Before the 
 declaration of war took place, Upper Canada was 
 in a state of progressive though slow improve¬ 
 ment, and her inhabitants prudently attempted 
 such exertions only as were proportioned to 
 their means. Agriculture was pursued by all 
 classes, and few thought of enriching themselves 
 by any other occupation. But militia duty ob¬ 
 liged them to abandon their farms, which were 
 of course neglected,—the lands became waste, the 
 cattle were carried away, and the buildings per¬ 
 haps burnt by the enemy. However, the mili¬ 
 tary establishments had brought such an influx 
 of money into the country, that every one forgot 
 his distresses, and thought himself on the high 
 road to wealth, when he found he could sell any 
 thing he possessed for double its real value, and 
 have his pockets stuffed with army bills, as a re¬ 
 compense for some trifling service done to go- 
 
80 
 
 vernment. At this time, the abundance of cir¬ 
 culating medium, and the liberality with which 
 it was expended, induced many people to bring 
 large quantities of goods from Montreal, and re¬ 
 tail stores soon became numerous in every part 
 of the country. As the people continued to buy 
 a great deal, and to pay for a great deal, the mer¬ 
 chants willingly allowed them unlimited cre¬ 
 dit, erroneously supposing that their customers 
 would always be able to discharge their debts, 
 and that the temporary wealth of the Province 
 would continue. But when peace was restored, 
 when the troops were withdrawn, and all mili¬ 
 tary operations suspended, the people soon per¬ 
 ceived that a sad reverse awaited them. They 
 found that the circulation of money gradually 
 decreased, that they could no longer revel upon 
 the bounty of a profuse government, and that 
 they began to grow poorer every day; while the 
 prospect of returning to their ravaged and un¬ 
 cultivated farms afforded but little consolation, 
 as the spirit of industry had been extinguish¬ 
 ed by the lavish manner in which most of 
 them had lived during the war. As a large 
 portion of the live stock which the country con¬ 
 tained had been carried away by the enemy, or 
 consumed by our own troops, the farmers were 
 obliged to purchase cattle from the Americans, 
 
81 
 
 and thus the country was still farther drained of 
 much of the circulating specie, and in a way too 
 that produced no commercial advantages. 
 
 In course of time, the Montreal wholesale 
 merchants began to urge their correspondents 
 in the Upper Province for remittances, which 
 many of the latter could not make; for, on ap¬ 
 plying to those whom they had formerly trusted 
 to a large amount, they found that, with a few ex¬ 
 ceptions, they were alike unable and unwilling 
 to discharge their debts. The country thus 
 fell into a state of embarrassment, which conti¬ 
 nues to increase: most of the merchants have 
 very large outstanding debts, which, if collect¬ 
 ed by means of suits, would ruin two-thirds 
 of the farmers in the Province; and should the 
 Montreal wholesale dealers have recourse to si¬ 
 milar measures, many of their correspondents 
 would become insolvent likewise. Both parties, 
 therefore, judiciously temporize, being satisfied 
 that it is, at present, the most advantageous 
 policy they can pursue. 
 
 The war has thus been the main cause of the 
 present embarrassed and unpromising state of 
 Upper Canada, and produced this effect in three 
 different ways: first it was the means of with¬ 
 drawing the minds of its inhabitants from their 
 usual pursuits and occupations; next it extin¬ 
 guished that steadiness and spirit of industry 
 
 F 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 which had formerly characterized them; and, 
 lastly, it created a temporary wealth in the 
 Province, which induced the people to be lavish 
 in every respect, and contract debts that were al¬ 
 together disproportionate to their means of pay¬ 
 ment. Time has in some degree ameliorated the 
 two first bad effects; but the merchants have 
 been, and will be, the means of perpetuating the 
 last. The number of merchants that Upper 
 Canada contains, and the mode in which they 
 carry on business, are circumstances equally de- 
 tructive to the interests of the colony. Exten¬ 
 sive credit is almost universally given to the 
 farmers, one-tenth of whom have neither inclina¬ 
 tion nor prudence enough to adapt their expen¬ 
 diture to their means; and, as they generally pay 
 and contract debts in an inverse ratio, their diffi¬ 
 culties increase every year, and often at last ter¬ 
 minate in the sale of their property, which some¬ 
 times takes place with the consent of the owner, 
 but oftener in consequence of a suit. If the 
 merchants desisted entirely from selling on credit, 
 it would be equally advantageous for themselves 
 and their customers. The latter might indeed be 
 sometimes put to a little inconvenience, if they 
 wanted to purchase any thing, and had not pro¬ 
 duce or money to pay for it at the time; but this 
 would teach them a habit of economy, which 
 they never can acquire while the present facility 
 
83 
 
 of supplying their wants exists, or as long as 
 their absurd and monstrous vanity remains un¬ 
 checked, and urges them to indulge in luxuries 
 and finery to which their condition in life does 
 not entitle them. Had the farmers of Upper 
 Canada been prevented from getting into debt, 
 and had they remained satisfied with homespun, 
 they would now enjoy, in its fullest extent, that 
 independence which they profess to value so 
 highly, but the substantial part of which they 
 have wholly lost, as there is hardly an indivi¬ 
 dual among them who is not liable to have an 
 execution served against him when it suits the 
 interest of those to whom he is indebted. 
 
 The war has had a most pernicious effect upon 
 the morals of the people, which, I believe, were 
 never very unexceptionable. The presence of a 
 hostile army always enables those who are in- 
 inclined, to commit excesses of every description 
 with impunity; and example is more than 
 usually contagious under such circumstances. 
 Most of the American private soldiers were en¬ 
 tirely destitute of moral principle, or any sense 
 of decency, and often exhibited a wanton and 
 unblushing profligacy, which in Europe would 
 have received chastisement from the law. A 
 good deal of this was communicated to the pea¬ 
 santry of Upper Canada, and the influence of 
 the infection is not yet entirely destroyed. 
 
84 
 
 Lest this dissertation upon the effects of the 
 war should become tiresome, I shall abandon 
 the subject, and take you to visit the Tusco- 
 rora Indians, who have a village on the Ameri¬ 
 can frontier, a few miles from Lewiston. The 
 village consists of seventy or eighty houses, 
 which are built of logs, and extend along a road 
 three miles in length. On reaching the first 
 habitation, I entered it without any ceremony, 
 and found two Indians sitting cross-legged on a 
 bed, smoking tomahawk pipes; they had the 
 most drowsy contented air possible, and hardly 
 took the trouble to turn their eyes upon me. 
 Near them was an old squaw repairing mocas¬ 
 sins, and a young man eating butter-milk and 
 potatoes. Unfortunately, none of the party un¬ 
 derstood English, and I was obliged, after hav¬ 
 ing remained some time in the middle of the 
 floor nearly unnoticed, to proceed to another 
 house. I visited several habitations, and gener¬ 
 ally found their inmates engaged much in the 
 same manner as I have described; the beds, 
 rooms, and kitchen utensils, were all odiously 
 dirty, and none of the families seemed to have ac¬ 
 quired the domestic habits of white people. At 
 last, in one of the huts, I found a woman who spoke 
 English well, and I immediately entered into con¬ 
 versation with her. She informed me that the vil¬ 
 lage contained about two hundred souls, but that 
 
85 
 
 a few months before the population had amount¬ 
 ed to more than three hundred; however, a large 
 number of the inhabitants had removed to the 
 Grand River in consequence of religious dif¬ 
 ferences, so that all who remained were profess¬ 
 ing Christians. “ What prevented the others 
 from receiving the faith ?” said I; “ Oh !” return¬ 
 ed she, “ the same devil, I suppose, that makes 
 the white people live so bad.” “ Were those 
 Indians that left the village very wicked?”— 
 “ Not so very, but they thought the Great Spi¬ 
 rit had made them only to dance, and sing, and 
 hunt, and get drunk, and they never had a 
 Bible in their hands from one month to another; 
 and when we advised them, they were angry, 
 and said they liked their own God best.”—“ I 
 suppose you have none but good people among 
 you now ?”—“ Some of them only pretend to be 
 good; but if they’re not true, it will be the worse 
 for them afterwards.” 
 
 Mr Crane, a missionary, preaches in the Tus- 
 corora village ; but unfortunately he does not un¬ 
 derstand the Indian language, and is consequent¬ 
 ly obliged to use an interpreter. He lias taught 
 many of the inhabitants to read and write, as 
 also to understand the gospel of St John, which 
 is translated into Mohawk, and I am told they 
 are very regular in their attendance at church. 
 
 At the last house I visited, I found the inha- 
 
86 
 
 bitants far advanced in literary attainments. An 
 old man, after inquiring about the state of pub¬ 
 lic affairs in Canada, proceeded to give me a 
 summary of the politics of Europe ; and though 
 he made some very amusing blunders, he show¬ 
 ed that he had read a great many newspapers. 
 One of his sons, with an air of vanity, produced 
 a paper book, in which he had written the vari¬ 
 ous hymns that the missionaries had translated 
 into Indian. I gratified him much by copying 
 part of one, which I annex, and hope you will 
 find it more intelligible than I do !— 
 
 FLORIDA. 
 
 1. 
 
 Nyoh son gwea lea rouh 
 Tak wa ya ta te rist 
 Ne wa-on-ny, nc-fali-liali-lia, 
 
 Kyea-te-ry, ogh-wlien-tsya. 
 
 2 . 
 
 N e-on-gwe-hon-gon-ali 
 Niyoli, ra-goh-son-te 
 Rots-se-noe-ny, ra-on gwea sa 
 Oni-yon-ton-ha-rouli. 
 
 He next directed my attention to some of his 
 drawings, which were ostentatiously pasted upon 
 the walls of the house. One large piece was a re¬ 
 presentation of the battle of Waterloo, and, in 
 consonance with the Indian taste, it exhibited a 
 
 7 
 
87 
 
 great deal of bloodshed and slaughter. Several 
 other of the young artist’s productions were 
 pointed out to my notice, one of which I pur¬ 
 chased, that I might give him more substantial 
 proofs of my admiration than mere praise could 
 bestow. 
 
 The inhabitants of the Tuscorora village pos¬ 
 sess a considerable number of cows and hogs, with 
 a few horses. Some of them have likewise small 
 gardens, but I could not ascertain whence they 
 derived their subsistence, as there is no hunting 
 ground near Lewiston. 
 
 The Indians are far from being stupid, although, 
 to a superficial observer, they have very much 
 that appearance. They are very reserved, scarcely 
 ever speaking to the white people, except when 
 spoken to; and it is difficult to excite in them any 
 kind of emotion, for they conceive it a piece of 
 weakness to be affected by astonishment, joy, or 
 anxiety. They slumber away a great part of their 
 lives, sitting with legs crossed, smoking their 
 pipes, and, I suppose, building castles in the air. 
 
 The prospect from the top of Queenston moun¬ 
 tain is the finest and most extensive that Upper 
 Canada affords, and, in an eminent degree, com¬ 
 bines the beautiful and the magnificent. The 
 wild and majestic precipices which engulf one part 
 of the Niagara river, the windings and mirrored 
 expanse of that noble body of water, the dim and 
 
88 
 
 undiscoverable extent of Lake Ontario, together 
 with the verdant orchards, thick forests, and im¬ 
 proved fields, glowing beneath a pure sky, collec¬ 
 tively form a scene of admirable effect and com¬ 
 position. Even York, which is thirty-six miles 
 distant, and lies very low, can be seen from the 
 summit of this hill during clear weather. 
 
 The road towards Niagara Falls leaves the 
 bank of the river a little way above Queenston, 
 and winds through a country more beautiful, 
 cultivated, and inviting, than any other part of 
 the Province. The farms here having been long 
 occupied, are well cleared; and the road being 
 excellent, and enlivened with a close succession 
 of houses, the whole scene presents an aspect 
 somewhat civilized and comfortable. This por¬ 
 tion of Upper Canada, from its comparatively 
 liigh state of cultivation, its nearness to the fron¬ 
 tier, and its other local advantages, forms a more 
 agreeable place of residence than is to be met 
 with any where around. 
 
 About four miles above Queenston, there is a 
 singular and interesting part of the Niagara river, 
 called the Whirlpool. The banks here are ex¬ 
 tremely high and perpendicular; and, in addi¬ 
 tion to the natural channel, the current of the 
 river has formed a semicircular excavation in 
 them resembling a small bay. The mouth of it 
 is more than a thousand feet wide, and its length 
 
89 
 
 about two thousand. The current, which is ex¬ 
 tremely rapid, whenever it reaches the upper 
 point of this bay, forsakes the direct channel, and 
 sweeps wildly round the sides of it; when, having 
 made this extraordinary circuit, it regains its pro¬ 
 per course, and rushes with perturbed velocity 
 between two perpendicular precipices, which are 
 not more than four hundred feet asunder. The 
 surface of the whirlpool is in a state of conti¬ 
 nual agitation. The water boils, mantles up, and 
 wreathes, in a manner that proves its fearful 
 depth and the confinement it suffers; as trees, 
 that come within the sphere of the current, are 
 swept along with a quivering zig-zag motion 
 which it is difficult to describe. This singular 
 body of water must be several hundred feet deep, 
 and has not hitherto been frozen over, although in 
 spring the broken ice that descends from Lake 
 Erie collects in such quantities upon its surface, 
 and becomes so closely wedged together, that it 
 resists the current, and remains till warm weather 
 breaks it up. The whirlpool is one of the greatest 
 natural curiosities in the Upper Province, and is 
 the more interesting to the mind, as its forma¬ 
 tion cannot be rationally accounted for. 
 
 While examining this singular spot, a heavy 
 shower of rain came on, which obliged me to take 
 shelter under a projecting cliff. Terrific thun¬ 
 der and vivid lightning soon began to accompany 
 
90 
 
 the torrent which poured from the clouds, and I 
 felt much alarmed, never having before witness¬ 
 ed a storm so violent and appalling. A strong 
 wind tossed about the trees that grew near the 
 banks of the river, sometimes bending them to 
 such a degree, that their boughs lashed the water, 
 and sometimes bringingthe branches so suddenly 
 into collision, that they were thereby shattered 
 against each other. A host of black clouds at first 
 covered the sky; but in a few minutes a great por¬ 
 tion of it was unveiled in that state of transparent 
 and dewy brightness which often succeeds a storm, 
 and two rainbows,—resplendent heralds of peace 
 among the elements,—soon appeared. But the 
 other parts of the heavens continued dark and 
 lowering as ever, while flashes of forked lightning 
 darted over them in rapid succession, till a sud¬ 
 den change of the wind altered the disposition of 
 the clouds with astonishing celerity, and convey¬ 
 ed the tempest to that part of the firmament 
 where the calm had formerly been. This was 
 repeated twice or thrice in the course of half an 
 hour, so that the contrasts which the sky exhibited 
 during this time were brilliant, unexpected, and 
 interesting, beyond all description. 
 
LETTER VII. 
 
 Niagara Falls-Different views of them—View from the Tabic 
 Rock—Rainbows—A bold experiment—Appearance of the 
 sheet of water—Noise—Difficult road to the bottom of the 
 cataract—A perilous attempt there—View from the river 
 under the cataract—American Fall—Dimensions of the Falls 
 —People carried over them—Anecdote of an Indian—Wild 
 ducks—Visit to Manchester—Mr Porter’s bridge above the 
 Falls—Goat Island—Speculations—Rapids of the Niagara 
 river. 
 
 Now that I propose to attempt a description of 
 the Falls of Niagara, I feel myself threatened 
 with a return of those throbs of trembling ex¬ 
 pectation, which agitated me on my first visit to 
 these stupendous cataracts, and to which every 
 person of the least sensibility is liable, when he 
 is on the eve of seeing any thing that has strongly 
 excited his curiosity, or powerfully affected his 
 imagination. I fear I will not be able to convey 
 a correct idea of the scene I mean to describe. 
 Yet, anxious as I am that you should have just 
 conceptions of it, I would not, willingly, have 
 accepted your company, when I first visited 
 Niagara Falls;—as any object that did not enter 
 into the real composition of the mighty scene, 
 would have proved a source of painful interrup- 
 
92 
 
 tion to me while engaged in contemplating its 
 magnificent features. 
 
 The form of Niagara Falls is that of an irre¬ 
 gular semicircle, about three quarters of a mile 
 in extent. This is divided into two distinct cas¬ 
 cades, by the intervention of Goat Island, the 
 extremity of which is perpendicular, and in a 
 line with the precipice over which the water is 
 projected. The cataract on the Canada side of 
 the river is called the Horse-shoe, or Great Fall, 
 from its peculiar form,—and that next the United 
 States the American Fall. 
 
 Three extensive views of the Falls may be ob¬ 
 tained from three different places. In general, the 
 first opportunity travellers have of seeing the cata¬ 
 ract is from the high-road, which, at one point, lies 
 near the bank of the river. This place, however, 
 being considerably above the level of the Falls, 
 and a good way beyond them, affords a view 
 that is comparatively imperfect and unimposing. 
 
 The Table Rock, from which the Falls of 
 Niagara may be contemplated in all their gran¬ 
 deur, lies on an exact level with the edge of the 
 cataract, on the Canada side, and, indeed, forms 
 a part of the precipice over which the water 
 gushes. It derives its name from the circum¬ 
 stance of its projecting beyond the cliffs that 
 support it like the leaf of a table. To gain this 
 position, it is necessary to descend a steep 
 
93 
 
 bank, and to follow a path that winds among 
 shrubbery and trees, which entirely conceal from 
 the eye the scene that awaits him who traverses 
 it. When near the termination of this road, a 
 few steps carried me beyond all these obstruc¬ 
 tions, and a magnificent amphitheatre of cata¬ 
 racts burst upon my view with appalling sudden¬ 
 ness and majesty. However, in a moment the 
 scene was concealed from my eyes by a dense 
 cloud of spray, which involved me so complete¬ 
 ly, that I did not dare to extricate myself. A 
 mingled rushing and thundering filled my ears. 
 I could see nothing except when the wind made 
 a chasm in the spray, and then tremendous cata¬ 
 racts seemed to encompass me on every side, 
 while below, a raging and foamy gulf of undisco- 
 verable extent lashed the rocks with its hissing 
 waves, and swallowed, under a horrible obscu¬ 
 rity, the smoking floods that were precipitated 
 into its bosom. 
 
 At first, the sky was obscured by clouds, but 
 after a few minutes the sun burst forth, and the 
 breeze subsiding at the same time, permitted the 
 spray to ascend perpendicularly. A host of py¬ 
 ramidal clouds rose majestically, one after an¬ 
 other, from the abyss at the bottom of the Fall; 
 and each, when it had ascended a little above the 
 edge of the cataract, displayed a beautiful rain¬ 
 bow, which in a few moments was gradually 
 
94 
 
 transferred into the bosom of the cloud that im¬ 
 mediately succeeded. The spray of the Great 
 Fall had extended itself through a wide space 
 directly over me, and, receiving the full influence 
 of the sun, exhibited a luminous and magnificent 
 rainbow, which continued to over-arch and irra¬ 
 diate the spot on which I stood, while I enthu¬ 
 siastically contemplated the indescribable scene. 
 
 Any person, who has nerve enough (as I had), 
 may plunge his hand into the water of the Great 
 Fall after it is projected over the precipice, mere¬ 
 ly by lying down flat, with his face beyond 
 the edge of the Table Rock, and stretching out 
 his arm to its utmost extent. The experiment 
 is truly a horrible one, and such as I would not 
 wish to repeat; for, even to this day, I feel a 
 shuddering and recoiling sensation when 1 recol¬ 
 lect having been in the posture above described. 
 
 The body of water which composes the middle 
 part of the Great Fall is so immense, that it de¬ 
 scends nearly two-thirds of the space without be¬ 
 ing ruffled or broken, and the solemn calmness 
 with which it rolls over the edge of the precipice is 
 finely contrasted with the perturbed appearance 
 it assumes after having reached the gulf below. 
 But the water towards each side of the Fall is 
 shattered the moment it drops over the rock, 
 and loses as it descends, in a great measure, the 
 character of a fluid, being divided into pyra- 
 
95 
 
 midal-sliaped fragments, the bases of which are 
 turned upwards. The surface of the gulf below 
 the cataract presents a very singular aspect; seem¬ 
 ing, as it were, filled with an immense quan¬ 
 tity of hoar frost, which is agitated by small 
 and rapid undulations. The particles of water 
 are dazzlingly white, and do not apparently unite 
 together, as might be supposed, but seem to con¬ 
 tinue for a time in a state of distinct comminu¬ 
 tion, and to repel each other with a thrilling and 
 shivering motion which cannot easily be described. 
 
 The noise made by the Horse-shoe Fall, though 
 very great, is infinitely less than might be ex¬ 
 pected, and varies in loudness according to the 
 state of the atmosphere. When the weather is 
 clear and frosty, it may be distinctly heard at 
 the distance of ten or twelve miles; nay much 
 further when there is a steady breeze: but 1 
 have frequently stood upon the declivity of the 
 high bank that overlooks the Table Rock, and 
 distinguished a low thundering only, which at 
 times was altogether drowned amidst the roar¬ 
 ing of the Rapids above the cataract. In my 
 opinion, the concave shape of the Great Fall ex¬ 
 plains this circumstance. The noise vibrates 
 from one side of the rocky recess to the other, 
 and a little only escapes from its confinement, 
 and even this is less distinctly heard than it 
 would otherwise be, as the profusion of spray 
 
96 
 
 renders the air near the cataract a very indiffer¬ 
 ent conductor of sound. 
 
 The road to the bottom of the Fall presents 
 many more difficulties than that which leads to 
 the Table Rock. After leaving the Table Rock, 
 the traveller must proceed down the river nearly 
 half a mile, where he will come to a small chasm in 
 the bank, in which there is a spiral staircase en¬ 
 closed in a wooden building. By descending this 
 stair, which is seventy or eighty feet perpendicu¬ 
 lar height, he will find himself under the preci¬ 
 pice on the top of which he formerly walked. 
 A high but sloping bank extends from its base 
 to the edge of the river; and on the summit of 
 this there is a narrow slippery path, covered with 
 angular fragments of rock, which leads to the 
 Great Fall. The impending cliffs, hung with a 
 profusion of trees and brushwood, over-arch this 
 road, and seem to vibrate with the thunders of 
 the cataract. In some places they rise abruptly 
 to the height of one hundred feet, and display 
 upon their surfaces, fossil shells, and the organic 
 remains of a former world; thus sublimely lead¬ 
 ing the mind to contemplate the convulsions 
 which nature has undergone since the creation. 
 As the traveller advances, he is frightfully stun¬ 
 ned by the appalling noise; for clouds of spray 
 sometimes envelope him, and suddenly check his 
 faltering steps,—rattlesnakes start from the cavi- 
 
97 
 
 ties of the rocks, and the scream of eagles soar¬ 
 ing among the whirlwinds of eddying vapour, 
 which obscure the gulf of the cataract, at inter¬ 
 vals announce that the raging waters have hurled 
 some bewildered animal over the precipice. After 
 scrambling among piles of huge rocks that ob¬ 
 struct his way, the traveller gains the bottom of 
 the Fall, where the soul can be susceptible only 
 of one emotion, viz. that of uncontrollable terror. 
 
 It was not until I had, by frequent excursions 
 to the Falls, in some measure familiarized my 
 mind with their sublimities, that I ventured to 
 explore the penetralia of the Great Cataract. The 
 precipice over which it rolls is very much arched 
 underneath ; while the impetus which the water 
 receives in its descent projects it far beyond the 
 cliff, and thus an immense Gothic arch is form¬ 
 ed by the rock and the torrent. Twice I en¬ 
 tered this cavern, and twice I was obliged to 
 retrace my steps, lest I should be suffocated by 
 the blasts of dense spray that whirled around 
 me ; however, the third time I succeeded in ad¬ 
 vancing about twenty-five yards. Here dark¬ 
 ness began to encircle me; on one side, the black 
 cliff stretched itself into a gigantic arch far above 
 my head, and on the other, the dense and hissing 
 torrent formed an impenetrable sheet of foam, 
 with which I was drenched in a moment. The 
 rocks were so slippery, that I could hardly keep 
 
 G 
 
98 
 
 my feet, or hold securely by them; while the 
 horrid din made me think the precipices above 
 were tumbling down in colossal fragments upon 
 my head. 
 
 It is not easy to determine how far an indi¬ 
 vidual might advance between the sheet of water 
 and the rock; but were it even possible to ex¬ 
 plore the recess to its utmost extremity, scarcely 
 any one, I believe, would have courage to at¬ 
 tempt an expedition of the kind. 
 
 A little way below the Great Fall, the river 
 is, comparatively speaking, so tranquil, that a 
 ferry-boat plies between the Canada and Ame¬ 
 rican shores, for the convenience of travellers. 
 When I first crossed, the heaving flood tossed 
 about the skiff with a violence that seemed very 
 alarming; but as soon as we gained the middle 
 of the river, my attention was altogether engag¬ 
 ed by the surpassing grandeur of the scene be¬ 
 fore me. I was now within the area of a semi¬ 
 circle of cataracts, more than three thousand feet 
 in extent, and floated on the surface of a gulf, 
 raging, fathomless, and interminable. Majestic 
 cliffs, splendid rainbows, lofty trees, and columns 
 of spray were the gorgeous decorations of this 
 theatre of wonders, while a dazzling sun shed re¬ 
 fulgent glories upon every part of the scene.— 
 Surrounded with clouds of vapour, and stunned 
 into a state of confusion and terror by the hide- 
 
99 
 
 ous noise, I looked upwards to the height of 
 one hundred and fifty feet, and saw vast floods, 
 dense, awful, and stupendous, vehemently burst¬ 
 ing over the precipice, and rolling down, as if 
 the windows of heaven were opened to pour 
 another deluge upon the earth. Loud sounds, 
 resembling discharges of artillery or volcanic ex¬ 
 plosions, were now distinguishable amidst the 
 watery tumult, and added terrors to the abyss 
 from which they issued. The sun, looking ma¬ 
 jestically through the ascending spray, was en¬ 
 circled by a radiant halo; whilst fragments of rain¬ 
 bows floated on every side, and momentarily va¬ 
 nished only to give place to a succession of 
 others more brilliant. Looking backwards, I 
 saw the Niagara river, again become calm and 
 tranquil, rolling magnificently between the tower¬ 
 ing cliffs that rose on either side, and receiving 
 showers of orient dew-drops from the trees that 
 gracefully over-arched its transparent bosom. 
 A gentle breeze ruffled the waters, and beauti¬ 
 ful birds fluttered around, as if to welcome its 
 egress from those clouds of spray, accompanied 
 by thunders and rainbows, which were the he¬ 
 ralds of its precipitation into the abyss of the ca¬ 
 taract. 
 
 The American Fall, which it is quite unne¬ 
 cessary to describe, is higher than the Horse¬ 
 shoe, its pitch being 164 feet; however, the 
 
100 
 
 quantity of water which rolls over is not nearly 
 so great as in the former. Here, as on the Ca¬ 
 nada side, there is a wooden staircase, by which 
 the most nervous and timid person may descend 
 to the bottom of the cataract with ease and safety. 
 
 The Niagara Falls appear to the observer of 
 a magnitude inferior to what they really are, 
 because the objects surrounding do not bear a 
 due proportion to them. The river, cliffs, and 
 trees, are on a comparatively small scale, and 
 add little to the composition or grandeur of the 
 scene; therefore, he who contemplates the cata¬ 
 racts unconsciously reduces them to such dimen¬ 
 sions as correspond with those of the contiguous 
 objects; thus divesting one part of the scene of a 
 good deal of its magnificence, without communi¬ 
 cating any additional grandeur to the other. 
 
 The extent of the Falls has never been cor¬ 
 rectly ascertained, as, indeed, their peculiar form, 
 and several other circumstances, render this 
 impossible. The height of the great Fall, as 
 taken with a plumb-line by some engineers 
 from the United States, was found to be 149 feet 
 9 inches. Its curve is supposed to extend 2100 
 feet, and its arc may measure nearly half that 
 space. The breadth of Goat Island, which di¬ 
 vides the two cataracts, has been found to be 
 984 feet, and that of the American Fall 1140 
 feet. Therefore the whole circumference of the 
 
101 
 
 precipice over which the cataracts fall is 4224 feet, 
 and the width of the cataract itself 3240 feet. 
 At one time, the Table Rock extended fifty feet 
 beyond the cliffs that support it, but its projec¬ 
 tion is not so great at present. 
 
 There have been several instances of people 
 being carried over the Falls, but I believe none 
 of the bodies ever were found. The rapidity of 
 the river, before it tumbles down the precipice, 
 is so great, that a human body would certainly be 
 whirled along without sinking; therefore, some of 
 those individuals to whom I allude, probably re¬ 
 tained their senses till they reached the edge of 
 the cataract, and even looked down upon the gulf 
 into which they were the next moment preci¬ 
 pitated. 
 
 Many years ago, an Indian, while attempting 
 to cross the river above the Falls, in a canoe, had 
 his paddle struck from liis hands by the rapidity 
 of the current. He was immediately hurried to¬ 
 wards the cataract, and, seeing that death was 
 inevitable, he covered his head with his cloak, 
 and resigned himself to destruction. However, 
 when he approached the edge of the cataract, 
 shuddering nature revolted so strongly, that he 
 was seen to start up and stretch out his arms; 
 but the canoe up|et, and he was instant¬ 
 ly ingulfed amidst the fury of the boiling 
 surge. A dog, which I have seen, was carried 
 
102 
 
 over the Great Fall some years ago, and suffered 
 no injury except the fracture of two of his ribs. 
 Dead wild-ducks are found in great numbers 
 along the banks of the river, near the bottom of 
 the cataract, on the mornings that succeed dark 
 and stormy nights. Some people suppose that 
 these animals are carried over while asleep; but 
 more probably they get entangled among the Ra¬ 
 pids above, and are swept away before they are 
 aware of their danger. 
 
 The country around Niagara Falls is thick¬ 
 ly inhabited, exquisitely beautiful, and in a 
 high state of cultivation ; and there are several 
 houses very near the cataract. One, which be¬ 
 longs to Samuel Street, Esq., is but a short dis¬ 
 tance above the Table Rock, and within a few 
 yards of the magnificent Rapids of the Niagara 
 river. On an eminence, a little way beyond 
 this, stands the residence of the Honourable 
 Thomas Clark, which overlooks the Great Fall, 
 the Rapids, Goat Island, with a considerable part 
 of the river, and commands a prospect beyond 
 all dispute the most sublime and romantic in 
 the world. 
 
 I shall now give you a cursory account of the 
 visit I made to Manchester, that I might survey 
 the bridge which was lately erected there, under 
 the auspices of that public spirit and enterprise 
 which eminently distinguish the Honourable 
 
10 .*? 
 
 Augustus Porter. I crossed the ferry at Queen- 
 ston, and undertook the journey on foot, that I 
 might have a full opportunity of examining the 
 banks of the Niagara river from the latter place 
 to the Falls. Goat Island lies about a thousand 
 feet from the American shore, and such is the 
 velocity of the current between the two banks, 
 that most people would consider the scheme 
 of raising a bridge there altogether chimerical, 
 were not the thing already effected. Mr Porter 
 first placed his bridge near the upper extremity 
 of the island, but the ice destroyed it; however, 
 he soon, with admirable spirit and perseverance, 
 commenced another on a better plan, and in a 
 more advantageous situation. This structure, 
 which is now completed, combines, in an emi¬ 
 nent degree, both strength and simplicity. Each 
 of the piers is formed of a very strong wooden 
 box, filled with large stones and gravel, sunk in 
 the river, upon which is placed the body of the 
 bridge, consisting of plank, and sufficiently 
 strong and wide to admit carriages of any de¬ 
 scription. The greatest depth of water under it 
 is about seven feet, and the velocity of the cur¬ 
 rent perhaps exceeds eighteen knots an hour. 
 
 Goat Island contains about seventy acres of 
 excellent soil, and is covered with fine timber. 
 A carriage road winds round it, from which 
 
104 
 
 small paths diverge, leading to those parts of 
 its rocky shores, where the different aspects of 
 the Falls and Rapids may be viewed to most ad¬ 
 vantage. The beauties of this island are equally 
 numerous and enchanting—the variety of pro¬ 
 spect it affords is indescribable—the luxuriance 
 and verdure which crown its banks bespeak a pa¬ 
 radise ; while the wild flowers that adorn them, 
 and are nourished by the spray of the cataract, 
 appear to possess a fragrance and a beauty altoge¬ 
 ther peculiar and exquisite. Oft-times volumes 
 of snow-white vapour, among which the prismatic 
 colours appear with changeful lustre, float along 
 the cliffs of the island, gloriously enveloping them 
 in the effulgence of Heaven, and, as it were, iso¬ 
 lating the terrestrial elysium which they encircle 
 in the bosom of clouds, lest its delights should 
 become common to the rest of the world. 
 
 That the Falls of Niagara were at one time 
 much lower down the river than they are at pre¬ 
 sent, is a fact which can be proved alike by 
 reason and observation. The rapidity with 
 which the continual attrition of a large body of 
 water wears away the hardest rocks is known 
 to every one, and has been exemplified in the 
 changes which Niagara Falls have undergone, 
 both in form and position, during the short time 
 they have been under the observation of civilized 
 
105 
 
 beings. Most of the oldest inhabitants of Upper 
 Canada agree in their statements respecting^the 
 alteration which has taken place in the shape of 
 the Great or Horse-shoe Cataract, within* their 
 recollection. It now indeed bears no resemblance 
 whatever to a horse-shoe, being an irregular con¬ 
 cave, with a deep indentation towards its centre. 
 Not more than forty or forty-five years have 
 elapsed since Europeans first began to settle near 
 the Falls; and, consequently, we possess no au¬ 
 thentic information about them previous to that 
 time. However, the Iroquois, a formidable and 
 warlike nation of Indians, occupied the country 
 around the head of Lake Ontario for a long pe¬ 
 riod before 1763, when Canada was ceded to 
 Britain; and it has often occurred to me, that if 
 some one would make inquiry among the exist¬ 
 ing remnant of that tribe, he would probably 
 discover various traditions that might enable us 
 to ascertain where the Falls were situated several 
 centuries ago. 
 
 The Falls could not possibly have been farther 
 down the river than Queenston (which is seven 
 miles below their present site), for the pitch or 
 elevation which occasions them begins there, and 
 is called the Mountain. That their site was at 
 this place, seems highly probable from several 
 circumstances. The precipices, which form the 
 two sides of the river, have a close resemblance to 
 
106 
 
 each other in form and outline, and the eleva¬ 
 tions of their respective strata exactly corre¬ 
 spond. The cliffs, in many places, bear distinct 
 marks of the agency of water, sixty or seventy 
 feet above the present level of the river, and are, 
 in a great measure, destitute of that roughness, 
 and those projecting points, which always cha¬ 
 racterize rocks that have been disunited by a 
 convulsion of nature. At Queenston Ferry, the 
 river is at least one hundred feet deeper than any 
 where below, and there the basin of the cataracts 
 must have been originally, if they ever were so 
 far below their present situation, as it is reason¬ 
 able to suppose they must once have been. 
 
 In the course of a few centuries Niagara Falls 
 will probably desert Goat Island, and, by wearing 
 away the rocks around, leave it isolated in the 
 midst of the river, as a colossal pillar, carved by 
 the resistless hands of nature, and a splendid and 
 astonishing monument, from which posterity, by 
 turning to the records of the present day, may 
 learn what progress the cataracts have made to¬ 
 wards Lake Erie, within a certain period of time. 
 When they have worked their way through 
 twenty miles of rock, and reached the mouth of 
 this Lake (if it is allowable even to speculate up¬ 
 on the possibility of such an event), a total change 
 will take place in their form. The largest body 
 of water being always towards the centre of the 
 
107 
 
 cataract, will, by its comparatively greater attri¬ 
 tion, make the precipice assume a concave form, 
 similar to what it has at present in the Great 
 Fall; and as Lake Erie is not confined within a 
 narrow channel, like the Niagara river, but ex¬ 
 tends over a large surface, its waters will not be 
 forced over the precipice in a body, but con¬ 
 tinue to cover nearly the same space that they 
 occupy at present near its mouth, and thus form 
 a cataract of immense width. However, the tor¬ 
 rent towards the centre of the Fall, wearing 
 away the rock with much rapidity, will, as it 
 progresses, gradually cut a deep and narrow 
 channel, in the bottom of which the Niagara 
 river will run; while over the perpendicular cliffs 
 that form the sides of this natural canal, the 
 water that lies towards the shores of Lake Erie 
 will pour, and create a vista of cataracts, perhaps 
 a quarter of a mile long, terminated at its upper 
 extremity by a fall of superior grandeur and 
 beauty. 
 
 The Niagara river above the Falls is three 
 quarters of a mile broad, and its Rapids make a 
 near approach to them in magnificence. Be¬ 
 tween the head of the Rapids and the pitch, a dis¬ 
 tance of more than a mile, there is a descent of 
 fifty-six feet. The river rushes with terrific and 
 ungovernable impetuosity through a channel 
 composed of rugged rocks, and is converted, by 
 
10$ 
 
 the resistance it meets with, into an expanse of 
 foam, which stretches almost from shore to shore, 
 and, during sunshine, presents an appearance 
 dazzling and beautiful beyond expression. On 
 looking up the river, the descent is so percepti¬ 
 ble, that the upper part of the Rapids meets the 
 horizon; while a fierce and raging torrent, the 
 source of which lies beyond the view, is seen to 
 hurl its perturbed and tumultuous waters with a 
 wildness that would almost seem to prepare them 
 for the horrible comminution they are soon to un¬ 
 dergo. Towards the verge of this flood, large 
 jets of spray start up from among the bristling 
 billows, like distant water-spouts upon a stormy 
 ocean. For a little way above the edge of the 
 cataract, the dense expanse of water glides silent¬ 
 ly along, and then suddenly disappearing, a 
 thick and ascending cloud is seen in its place, 
 while a loud rushing and hollow murmurs con¬ 
 vey to the affrighted imagination an idea of the 
 fearful tumult that goes on below. 
 
 I must confess, that after I had completed my 
 first deliberate survey of the Falls and Rapids, I 
 felt, I may almost say relieved, when I got out 
 of sight of these wonders of nature, the vastness 
 and sublimity of which create such vivid emo¬ 
 tions, that the mind is absolutely fatigued by a 
 long survey of them. On this account, the cata¬ 
 racts of Niagara form a scene with which one 
 
109 
 
 would not wish to become very familiar, nor to 
 contemplate very frequently. The more domestic 
 and unobtrusive features of nature are infinitely 
 better adapted for daily observation, and afford a 
 more quiet and unmingled kind of enjoyment, 
 than those I have been now describing. 
 
LETTER VIII. 
 
 Scenery above the Falls—Curious mineral spring—Village of 
 Chippowa—Merchants there—Mode of carrying on business 
 •—Scarcity of specie—Barter injurious to honesty—Mouth of 
 Lake Erie—Ferry—Town of Buffalo—Lake Erie—Excur- 
 eion along its shores—Candiaan taverns—Sugar-loaf country 
 —Frog concert—Extraordinary scene at a cottage—Banks 
 of the lake—Wild vines—Story of an Indian woman and 
 child—Grand River Ouse—Naval post there—Lands belong- 
 ing tothe Mohawks—Night scene upon Lake Erie—Interest¬ 
 ing Indian. 
 
 A little way above the Falls, the Niagara 
 river expands into a breadth of two miles, and 
 flows with such a gentle current and placid 
 smoothness, that it resembles a small lake. The 
 American shore is covered with trees, but is un¬ 
 enlivened by houses or inhabitants; while the 
 mingled murmur of the Rapids and cataracts, 
 and the occasional shriek of the wild-duck, are 
 alone heard by him who contemplates the scene; 
 which appears the more delightful, in conse¬ 
 quence of its meeting the eye of the traveller 
 immediately after he has been stunned and as¬ 
 tonished by the grandeur of the Falls. Thus, 
 two aspects of nature, one the most terrific and 
 tumultuous, the other the most composing and 
 
Ill 
 
 quiet, are to be found within the short compass 
 of a mile, individually forming a contrast equally 
 agreeable and unanticipated. 
 
 Here there is a mineral spring, which issues 
 from the ground, and emits sulphurated hydro¬ 
 gen gas in great quantities. The gas is so pure; 
 that it will take fire, and burn for some time, if a 
 lighted candle is merely applied near the sur¬ 
 face of the water. The proprietor of the spring 
 has placed a reservoir and tube over it, that he 
 may be the better able to exhibit the phenome¬ 
 non of its inflammability to persons who visit the 
 spot. I had no opportunity of analyzing either 
 the gas, or the water from which it is disengag¬ 
 ed, or of ascertaining what effects the latter pro¬ 
 duced upon the human system. 
 
 At a little distance beyond this, and at the 
 mouth of the river AVelland, which disem¬ 
 bogues into the Niagara, stands the village of 
 Chippowa, containing some neat houses, and 
 about one hundred and fifty inhabitants. It 
 has the same relative situation as Queenston, 
 being at the upper extremity of the portage oc¬ 
 casioned by the Falls, and having the additional 
 advantage of lying on the banks of a navigable 
 stream, which affords an easy means of com¬ 
 munication with a fertile, but partially improv¬ 
 ed tract of country. The Welland, or Chippo¬ 
 wa, is three hundred feet broad at its mouth, and 
 
112 
 
 averages in depth from eight to twelve feet, for 
 more than thirty miles lip. Its banks are cov¬ 
 ered with excellent timber, large quantities of 
 which are annually floated down to supply 
 Messrs Clark and Street’s saw-mill near the 
 Falls. This river, having scarcely any current 
 except when swelled by rains, is admirably 
 adapted for steam-boat navigation ; but many 
 years must elapse before the trade and popula¬ 
 tion of the neighbouring country will render 
 vessels of this kind necessary. 
 
 The village of Chippowa contains a number 
 of merchants, who supply the inhabitants of the 
 surrounding country with goods of every de¬ 
 scription, and receive produce in payment. All 
 mercantile business throughout the Province, 
 but particularly in the western parts, is carried 
 on by means of barter; circulating medium being 
 so scarce, that it cannot be obtained in exchange 
 for almost any thing. The causes of this defi¬ 
 ciency are very obvious ; Upper Canada receives 
 tlie various commodities she requires from the 
 United States, or from the Lower Province, and 
 she must pay money for every thing she buys 
 from the Americans, they having a superabun¬ 
 dance of flour, pork, and every kind of produce 
 which she Could give in exchange. Thus, almost 
 all the commercial transactions that take place be¬ 
 tween Upper Canada and the United States are 
 
113 
 
 the means of drawing specie from the former 
 country, and this specie of course never returns 
 to the inhabitants of the Province under any 
 form whatever. Again, the retail merchants 
 send all the money they receive to Montreal, 
 to pay the debts they have contracted there; or, 
 if they do retain any in their own hands, the 
 country is not benefited, for they never put it in¬ 
 to circulation. The only channel through which 
 a regular influx of money took place was by the 
 sale of flour; but this is now stopped, as that ar¬ 
 ticle has of late brought no price in Lower Ca¬ 
 nada ; and those persons in the Upper Province 
 who used to buy it up, and speculate upon it, 
 can no longer do so with profit or advantage to 
 themselves. Formerly, the farmers received cash 
 for their w r heat, because Montreal and Quebec 
 then afforded a ready market; but things are now 
 altered, and the agriculturist rarely gets money 
 for any kind of home produce, in consequence of 
 its being unsaleable abroad. 
 
 Specie becomes daily more scarce, and will con¬ 
 tinue to decrease in quantity, until a European 
 war with America creates a market for the pro¬ 
 duce of Upper Canada. The inhabitants are 
 continually wishing that the Province may again 
 become the scene of hostilities, not aware that in 
 consequence of this the necessary influx of circu¬ 
 lating medium would be as temporary as it for- 
 
 H 
 
114 
 
 merly was, and that the return of peace would be 
 followed by a crisis infinitely more disastrous than 
 any that has yet occurred in the Province. The 
 scarcity of specie is indeed a circumstance highly 
 injurious to the interests of the colony. The farm¬ 
 er is discouraged from raising grain or making 
 agricultural improvements,—mechanics and ar- 
 tizans cannot prosecute their labours with ad¬ 
 vantage,—and the merchants are obliged to im¬ 
 poverish and oppress the people by exorbitant 
 charges. 
 
 The system of barter which exists in the Pro¬ 
 vince, has a very injurious effect upon the cha¬ 
 racter of the peasantry. It necessarily affords 
 many opportunities of cheating to those who are 
 inclined; and I lament to say, that the mass of 
 the inhabitants have more or less of this propen¬ 
 sity, which they endeavour to palliate and con¬ 
 ceal under the term of “ taking advantage,” and 
 exercise without injury to their reputations; for, 
 in Upper Canada, a man is thought dishonest 
 only when his knavery carries him beyond the 
 bounds prescribed by the law. Various kinds of 
 deception may be practised by the parties buy¬ 
 ing and selling, when barter is the medium of 
 exchange. A dollar, for instance, has a specific 
 value, and cannot possibly be made to appear 
 worth more or less than it really is; but other 
 exchangeable articles vary continually, as far as 
 
115 
 
 respects value and quality, both of which points 
 must often be solely decided by the judgment 
 of him who proposes to receive them in barter. 
 The ignorant and inexperienced are thus daily 
 exposed to the knavery and deceit of those who 
 think there is no harm in taking advantage. 
 
 The road to the mouth of Lake Erie closely 
 follows the windings of the Niagara river, which 
 continues very beautiful, and increases in rapidity 
 as you approach its source. During summer it 
 is generally enlivened by batteaux and Durham 
 boats, many of which are daily engaged in the 
 conveyance of goods and military stores from 
 Chippowa to Fort Erie. The road is bordered 
 by farms, which are in a state of tolerable culti¬ 
 vation, and chiefly belong to Dutch people, who 
 retain unimpaired their national characteristics, 
 by rejecting all innovations and instructions as 
 vehemently as the Chinese. 
 
 Two miles below the mouth of Lake Erie 
 there is a ferry, which forms the main channel of 
 communication between Upper Canada and the 
 United States. Near it, and on the American 
 frontier, stands the village of Buffalo, which con¬ 
 tains a great many neat houses, well-furnished 
 shops, with an active and increasing population. 
 The villages on the American frontier indeed 
 form a striking contrast with those on the Cana¬ 
 dian side. There, bustle, improvement, and ani- 
 
116 . 
 
 mation, fill every street; here, dulness, decay, and 
 apathy, discourage enterprise and repress exertion. 
 It is said, that not one-tenth part of the houses 
 in Buffalo are paid for, and that the greater 
 number of these are already mortgaged. But of 
 what importance are the embarrassments of a few 
 individuals, if society in general derives advantage 
 from the circumstances which occasioned them ? 
 The Americans build houses and make improve¬ 
 ments entirely for the benefit of posterity, as 
 they generally engage in speculations so dispro- 
 portioned to their means, that ruin and insol¬ 
 vency overtake them before they can realize 
 what they have projected, or enjoy what they 
 have accomplished. 
 
 Lake Erie is two hundred and forty-six miles 
 long, and sixty broad at its widest part. The 
 depth averages from fifteen to eighteen fathoms 
 over its whole extent, and, in consequence of this 
 remarkable shallowness, it becomes rough and 
 boisterous when the wind blows strongly from 
 any point of the compass. At these times a very 
 high and dangerous surf breaks upon its shores, 
 which, in many places, resemble the beach of the 
 sea, being strewed with dead fish and shells, and 
 infested with aquatic birds of various kinds. 
 Often during storms the Lake is covered with 
 such a thick mist, that it is impossible to see to 
 the distance of ten yards from the shore. The 
 
117 
 
 waves then roll with terrific violence from amidst 
 the cloudy obscurity, and suggest to the ima¬ 
 gination the appalling dangers which threaten 
 those vessels that are exposed to the tempest; 
 for the navigation of the Lake is rendered high¬ 
 ly dangerous, by reefs and projecting points of 
 land, and by the nature of the banks, which, to¬ 
 wards its western extremity, are so bold and pre¬ 
 cipitous, that when a vessel is driven upon them 
 shipwreck becomes almost inevitable. Scarcely 
 a summer passes in which there is not some 
 shipping lost on Lake Erie. South-west winds 
 prevail much during a great part of the year, and 
 often, for weeks together, prevent vessels from 
 sailing westward; hence steam-boats are the craft 
 best suited for the navigation of this inland sea. 
 
 The northern shores of Lake Erie are very 
 indifferently provided with harbours, although 
 they contain five; but all these, except one, are so 
 much exposed to the south-west winds, that few 
 vessels can ride securely during a gale from that 
 quarter, or unload, unless the weather is perfect¬ 
 ly calm. 
 
 I have made several excursions along; the 
 shores of Lake Erie, to the distance of eighty 
 miles from its mouth. One, in which I went as 
 far as the Grand River, was productive of seve¬ 
 ral entertaining incidents, and I shall therefore 
 give you an account of it. 
 
118 
 
 It being summer, I left Fort Erie, which is 
 opposite Buffalo, at an early hour, on horseback, 
 and proceeded along the beach of the Lake, which 
 was so smooth and beautiful, that it might have 
 answered for a race-course; but the country bor¬ 
 dering upon it being level and thinly settled, 
 the prospect was dull and monotonous, and the 
 continual dashing of the surges fatigued the ear. 
 
 About eight o’clock, I reached a small tavern, 
 and stopped to breakfast. Here I found an in¬ 
 dependent host, who, in the true American style, 
 answered each question I put to him by asking 
 another, and shewed such extreme curiosity about 
 my affairs, that, I believe, nothing but the fear 
 of violent treatment prevented him from ex¬ 
 amining the contents of my portmanteau. Most 
 of the taverns in Upper Canada are indeed a bur¬ 
 lesque upon what they profess to be. A tolera¬ 
 ble meal can scarcely be procured at any one of 
 them; nay, I have visited several which were not 
 even provided with bread. It is immaterial 
 what meal the traveller calls for, as the same ar¬ 
 ticles will be set before him morning, noon, and 
 night, not even excepting tea, which is consider¬ 
 ed so essential to comfort; for, if the mistress of 
 the hotel has none of the Chinese plant, she will 
 send one of her children into the woods to gather 
 parts of the evergreen, hemlock, hickory, or other 
 nauseous vegetables, and having made an infu- 
 
119 
 
 sion of the herb brought in, will perhaps inquire 
 of her astonished and shuddering guest, if the 
 tea is sufficiently strong. None of the minor 
 public-houses are provided with servants to at¬ 
 tend travellers who put up at them, and therefore, 
 when the landlord is absent, or in an independent 
 humour, one is obliged to unsaddle, feed, and 
 take charge of his own horse, otherwise the ani¬ 
 mal will be totally neglected, for the women dis¬ 
 dain to do any thing of this kind. 
 
 About twenty miles above the mouth of Lake 
 Erie, is a tract of country called Sugar Loaf, in 
 consequence, I suppose, of its being diversified 
 with numerous little conical hills. A close suc¬ 
 cession of these extends several miles, and pre¬ 
 sents an appearance very curious and interesting, 
 but extremely difficult to account for. The hills 
 are of a regular shape, appearing to be, on an 
 average, from twenty to thirty feet high, and con¬ 
 sist altogether of sand and earth. The country 
 is thickly settled here, and there are many large 
 cleared spots and cultivated farms to be met with; 
 but, notwithstanding all this, it has a very deso¬ 
 late and forbidding aspect. The beach is cover¬ 
 ed with huge black rocks, against which the 
 Lake beats with incessant roar, and during 
 spring and autumn thick mists often obscure 
 the face of heaven for days together. Sugar 
 Loaf being environed by swamps, its inhabitants 
 
 / 
 
120 
 
 cannot have any communication with other parts 
 of the country, except during a severe winter, or 
 in the middle of summer.—Here, for the first time, 
 I was gratified with an opportunity of listening 
 to a frog concert, as I passed a mill-pond which 
 swarmed with bull-frogs. The noise which these 
 animals make is so disproportioned to their size, 
 that it startles the ear not a little. At first, several 
 of them utter their notes at intervals, like the 
 performers in an orchestra tuning their instru¬ 
 ments ; then they all join, as if by one impulse, 
 in a chorus, deep, loud, and discordant, beyond 
 any sound I ever heard produced by animals. 
 
 It was now twilight, and as the path had be¬ 
 come rather indistinct, I rode towards a house, 
 that I might make some inquiries respecting my 
 route. Several people stood at the door; but as 
 they took no notice of me, I entered the hovel. 
 It contained only one room, and in the midst of 
 this was a bedstead, on which an old man lay, 
 apparently in the last struggles of death. On 
 one side of him stood a boy holding a flaming 
 torch of hickory bark, and on the other was seat¬ 
 ed a young man, who employed himself in driv¬ 
 ing away the large blue flies that hummed around 
 the face of the dying person, and sometimes at¬ 
 tempted to enter his mouth. I was a good deal 
 startled with the scene, and immediately retired 
 to the door. The group there (as I afterwards 
 
121 
 
 found), consisted of the wife of the old man, a 
 sister-in-law, several relations, and a quack doc¬ 
 tor. They were all so deeply engaged in a dis¬ 
 cussion about the nature of the patient’s disease, 
 and the time at which he was struck with death, 
 that they seemed entirely to forget he was still 
 alive. The sister-in-law, a sickly, thin, mid¬ 
 dle-aged woman, insisted that his complaint had 
 arisen from debilitation, and gave a long account 
 of her first husband’s sickness, when she lived in 
 Schenectady; the others seemed to pay great 
 respect to her authority, all listening with undi¬ 
 vided attention, except the wife of the dying 
 person, who was dressing some meat upon a fire 
 they had kindled out of doors. She held a frying- 
 pan in one hand, and a ragged handkerchief in 
 the other, sobbing, and employing herself in 
 cooking, alternately. In a short time, the young 
 man in the house called out, “ Come now— 
 he is goingthen the whole party rushed in, 
 and ranged themselves round the death-bed. 
 The hickory torch threw a dull glare upon this 
 singular group, and exhibited, more or less dis¬ 
 tinctly, the heartless and scrutinizing counte¬ 
 nances of those who composed it. The doctor 
 stood at the head of the bed, and near him was 
 the sister-in-law. On one side sat the wife, with 
 a spoon in her hand, while some weeping boys 
 and relatives occupied the other. The struggles of 
 
 
122 
 
 the dying person were now more feeble—-his in¬ 
 spirations could scarcely be heard, and his cheeks 
 assumed that waxy dimness which always pre¬ 
 cedes dissolution. The sister-in-law had several 
 times attempted to close his eyes, but they more 
 than once started open, with a glassy stare, that 
 seemed to chide her officiousness. However, 
 the spirit soon fled; and the moment this took 
 place, most of the party rushed from the house, 
 sobbing and crying most bitterly. Some has¬ 
 tened to the barn, others to the fields, and some 
 to a shed at a little distance; but three men re¬ 
 mained in the house, and began to lay out the 
 corpse. While engaged in this, they frequently 
 had recourse to a bottle of spirits, which each by 
 turns raised to his head, and having drank liber¬ 
 ally, handed it to his nearest companion. When 
 the body was properly laid out, the women came 
 in, and put a Bible under its head and a plate of 
 salt upon the breast. These ceremonies being 
 finished, I mounted my horse and hastily pur¬ 
 sued my solitary journey, which the impressions 
 left by the scene I had just witnessed rendered 
 doubly unpleasant and gloomy. 
 
 I spent the night at the house of a miller, and 
 at an early hour next morning again mounted my 
 horse. The banks of the Lake now became very 
 bold and elevated, sometimes rising to the height 
 of one hundred feet perpendicular and upwards. 
 
123 
 
 They consist entirely of clay and sand; and hav¬ 
 ing been broken and excavated, in a thousand 
 different ways, by the inroads of the Lake, present 
 a very singular and alarming aspect. In some 
 places large bodies of clay projected twenty or 
 thirty feet beyond the main bank, and overhung 
 the beach ; while in others, lofty trees, from the 
 roots of which the soil had been washed away, 
 were suspended on the summit by a few fibres, 
 and seemed ready to be precipitated from it, 
 to hurl destruction upon all below. Wild vines 
 of immense magnitude grow upon the tops of 
 these banks, which twine round the stems of large 
 trees, and kill them, apparently by stopping the 
 circulation, as the Boa Constrictor does when 
 he destroys a deer. When one of these vines is 
 removed from the tree it has encircled, deep 
 spiral convolutions will be found in the trunk, 
 which proves that the vine overcomes the resist- 
 ance offered by the natural growth of the tree. 
 
 When tempests happen upon Lake Erie, its 
 waters sometimes suddenly rise to the foot of 
 these perpendicular sand-banks, and beat against 
 them with such dreadful vehemence as entirely 
 to cover the beach. Persons travelling upon it 
 during storms have sometimes perished in the 
 waves, being unable to escape their fury; for the 
 Lake often rises with such rapidity, that one has 
 no chance of gaining a place of safety before he 
 
 
124 
 
 is overwhelmed by the flood. At these times, 
 the batteaux which coast along are so liable to be 
 driven upon a lee-shore, and beaten to pieces, that 
 those who are on board often abandon their ves¬ 
 sels and cargo, and try to save themselves. 
 
 A person who resides upon the shore of Lake 
 Erie related to me a very affecting incident which 
 occurred there many years ago. An Indian 
 woman, and her child, who w r as about seven 
 years old, were travelling along the beach to a 
 camp a few miles distant. The boy observed some 
 wild grapes growing upon the top of the bank, and 
 expressed such a strong desire to obtain them, 
 that his mother, seeing a ravine at a little dis¬ 
 tance, by which she thought she could gain the 
 edge of the precipice, resolved to gratify him. 
 Having desired him to remain where he was, 
 she ascended the steep, and was allured much 
 farther into the woods than she at first intended. 
 In the meantime, the wind began to blow vehe¬ 
 mently, but the boy v r andered carelessly along 
 the beach, seeking for shells, till the rapid rise of 
 the Lake rendered it impossible for him to re¬ 
 turn to the spot where he had been left by his 
 mother. He immediately began to cry aloud, 
 and she, being on her return, heard him, but in¬ 
 stead of descending the ravine, hastened to the 
 edge of the precipice, from the bottom of which 
 the noise seemed to proceed. On looking down, 
 
125 
 
 she beheld her son struggling with the waves, 
 and vainly endeavouring to climb up the bank, 
 which was fifty feet perpendicular height, and 
 very slippery. There being no possibility of ren¬ 
 dering him assistance, she was on the point 
 of throwing herself down the steep, when she 
 saw him catch hold of a tree that had fallen into 
 the Lake, and mount one of its most projecting 
 branches. He sat astride upon this, almost be¬ 
 yond the reach of the surges, while she continued 
 watching him in an agony of grief, hesitating 
 whether she should endeavour to find her way 
 to the camp and procure assistance, or re main 
 near her boy. However, evening was now about 
 to close, and as she could not proceed through 
 the woods in the dark, she resolved at least to 
 wait till the moon rose. She sat on the top of 
 the precipice a whole hour, and, during that 
 time, occasionally ascertained that her son was 
 alive, by hearing his cries amidst the roaring of 
 the waves ; but when the moon appeared, he 
 was not to be seen. She now felt convinced 
 that he was drowned, and, giving way to utter 
 despair, threw herself on the turf. Presently 
 she heard a feeble voice cry (in Indian), “ Mam¬ 
 ma, I’m here, come and help me.” She started 
 up, and saw her boy scrambling upon the edge of 
 the bank—she sprang forward to catch his hand, 
 but the ground by which he held giving way, 
 
126 
 
 he was precipitated into the Lake, and perished 
 among the rushing billows. 
 
 Having travelled twelve miles, without seeing 
 a house, or meeting with any human being, I ar¬ 
 rived at the mouth of the Grand River Ouse. A 
 naval and a military post tend a little to enliven 
 this place, which would otherwise be desolate 
 enough, the country around being almost unin¬ 
 habited. Two government schooners and seve¬ 
 ral gun-boats lay in the river, the mouth of 
 which forms but an indifferent harbour, in con¬ 
 sequence of its being obstructed by a sand-bank. 
 This varies in magnitude with the season of the 
 year, and is sometimes so high, that the schoon¬ 
 ers, when wanted for service, must be dragged 
 over it. The Ouse is about a thousand feet broad 
 at its mouth, and may easily be navigated by 
 large boats for more than thirty miles up, the 
 current being moderate, except in a few places. 
 The mouth of this river must form a post of some 
 importance when we are at war with the United 
 States, and might be rendered far more effective 
 than it is at present, were government to strength¬ 
 en it by raising piers and fortifications; and this 
 seems very necessary, for the Americans must 
 always derive a vast naval superiority on Lake 
 Erie, from the many excellent harbours which 
 abound in its southern shores. 
 
 The land near the mouth of the Grand River 
 
 7 
 
127 
 
 is low and swampy, not well suited for agri¬ 
 cultural purposes. A large proportion of it be¬ 
 longs to private individuals, the principal pro¬ 
 prietor among whom is the Earl of Selkirk. A 
 tract, extending six miles in breadth along each 
 side of this river, from its mouth to its source, 
 was granted to the Mohawk Indians by the Bri¬ 
 tish government. They still retain the greater 
 part of this domain in their own hands, though 
 they have at different times given considerable 
 quantities of it to favourite individuals. Other 
 persons, by paying a small rent, hold lands by 
 leases of nine hundred and ninety-nine years 
 duration. This is almost equivalent to actual 
 sale; however, the Indians will not dispose of 
 any part of their possessions, in consequence, I 
 suppose, of the hope they entertain of hereafter 
 receiving a higher price for them than they 
 would at present. The banks of the Grand River 
 are every where highly fertile, except near its 
 mouth, and the command of water-communica¬ 
 tion gives the inhabitants an advantage over 
 most parts of the adjacent country. 
 
 It had been my intention when I left Fort 
 Erie, to have proceeded along the Lake shore 
 forty or fifty miles beyond the mouth of the 
 Grand River; but the account I heard of the na¬ 
 ture of the road, and the obstructions to be met 
 
128 
 
 with on the beach, induced me to alter my plan, 
 and determine on returning to Chippowa. 
 
 I left the mouth of the Ouse in the morning, 
 intending to reach the ferry upon the Niagara 
 river that night; however, I was disappointed in 
 this expectation. In many places, there are rocky 
 points of land, covered with trees, which stretch a 
 considerable way into the Lake, and of course a 
 great deal of distance is saved, if the traveller pro¬ 
 ceeds across the bases of these, instead of going 
 round them. I succeeded in this several times, but 
 at last, in attempting it, got completely bewilder¬ 
 ed, and was unable to reach the Lake shore. Af¬ 
 ter riding nearly an hour in a very uncomfortable 
 state, I came to a house, where I received direc¬ 
 tions respecting my route, by following which 
 I attained the beach again at a point seve¬ 
 ral miles below the place where I had left it. 
 It was now night, and that thin mist, which in 
 Canada often succeeds the decline of the sun, 
 still dimmed the face of heaven. On one side, 
 the Lake stretched in gloomy stillness towards 
 the horizon; on the other, thick woods skirted 
 the beach, throwing a shade over the greater part 
 of it. Never was I in a situation of such utter 
 loneliness. Occasional gusts of wind swept 
 through the forests with deep and dismal mur¬ 
 murs, and my imagination magnified the sound 
 
 s 
 
129 
 
 of one horse’s feet into that made by a whole 
 troop. The indistinct murmur of voices seem¬ 
 ed to rise among the cadences of the breaking 
 waves; and I often looked around me, almost ex¬ 
 pecting to see crowds of the spirits of Indian 
 warriors issuing from the woods in solemn pro¬ 
 cession, mourning the subjection of their terri¬ 
 tories, the extinction of their tribes, and breath¬ 
 ing curses upon Europeans. 
 
 Having rode some distance, I alighted at a 
 rocky recess, and seated myself in it, allowing my 
 horse to brouze upon the shrubbery around. 
 Every flake of vapour had now vanished from 
 the sky, while a blue and ethereal expanse, irradi¬ 
 ated by myriads of dazzling stars, over-arched me, 
 and the unruffled bosom of the Lake reflected 
 the whole most lively and minutely. I sat be¬ 
 tween two heavens, and felt as if lifted from the 
 earth, or placed in the immensity of space, where 
 one would be encircled by unclouded skies. Every 
 thing around me was calm, silent, and motion¬ 
 less, yet what a glow of life, activity, and vigour, 
 did the heavens present ! Each star twinkled, 
 sparkled, or blazed, with ever-varying lustre, 
 and a transference of life seemed to have taken 
 place; for the earth, a few hours before so beauti¬ 
 ful, alluring, and animated, now appeared a dull 
 and uninteresting mass of matter. 
 
 My wanderings, when I lost my way, had oc- 
 
 i 
 
130 
 
 cupied so much time, that I found it would be 
 impossible for me to reach the mouth of the 
 Lake that night, and I therefore requested lodg¬ 
 ings at the first house I came to. Here I found 
 several people seated round a fire, merrily drink¬ 
 ing cider, and breaking hickory nuts; but what 
 chiefly excited my attention was an Indian, who 
 lay upon a chest in one corner of the room, appa¬ 
 rently asleep. As it is not common for people 
 to admit Indians into their houses, I made some 
 inquiries upon the subject, and was told that this 
 man was a very harmless person, except when he 
 got drunk, and that he made it a practice to visit 
 them at intervals of a few months. His name was 
 Robin Turkeyfoot, and he had been very active 
 during the last war. He generally skulked in 
 the woods that skirted the roads, along which 
 the American army was to pass, and shooting any 
 straggler who was weak from wounds or disease, 
 plundered him; however, when he found a 
 good opportunity, he would tomahawk his ene¬ 
 my at once, as, in his own words, it saved pow¬ 
 der and ball. 
 
 This account, which was given by my host, 
 led the rest of the party into a conversation about 
 Indians, one of whom attempted to utter the 
 war-whoop. Upon hearing this, Turkeyfoot 
 started from the chest with a loud laugh of deri¬ 
 sion, and began to whoop in great style; on 
 
131 
 
 which, perceiving that we were amused by it, he 
 seemed anxious to exert his powers still further, 
 and accordingly took two Jews harps from a 
 little bag, playing upon each alternately. I 
 asked him how many Americans he had scalped. 
 “ Eleven,” replied he, “ that’s all—Would kill 
 more, but Yankey’s too smart." He was tall, 
 tolerably well made, had sparkling eyes, with 
 black lank hair, and seemed, by the ferocity of 
 his countenance, to be fitted for the commission 
 of deeds such as I have described. 
 
 In the morning I pushed on towards Chippa- 
 wa, after giving my landlord many thanks for 
 his hospitality, being unable to prevail upon him 
 to receive any thing else. I must do justice to 
 the Canadian farmers in this respect : their 
 houses, and the best they afford, are generally at 
 the service of strangers and benighted travellers, 
 so that they appear to more advantage at home 
 than any where else. 
 
LETTER IX. 
 
 Lundy's Lane—Orchards—St Catharine's—Salt springs there 
 —A Sunday at St Catharine's—Methodists—Farmers of 
 Upper Canada—Their manners and character—Forests on 
 tire—Emigrants travelling—Yankey and Yorkshireman— 
 Burlington Bay—Coote's Paradise—Village of Ancaster— 
 Deficiency of churches in Upper Canada—Manufactory of 
 maple sugar—Grand River Ouse—Plaster of Paris—Its use 
 in agriculture—Mohawk village—Indians not susceptible of 
 civilization—Acuteness of their senses—Indian department— 
 Presents—Indian secrets—Major Norton. 
 
 The main road, which leads to the head of Lake 
 Erie, commences at Queenston, and follows a 
 westerly course, through the most fertile and 
 cultivated parts of the Upper Province. To 
 gain this, it is necessary to strike across the coun¬ 
 try from the Falls of Niagara. Nothing inter¬ 
 esting is to be met with for a dozen miles, except 
 a beautiful avenue called Lundy’s Lane, w'hich 
 is conceived by the Canadians to be a remark¬ 
 able spot, a very important battle having been 
 fought there between the British and American 
 armies. Peach, apple, and cherry trees, grow on 
 both sides of it, and bounteously project their 
 boughs, loaded with delightful fruit, over the 
 fences, tempting the passenger to lighten them 
 
133 
 
 of part of their treasures, which he may con¬ 
 scientiously do without asking permission of the 
 owners of the orchards. 
 
 The traveller joins the main road a few miles 
 below a village called St Catharine’s. The 
 village itself presents no claim to notice; but 
 there are several salt springs near it, which were 
 discovered a few years ago, and from which salt 
 of the best quality is now manufactured. This 
 is a circumstance of great consequence to Upper 
 Canada; for she has hitherto imported all the salt 
 she consumes from the United States; and her 
 inhabitants, when we were last at war with that 
 republic, suffered the greatest inconvenience and 
 distress, from the impossibility of obtaining a 
 supply of this necessary article through the usual 
 channel. Saline springs have recently been found 
 in various parts of the Province; and were the 
 government to take proper steps to encourage 
 the manufacture of salt, the country might soon 
 become in a great measure independent of the 
 Onondago w'orks in the United States. 
 
 It was Sunday when I first visited St Ca¬ 
 tharine’s, and crowds of well-dressed people 
 were hastening to church. Most of the young 
 women were adorned with a variety of the 
 brightest colours; but they did not seem to have 
 adopted any particular fashion, each dressing her¬ 
 self in the style she conceived to be most becoming. 
 
134 
 
 There was as much vanity and affectation among 
 them as would be found in a congregation of 
 any country church in England; but they as¬ 
 sumed greater airs than rustic females are ac¬ 
 customed to do there. The young men who 
 came to church were generally mounted upon 
 jaded farm-horses, the decoration of which seem¬ 
 ed to have occupied more of their attention than 
 that of their own persons ; gaudy saddle-girths, 
 glittering bridles, and other tinsel accoutrements, 
 being profusely exhibited by these candidates 
 for the admiration of the fair. Large waggons 
 carrying loads of amphibious Dutch, who had 
 probably vegetated in some swamp during twenty 
 or thirty years, occasionally arrived, and convey¬ 
 ed the ponderous Fraus and Mynheers to the 
 door of the church, which I entered along with 
 the congregation. Presently an old man, dressed 
 in a shewy blue coat, white pantaloons, top boots, 
 and plated spurs, made his appearance, and to 
 my astonishment, proved to be the priest. The 
 form of the service was presbyterian; and during 
 the whole course of it the people continued 
 going out and in without any regard to silence or 
 decorum; while the schoolmaster of the village, 
 with a string of pupils, made his appearance 
 only a few minutes before the blessing was pro¬ 
 nounced. At the conclusion of the service, the 
 clergyman gave out a hymn, which was sung 
 
135 
 
 by a party of young men who sat in the church 
 gallery. The sound of a miserably played flute, 
 and a cracked flageolet, united with the harsh¬ 
 ness of the voices, produced a concert both dis¬ 
 agreeable and ludicrous. When the hymn was 
 finished, the preacher proclaimed several mar¬ 
 riages, and dismissed the congregation. 
 
 Although there has long been an established 
 presbyterian church at St Catharine’s, yet a large 
 number of the people in its vicinity profess Me¬ 
 thodism, and carry their religious mania to an 
 immoderate height. Meetings are held at differ¬ 
 ent houses, three or four times a-week. At some 
 of these I have seen degrees of fanaticism and ex¬ 
 travagance exhibited, both by the preachers and 
 congregation, which were degrading to human 
 nature. Several of the inhabitants of the place, 
 like most other people in Upper Canada, are fond 
 of dancing and playing at cards; but the Me¬ 
 thodists, of course, condemn these amusements; 
 for they made it a general practice, to pray that 
 those addicted to them might be converted, and 
 that the Almighty would not let loose liis wrath 
 on the village of St Catharine’s; while their own 
 lives were, in many instances, one continued 
 outrage against decency, decorum, and virtue. 
 
 Between Queenston and the head of Lake On¬ 
 tario, the farms are in a high state of cultivation, 
 and their possessors are comparatively wealthy. 
 
136 
 
 Some of them contain more than one hundred and 
 fifty acres of cleared land, the fields of which have 
 become smooth and level from frequent plough¬ 
 ing, and are not disfigured by stumps or decayed 
 timber. A great majority of the individuals who 
 are owners of these farms, came to the Province 
 twenty or thirty years ago in the character of 
 needy adventurers, and either received the then 
 unimproved land from government, or purchased 
 it for a trifle. At first they had many difficul¬ 
 ties to contend with; but these have now dis¬ 
 appeared, and they reap the full produce of their 
 labour, being neither burdened by rents, nor 
 encumbered with taxes. Many of them possess 
 thirty or forty head of cattle, and annually store 
 up two or three thousand bushels of grain in their 
 bams; but this amelioration in their condition, 
 unfortunately, has not produced a corresponding 
 effect upon their manners, character, or mode 
 of life. They are still the same untutored in¬ 
 corrigible beings that they probably were, when, 
 the ruffian remnant of a disbanded regiment, or 
 the outlawed refuse of some European nation, 
 they sought refuge in the wilds of Upper Cana¬ 
 da, aware that they would neither find means of 
 subsistence, nor be countenanced in any civi¬ 
 lized country. Their original depravity has 
 been confirmed and increased by the circum¬ 
 stances in which they arc now placed. Possess- 
 
137 
 
 ing farms which render them independent of the 
 better classes of society, they can, within certain 
 limits, be as bold, unconstrained, and obtrusive, 
 as they please, in their behaviour towards their 
 superiors; for they neither look to them for sub¬ 
 sistence, nor for any thing else. They now con¬ 
 sider themselves on an equality with those to 
 whom, in former times, the hope of gain would 
 have made them crouch like slaves; and tacitly 
 avow their contempt of the better part of society, 
 by avoiding the slightest approximation towards 
 them, so far as regards habits, appearance, or 
 mode of life. 
 
 The excessive obstinacy of these people forms 
 one great barrier to their improvement, but a 
 greater still is created by their absurd and bound¬ 
 less vanity. Most of them really conceive that 
 they cannot be any better than they are, or at 
 least, that it is not worth their pains to endea¬ 
 vour to be so; and betray, by their actions 
 and mode of life, that they are under the in¬ 
 fluence of an obstinate contentment and un¬ 
 moveable fatuity, which would resist every at¬ 
 tempt that was made to improve them. If they 
 could really be brought to feel a desire for amend¬ 
 ment, this effect would most likely be produced 
 by flattering their vanity. If a man wishes to 
 obtain popularity in Upper Canada, he will fail, 
 unless he qualify this passion of the people. When 
 
138 
 
 a farmer proposes to cheat his neighbour, he suc¬ 
 ceeds by flattering his vanity. If a merchant de¬ 
 termines that one of his customers shall pay his 
 account, he flatters his vanity, or serves an exe¬ 
 cution. 
 
 It is indeed lamentable to think, that most of 
 the improved part of this beautiful and magnifi¬ 
 cent Province has fallen into such “ hangmen’s 
 hands;” and to feel convinced, that the country will 
 retrograde in every thing that is truly great and 
 desirable, or remain detestable to persons of li¬ 
 beral ideas, as long as these boors continue to be 
 the principal tenants of it. You, my dear friend, 
 will perhaps conceive, that the description I have 
 given of the general character of the people is a 
 good deal exaggerated; but my opportunities of 
 observation have been so numerous and exten¬ 
 sive, that I can vouch for the accuracy of every 
 thing I have stated respecting them. But it 
 must be remembered, that I describe them such as 
 they appeared to me, and affected me personally, 
 during the intercourse I have had with them. 
 
 While remaining in this part of the country, I 
 had an opportunity of witnessing a scene that was 
 equally magnificent and new to me. The land 
 around was covered with pine trees, and three 
 months’ drought had rendered these so dry and 
 combustible, that hundreds of them took fire, in 
 consequence of a few sparks, blown from an oven, 
 
139 
 
 having kindled the brushwood beneath them. Im¬ 
 mense volumes of black smoke rolled from differ¬ 
 ent parts of the forest, and, when the wind di¬ 
 vided these, the flames were seen raging on 
 every side, and ascending to the tops of the 
 tallest trees; while the roaring, crackling, and 
 crashing, were incessant, under the cloudy ob¬ 
 scurity. Large burning splinters of timber, that 
 must have been detached from trees by the ex¬ 
 pansive power of steam, were sometimes project¬ 
 ed high into the air like rockets, and descended 
 again, leaving a showery train of glowing sparks 
 behind them. The wind was hot and suffocat¬ 
 ing as the vapours from a furnace, and the vast 
 glare of the conflagration overspread the heavens 
 with a copper colour most dismal and appalling. 
 The inhabitants around hurried about in the 
 utmost alarm, momentarily expecting that the 
 flames would communicate to their barns and 
 fences; and the tumult was increased by the bel¬ 
 lowing of a number of cattle, which had rushed 
 in a state of terror from the woods, where they 
 had been feeding. 
 
 About midnight, the conflagration, which had 
 commenced the preceding day, had in a great 
 measure ceased. Many of the largest trees were 
 charred from top to bottom, and, being now in 
 a state of glowing redness, they stood like daz¬ 
 zling pillars of fire in various parts of the forest. 
 
140 
 
 The upper boughs of others were still enveloped 
 in flames, and resembled meteors as they waved 
 in the wind, the trunks from which they project¬ 
 ed being concealed by the darkness. In the 
 morning, I walked out to view the scene of de¬ 
 vastation, which presented an aspect truly horri¬ 
 ble. Many hundred acres of land were divested 
 of the verdure that had lately covered them. 
 The branchless trees stood in dreary blackness, 
 and the wind scarcely sounded as it swept among 
 them. Not a single bird animated the prospect, 
 and the desolate shriek of the racoon, deprived of 
 its den, alone proved that the tenants of the forest 
 were not entirely extirpated. 
 
 During summer, the roads are enlivened by 
 crowds of British emigrants moving westward. 
 Some of them come by way of New York, but 
 the greater number are from Lower Canada; for 
 the Americans contrive to detain among them¬ 
 selves a large proportion of the Europeans, who 
 land upon their shores with the intention of pro¬ 
 ceeding to the British provinces. The meagre 
 and exhausted horses, the shackling waggons, 
 and the wearied looks of those who attend them, 
 all prove such parties to be sojourners in a strange 
 land; while their personal appearance discovers as 
 plainly whence they have originally come. The 
 ruddy, cheerful look, and plumpness of the Eng¬ 
 lishman, distinguish him from the people of any 
 
141 
 
 other country, and form a striking contrast with 
 the paleness, dark complexion, and meagre aspect 
 of the native American. “ Well now,” said one 
 of the latter, advancing to a Yorkshireman, with 
 his hands in his pockets, and his hat stuck on 
 one side of his head, “ Well now, I swear I 
 guess you to be from New England.”—“ Noa,” 
 shouted John Bull, “ Oos be coomed from Ould 
 England.” 
 
 Lake Ontario extends westward .about forty 
 miles beyond the mouth of the Niagara river, 
 and the head of it forms a spacious harbour, 
 which is called Burlington Bay. High lands, 
 covered with the finest and most beautiful kinds 
 of timber, encircle this bay, affording many pic¬ 
 turesque and romantic views, and abound with 
 noble sites for dwelling-houses. Upon these 
 heights is a spot called Coote’s Paradise, and a 
 stranger of course anticipates much from the 
 name; but when he reaches it, he finds nothing 
 but a swamp. The person from whom it derived 
 its appellation was Major Coote, an enthusiastic 
 sportsman. He was accustomed to station him¬ 
 self between the above-mentioned swamp and 
 the Lake, and shoot the wild ducks as they pass¬ 
 ed over him, when they flew from the one body 
 of water to the other. This afforded such ex¬ 
 quisite sport, that, in a moment of rapture, he ex¬ 
 claimed, that he was in Paradise; and the place 
 
142 
 
 to which he resorted now currently receives the 
 exalted title he once conferred upon it. 
 
 A few miles beyond this is the village of An¬ 
 caster, which lies in the midst of a rich, cham¬ 
 paign, and well-cultivated country. Here, streams, 
 small valleys, and natural irregularities of the 
 surface, combine to produce a little of that land¬ 
 scape scenery which is so rare in Upper Canada. 
 Ancaster consists of a few dozen straggling 
 houses, and contains between two and three hun¬ 
 dred inhabitants. There is a church near it, in 
 which an Episcopalian clergyman officiates every 
 Sunday. Exclusive of this, there are only two 
 places, between Niagara and Ancaster (a distance 
 of fifty miles), where divine service is regu¬ 
 larly performed; as the nearest church west¬ 
 ward is more than two hundred miles distant 
 from the latter village. Thus, in the space of 
 nearly three hundred miles, there are no more 
 than four villages at which public worship is con¬ 
 ducted regularly throughout the year. It is evi¬ 
 dent that this deficiency in the number of reli¬ 
 gious establishments must have a fatal effect 
 upon the principles of the people, the majority 
 of whom are truly in a state of most pitiable 
 moral degradation, grossly conceiving, that they 
 never do any thing profligate, vicious, or dis¬ 
 honest, except when they infringe the laws of 
 their country. The Sabbath, presenting no 
 
143 
 
 routine of duties to their recollection, gradually 
 approximates to a week day. They, when it 
 occurs, abstain from labour, more from habit 
 than from principle. They spend the day in idle¬ 
 ness and amusement, either strolling among the 
 woods, and shooting game, or wandering be¬ 
 tween their neighbours’ houses. It may be said, 
 that all this is not very criminal, and I will ac¬ 
 quiesce partly in the remark; but, when we con¬ 
 sider what a beneficent influence a due observ¬ 
 ance of the Sabbath has upon the minds and dis¬ 
 positions of the lower classes in particular, it will 
 appear a matter of regret, that the fourth com¬ 
 mandment should ever be neglected. This be¬ 
 comes the more evident, when we view the con¬ 
 trast which exists between the peasantry of 
 Britain or France and those of Upper Canada. 
 The former, generally speaking, are punctual in 
 the performance of their religious duties, although 
 much bigotry, some self-deception, and a little 
 hypocrisy, may, in many instances, tend to make 
 them strict in this respect; however, they are 
 decorous in their ideas and conduct, humble to¬ 
 wards their superiors, anchnot disposed to knave¬ 
 ry. The Canadian peasantry, on the other hand, 
 feeling no religious restraint, are profligate, un- 
 amiable, and dishonest. 
 
 While in the vicinity of Ancaster, I had an 
 opportunity of witnessing the manufacture of 
 
 7 
 
144 
 
 of maple sugar. The people who engage in this 
 occupation go into the woods in parties, carrying 
 with them the necessary implements, and remain¬ 
 ing till they have made as much sugar as they 
 desire; in the same manner as the Arabians do 
 when they visit the forests, for the purpose of col¬ 
 lecting the gum which exudes from the Mimosa 
 tree. An incision being made in the lower part 
 of the trunk of the maple tree, a small wooden 
 spout is inserted in it, to convey the sap or juice 
 that flows out into a trough placed beneath. These 
 troughs, when full, are emptied into a large tub 
 or reservoir, and again put under the trees as for¬ 
 merly ; while the watery part of the liquor they 
 contained being evaporated by boiling, the resi¬ 
 due is purified in various ways, and forms the 
 maple sugar, not more than one pound of which 
 can be obtained from two gallons of sap. It is 
 much inferior to that manufactured from the 
 cane, not being so strong, and having a peculiar 
 manna flavour, which is very unpleasant to those 
 who are unaccustomed to it. The Indians some¬ 
 times refine the sugar so highly, that it acquires 
 a sparkling grain and beautiful whiteness: this 
 they put into small birch bark boxes, called mo- 
 kowks, and sell to the white people. The Cana¬ 
 dian farmers use the maple sugar almost entirely; 
 for, when they make it themselves, it costs them 
 nothing, and can be procured in abundance, some 
 
145 
 
 families manufacturing four or five hundred 
 pounds weight of it in the course of a season. 
 
 Eighteen miles beyond Ancaster the road lies 
 across the Grand River Ouse, my journey to the 
 mouth of which I described to you in my last 
 letter. This river, flowing between its shrub¬ 
 bery-clad banks, and meandering through a fer¬ 
 tile and open tract of country, has a most pleas¬ 
 ing aspect. The prospect displays a minute¬ 
 ness and an unobtrusiveness, which are striking¬ 
 ly opposed to that vastness and bold magnifi¬ 
 cence which characterize most of the scenery of 
 North America. 
 
 The Grand River is navigable for schooners 
 thirty' miles above its mouth, and for large boats 
 much farther. This is a circumstance of great 
 importance, as its banks abound with beds of gyp¬ 
 sum, or sulphate of lime, which has been found 
 to form an excellent manure. These are not re¬ 
 gularly worked by any one at present, therefore 
 the farmers, who require gypsum, must quarry 
 and convey it down the river themselves, and 
 this being always troublesome and often incon¬ 
 venient, the mineral is much less employed in 
 agriculture than it ought to be. The sulphate 
 of lime forms a very powerful manure. Two 
 bushels are sufficient for an acre when properly 
 applied, and the effect produced by these conti¬ 
 nues at least a couple of years. It differs altoge- 
 
 K 
 
146 
 
 ther in its action from common lime, being par¬ 
 ticularly suitable for light sandy soils that have 
 been exhausted by a repetition of the same kind 
 of crops. Gypsum will soon be in great demand 
 throughout the western parts of the Province; 
 for many of the older farms are nearly worn out, 
 in consequence of the injudicious system pur¬ 
 sued by those who cultivate them. The farmers 
 have little idea of the rotation of crops ; neither 
 do they endeavour to keep the soil rich and vi¬ 
 gorous, by the timely application of manure. 
 Corn succeeds corn, until the land is nearly ex¬ 
 hausted, which generally happens in the course 
 of eighteen or twenty years,—a length of time 
 which alike proves its natural excellence, and 
 shews that, under proper management, its fertili¬ 
 ty would for ages remain unimpaired. The finest 
 and most extensive bed of gypsum that has yet 
 been discovered lies in the township of Dum¬ 
 fries, which belongs to William Dickson, Esq. 
 This gentleman liberally permits the farmers to 
 quarry, and carry away as much of the mineral 
 as they please, free of expense. 
 
 Three miles below the Grand River ferry 
 there is an Indian settlement, called the Mohawk 
 village, which contains about two hundred In¬ 
 dians, the majority of whom are half civilized. 
 There is likewise a church, in which the doc¬ 
 trines of the Christian religion are regularly 
 
 <> 
 
147 
 
 preached and explained, in the Mohawk lan¬ 
 guage, by an individual belonging to the tribe. 
 The population of the Mohawk settlement va¬ 
 ries at different times of the year. When the 
 hunting season approaches, many of the inhabit¬ 
 ants forsake their homes and agricultural occu¬ 
 pations, and assume, for a time, the savage mode 
 of life from which they have been but partially 
 reclaimed. The habits and dispositions of the 
 Indians are alike opposed to civilization; and 
 those who reside permanently in one place, and 
 cultivate the ground, probably do so that they 
 may avoid the fatigues and privations attendant 
 upon hunting; but their attachment to a wan¬ 
 dering life is so strong, that even the most civi¬ 
 lized of them continually evince an inclination 
 to return to it. The Indians have, for many 
 years past, frequented the European settlements, 
 and even associated, in some degree, with their 
 inhabitants; but I never yet saw any whose 
 manners or dispositions were at all influenced by 
 their intercourse with the white people, except in 
 so far as they had acquired a number of vicious 
 propensities. Most of the former obstinately re¬ 
 fuse to assimilate to the latter in any respect, or 
 even to learn from them those arts that would be 
 useful to an Indian ; while a communication with 
 the Europeans, instead of improving them, has 
 been the means of divesting them of those rude 
 
148 
 
 virtues and barbarous qualities which alone give 
 a sort of respectability to the savage. Various at¬ 
 tempts have been made to civilize the Indians; 
 but the failure of most of these, with the very 
 partial success of others, convincingly proves, 
 that they are a people whose habits and charac¬ 
 ters are incapable of improvement, and not sus¬ 
 ceptible of amelioration. Those who reside op¬ 
 posite La Chine, nine miles above Montreal, 
 have made greater advances in the arts of life 
 than any we are acquainted with; but a circum¬ 
 stance that took place among them many years 
 ago, shews that a partial civilization had contri¬ 
 buted but little to extinguish their savage pro¬ 
 pensities. A number of the inhabitants of the 
 village, who had been brought up from their in¬ 
 fancy under the Romish missionaries, and in¬ 
 structed in the common branches of education, 
 emigrated to the banks of the river Saskatcha- 
 wine, where they relapsed into their primitive ig¬ 
 norance and barbarism. 
 
 Those straggling Indians, who wander about 
 the inhabited parts of Upper Canada, are not 
 fair specimens of the race of people to which they 
 belong; for an intercourse with the Europeans 
 has rendered them vicious, dissipated, and de¬ 
 praved. Hard drinking has likewise impaired 
 that acuteness of the senses for which the North 
 American Indians are so remarkable; and were 
 
149 
 
 a Mohawk to join any of the tribes who inhabit 
 the north-west territory, his deficiency in this 
 respect would probably subject him to contempt. 
 However, those Indians that frequent the settled 
 parts of the Province, even yet possess faculties 
 of observation which are altogether inconceivable 
 to a European. They find their way through 
 the thickest woods, having no kind of compass 
 to guide them but the moss, which always grows 
 on the north side of the trunk of a tree, and 
 seldom fail to arrive at the very point or spot they 
 proposed to reach when they began their jour¬ 
 ney. They can discover and follow paths, the 
 existence of which no white person would be 
 aware of, and know, by the appearance of the 
 withered leaves, whether any individual or game 
 has recently passed. Most of them are excellent 
 marksmen ; and none ever seem to have the least 
 defect in the organs of hearing or seeing. Civi¬ 
 lization and its consequences tend powerfully to 
 destroy that acuteness of the senses, and those 
 bodily perfections which belong to man when in 
 a state of nature, for he loses them in proportion 
 as he ceases to require their aid. But these form 
 the boast and glory of the savage; and the In¬ 
 dians, it is said, often express their pity for the 
 white people, who appear to them to spend life 
 in learning how to live. 
 
 The Indians are zealously protected by the 
 
150 
 
 British government, and a number of indivi¬ 
 duals, who constitute what is called the Indian 
 department, have the immediate management of 
 their national interests and concerns. A medi¬ 
 cal man visits several of the villages twice a-year, 
 who gives medicine and advice to all who apply 
 for either; and he likewise leaves a few simples 
 with those who understand how to employ them. 
 An annual distribution of presents takes place 
 at the Grand River, and also at the head of 
 Lake Erie, when every Indian receives some 
 trifle that will be useful to him; while, at the 
 same time, articles of dress are given to the fe¬ 
 males. All this, perhaps, serves in some mea¬ 
 sure to retain the Indians in the British inte¬ 
 rests, which was formerly an object of much 
 more importance than it is now; for they are ra¬ 
 pidly diminishing in strength and numbers, and 
 could we feel assured that they would, in the 
 event of another American war, remain neutral, 
 the Indian department might be advantageously 
 abolished. The presents they annually receive 
 from the British government tend to encourage 
 their vices and reduce them to misery. After 
 the distribution has taken place, many persons 
 employ themselves in purchasing the articles 
 from their respective owners at a small price. 
 The Indians spend all the money they receive in 
 this way upon spirits; hence drunkenness ensues 
 
151 
 
 —fatal combats take place—and shocking scenes 
 of outrage, intoxication, and depravity, con¬ 
 tinue until the actors are stripped of all they 
 possess. 
 
 The Indians are feeble and useless allies, but 
 dangerous enemies. They were of little benefit to 
 us during the last war, being under no discipline 
 or subordination; and generally taking to flight 
 at the commencement of an action, and return¬ 
 ing at its termination, that they might plunder 
 the dead of both armies. However, had they 
 been hostile to us, they might have done incal¬ 
 culable mischief; for their intimate knowledge of 
 the woods, their talents for ambuscade, and the 
 unerring fire of their rifles, would enable them to 
 harass and weaken an enemy, without incurring 
 almost any risk themselves. 
 
 The Indians are in possession of some valuable 
 secrets, which nothing will induce them to dis¬ 
 close to any white person. They dye the quills 
 of the porcupine, and other substances, of colours 
 more beautiful and permanent than any we know 
 how to produce, and are acquainted with various 
 vegetables that possess strong medicinal powers. 
 Some can prepare a bait which never fails to al¬ 
 lure certain animals into the traps set for them; 
 and almost every Indian knows where salt springs 
 are to be found; but these being the resort of 
 deer, &c. they are particularly unwilling to tell 
 
152 
 
 where they are situated, lest other hunters should 
 frequent them and destroy the game. 
 
 The white person who appears to have most 
 influence with the Indians is Major Norton. 
 He has married one of their women, lives 
 among them, talks their language, and conforms 
 to many of their customs. A considerable band 
 rallied round him during the last war; but they 
 are daily decreasing in numbers, and, as a people, 
 have now lost as much of their original strength 
 and importance as the natives of South Ame¬ 
 rica did after the conquest of Mexico. In a few 
 years hence, if the population of Upper Canada 
 increases as it has lately done, in all probability 
 not an Indian will be found below Lake Huron. 
 
LETTER X. 
 
 Long Point—Change of scenery—Perfume from snakes—Fas¬ 
 cination—Frog and black snake—Human beings sometimes 
 charmed by serpents—Instances of it—Theory of fascination 
 —Illustrations—Hawk and chickens—Partridges—Human 
 fascination—Story in proof of it—Long Point described- 
 iron ore and foundery there—Game—Wild pigeons—Sul¬ 
 phurous spring—Night adventure with an Indian—Conver¬ 
 sation with him—Coltmans tavern—Effects of a residence in 
 the woods—Sublimities of the forest. 
 
 I shall now lead you a ramble through Long 
 Point, which is a tract of country different in ap¬ 
 pearance from any I have yet described. When 
 I first visited this part of the Province, the sud¬ 
 den change which took place in the aspect of na¬ 
 ture seemed like magic. The soil became light 
 and sandy, the forests had dwindled away, and 
 natural groves and copses met the eye in their 
 stead. The fields were beautifully level, and 
 the uncultivated lands had more the appearance 
 of a pleasure-ground than of a wilderness. The 
 trees being small and few in number, and distri¬ 
 buted in beautiful clumps, did not at all suggest 
 the idea of a forest, but added charms to the 
 country and variety to the prospect. The day 
 was warm and bright, and autumn had already 
 begun to dye the leaves with tints the most 
 glowing and exquisite. As I travelled onwards, 
 
154 
 
 I was at one time encircled with lovely woods, 
 and refreshed by the fragrance of the wild flowers, 
 which clustered in profusion around the root 
 of almost every tree; and at another, attracted by 
 level and beautifully cleared farms, the fronts of 
 which were generally occupied by extensive or¬ 
 chards. 
 
 Being fatigued with riding, I dismounted, and 
 seated myself at the foot of a large tree that 
 overhung a small stream, in which little trout 
 sported incessantly. Every breeze was loaded 
 with vegetable fragrance; but at intervals I felt 
 a most intoxicating perfume, the source of which 
 I was for some time unable to discover. At last I 
 saw two small snakes creep from under a decayed 
 tree that lay near me, and found, from the mo¬ 
 mentary increase of the odour, and its diminu¬ 
 tion as they retired, that it proceeded from them. 
 These animals (as I was afterwards informed), 
 while basking in the sun, emit a delightful fra¬ 
 grance ; but they are destitute of this peculiarity 
 when dead. I followed the snakes for a little 
 way, and, for the first time, learned that such 
 animals had the power of fascinating men. 
 Whenever I advanced within a certain distance 
 of them, they turned round and coiled up, 
 
 -and heavenly fragrance filled 
 
 The circuit wide. 
 
 Upper Canada is not infested with any snakes 
 
155 
 
 of a dangerous kind, except the rattlesnake, 
 which, however, is very rare in the cultivated 
 parts of the country. Garter snakes and black 
 snakes are to be met with every where, but they 
 seem quite harmless. 
 
 In Upper Canada, it is almost universally be¬ 
 lieved, that snakes possess that power of fascina¬ 
 tion which has so often been denied them by 
 naturalists. Many people have had the fact 
 demonstrated to them by being witnesses of it, 
 and this was the case with me. One summer 
 day, when strolling through the woods, I came 
 to the edge of a small pond of water, on the sur¬ 
 face of which floated a frog in a state of motion¬ 
 less repose, as if basking in the sun. I carelessly 
 touched his back with a stick, but, contrary to 
 my expectation, he did not move; and, on view¬ 
 ing him more closely, I perceived that he gasped 
 in a convulsive manner, and was affected with a 
 tremor in his hind-legs. I soon discovered a 
 black snake coiled up, lying near the edge of 
 the pond, and holding the frog in thraldom by 
 the magic of his eyes. Whenever he moved his 
 head to one side or the other, his destined victim 
 followed it, as if under the influence of magnetic 
 attraction; sometimes, however, recoiling feebly, 
 but soon springing forward again, as if he felt 
 
 A strong doeire with loathing mixed. 
 
156 
 
 The snake lay with his mouth half open, and 
 never for a moment allowed his eyes to wander 
 from his prey, otherwise the charm would have 
 been instantaneously dissolved. But I deter¬ 
 mined to effect this, and accordingly threw a 
 large chip of wood into the pond. It fell be¬ 
 tween the two animals—the snake started back, 
 while the frog darted under water, and concealed 
 itself among the mud. 
 
 It is asserted by some, that snakes occasionally 
 exert their powers of fascination upon human 
 beings, and I see no reason to doubt the truth of 
 this. An old Dutchwoman, who lives at the 
 Twelve Mile Creek in the Niagara district, some¬ 
 times gives a minute account of the manner in 
 which she was charmed by a serpent; and a farmer 
 told me that a similar circumstance once occurred 
 to his daughter. It was on a warm summer day, 
 that she was sent to spread wet clothes upon 
 some shrubbery near the house. Her mother 
 conceived that she remained longer than was ne¬ 
 cessary, and seeing her standing unoccupied at 
 some distance, she called to her several times, 
 but no answer was returned. On approacliing, 
 she found her daughter pale, motionless, and 
 fixed in an erect posture. The sweat rolled 
 down her brow, and her hands were clenched 
 convulsively. A large rattlesnake lay on a log 
 opposite the girl, waving his head from side 
 
157 
 
 to side, and kept his eyes steadfastly fastened 
 upon her. The mother instantly struck him 
 with a stick, and the moment he made off, the 
 girl recovered herself and burst into tears, but 
 was for some time so weak and agitated, that she 
 could not walk home. 
 
 The principle upon which fascination takes 
 place is so evident, that there can be no doubt of 
 its existence. Fear alone is sufficient to pro¬ 
 duce, upon the living system, all those effects 
 that constitute fascination; and this may be 
 proved and exemplified by facts, which likewise 
 shew that serpents are not alone possessed of the 
 power in question. 
 
 If any one observes a flock of chickens when a 
 hawk is hovering over them, he will perceive that 
 the little animals, instead of endeavouring to es¬ 
 cape, run round in concentric circles, and attempt 
 to thrust their heads into the ground; so that it 
 appears this dereliction of instinct is evidently oc¬ 
 casioned by simple fear. The mode of shooting 
 partridges practised in America is founded upon 
 the principle of fascination. The partridges there, 
 when raised in a covey, generally settle upon the 
 lower branches of a tree, and the sportsman can 
 kill the whole flock, if his dog sits under the 
 roosting place and barks at the birds. They are 
 so completely entranced by the voice and gaze 
 of the animal, that they neither hear the sound 
 
 
158 
 
 of the fowling-piece nor see the smoke, and suf¬ 
 fer themselves to be deliberately shot at, without 
 making any attempt to escape; but if the dog 
 leaves his station for a moment, they will all 
 take flight.—I was once present in a country 
 church, when a man received a public rebuke 
 from the clergyman, for certain misdemeanors he 
 had committed, which were not cognizable by 
 the civil law. The priest had a fine face and an 
 impressive delivery, so that he soon caught the 
 offender’s eyes, and held them fixed upon him 
 during the whole of his discourse. The culprit 
 gazed upon his monitor with imploring looks, 
 while the confusion that tinged his cheeks show¬ 
 ed how anxious he was to conceal his face; but he 
 could not, for the other had spell-bound him so 
 completely, that he absolutely hung upon his 
 looks, and even involuntarily imitated his ges¬ 
 tures. When the pastor had closed his admo¬ 
 nition, the culprit sat down, and looked around 
 with the air of one awakening from a trance. 
 Having shewn by this instance, that the power 
 of fascination is inherent in some men, it will 
 be unnecessary for me to say any thing about 
 the degree in which the female sex possess it, 
 and I shall merely observe, that in Upper Cana¬ 
 da, a traveller runs more risk of being charmed 
 by their eyes than by those of the rattlesnake. 
 
 The tract of country named Long Point is not 
 
159 
 
 characterized by a partial beauty or luxuriance. 
 Nature has been equally bountiful to every part 
 of it, and no one can attain a correct idea of its 
 charms, or form a just estimate of its advantages, 
 unless he makes a journey through it. The land 
 is so little overspread with timber, that if the 
 brushwood is cleared away, it may be cropped 
 without cutting down a single tree. The soil is 
 indeed inferior, in point of strength and richness, 
 to that in various other places; but these defects 
 are compensated for by its easy tillage, and the fa¬ 
 cility of clearing it. Long Point is abundantly 
 watered by pure, transparent, and never-failing 
 streams ; the openness of the woods, and the dry¬ 
 ness of the land, render the air mild, clear, and 
 salubrious ; fruit-trees of every kind bear abun¬ 
 dantly, and soon arrive at maturity; the roads 
 are always good; and Lake Erie affords a conve¬ 
 nient water-communication with the other parts 
 of the Province. Upon the whole, no other part 
 of Upper Canada possesses so many natural ad¬ 
 vantages, or is so well suited to the ideas and 
 taste of Europeans, as Long Point; it being, I 
 believe, one of the most alluring and desirable 
 spots that a bountiful Providence has any where 
 laid open for the benefit of man. 
 
 Long Point abounds with game of various 
 kinds, and the woods, from their openness, are fa¬ 
 vourable to the pursuit of it. Partridges spring 
 
160 
 
 V 
 
 r 
 
 from the copses, and deer often bound across the 
 path of him who traverses the forests. Immense 
 flocks of the passenger, or wild pigeon, frequent 
 this and the other parts of Upper Canada during 
 spring and autumn; and myriads of them are 
 killed by fire-arms, or caught in nets by the in¬ 
 habitants ; for they fly so close, and in such num¬ 
 bers, that twenty or thirty may sometimes be 
 brought down at a single shot; yet the multi¬ 
 tudes that are to be met with in Canada are 
 trifling indeed when compared with those mil¬ 
 lions that visit the United States, where, ac¬ 
 cording to Wilson the ornithologist, they some¬ 
 times desolate and lay waste a tract of country, 
 forty or fifty miles long and five or six broad, 
 by making it their breeding place. While in 
 the State of Ohio, he saw a flock of these birds, 
 which extended, he judged, more than a mile in 
 breadth, and continued to pass over his head at 
 the rate of one mile in a minute during four 
 hours, thus making its whole length about two 
 hundred and forty miles. According to his mode¬ 
 rate estimate, this flock contained two thousand 
 two hundred and thirty millions, two hundred 
 and seventy-two thousand pigeons—a number al¬ 
 together inconceivable, and almost beyond belief, 
 were we not in possession of indisputable autho¬ 
 rities which prove that his calculation was not 
 exaggerated. 
 
161 
 
 The projection of land termed Long Point, 
 from which the adjacent country derives its name, 
 extends twenty-five miles into the Lake, and 
 vessels bound westward often find much diffi¬ 
 culty in weathering it. On its eastern side is a 
 tolerably good and commodious harbour, and the 
 Lake is deeper there than at any other place. 
 The base of Long Point abounds with rich iron 
 ore; and a foundery has recently been erected 
 there, which will soon be put in operation, and 
 cannot fail to prove a most beneficial establish¬ 
 ment to the people of the western parts of the 
 Province, who at present purchase, at a very 
 high rate, the iron ware which the merchants 
 procure from the village of Three Rivers below 
 Montreal. 
 
 Near Long Point there is a mineral spring 
 very strongly impregnated with sulphur. The 
 water issues from a hole in the ground, and after 
 running a little way, forms a basin, which is 
 about twenty yards in circumference, and of con¬ 
 siderable depth. Its sides are incrusted with 
 pure sulphur, and the mineral odour can be 
 felt at the distance of a quarter of a mile. The 
 person, to whom the spring belongs, told me that 
 its efficacy was great in cutaneous diseases, when 
 used both externally and internally, and that he 
 proposed, the ensuing season, to erect baths upon 
 it for the accommodation of the public. 
 
 L 
 
162 
 
 Once, when on my way from Long Point to 
 the Talbot Settlement, night overtook me before 
 I reached the house where I intended to sleep; 
 but the moon shone brightly, and the air being 
 mild, I rode onwards at a slow pace. Sudden¬ 
 ly my horse started in a violent manner, and, 
 on looking round to discover the cause of his 
 alarm, I observed a glare of light proceeding 
 from behind the root of a large tree that had 
 been blown down by the wind. Having secur¬ 
 ed my horse, I proceeded to the spot, and found 
 an Indian lying beside a fire; a profusion of long 
 black hair hung around his face and shoulders— 
 his mocassins and blanket-vest were sprinkled with 
 blood—and his half-unsheathed scalping-knife 
 gleamed in the ruddy light of the flames. He 
 grasped liis rifle with one hand, while the other 
 rested upon a tomahawk which was stuck in his 
 girdle. As I stood watching him with anxiety, 
 he suddenly started up, and, on seeing me, laugh¬ 
 ed aloud. My alarm was speedily dissipated, 
 when I perceived that a deer had been the victim 
 of the horrible murder which I had previously 
 conceived him to have perpetrated. He had 
 quartered the animal, and tied up the greater part 
 of it in the skin, which he threw over his shoulder, 
 and walked to the road with me. I soon found 
 that he spoke English extremely well, and as he 
 told me he was on his way to the next house, where 
 
163 
 
 he hoped to sell his venison, we kept company 
 and entered into conversation. To my astonish¬ 
 ment, he made many inquiries about the reform 
 meetings, then very common throughout Britain, 
 and seemed anxious to learn the causes of them, 
 and their object. In return, I asked him how 
 he got the information he already possessed, and 
 if he could read: “ No,” said he, laconically, 
 “ but I can hear.” He seemed to regard the 
 Europeans, and all the advantages they derived 
 from civilization, with much contempt and 
 indifference, and observed, that the Great Spirit 
 shewed that he preferred Indians to any other 
 people, for he taught them to live in the 
 woods, to find their way through the forests, and 
 to acquire many wonderful secrets, all which 
 things were denied to the white men. I then 
 begged him to tell me some of the secrets he al¬ 
 luded to; “ No, no,” returned he, smiling archly, 
 “ for that would make you equal to me.” I 
 next inquired, if the missionaries had come 
 among his tribe, and if they had converted any 
 of its members to the Christian religion. He 
 informed me, that missionaries had once visited 
 the chiefs of his nation, but that no one would 
 listen to them; for, though they talked much 
 about the superiority of their faith, and its bene¬ 
 ficial influence upon men, every person knew that 
 they said what was not true ; and as long as the 
 
164 
 
 white people got drunk, told lies, and cheated In¬ 
 dians, his nation would have doubts about the 
 goodness of their religion, and prefer that which 
 the Great Spirit had given before it. 
 
 About nine o’clock I arrived, in company with 
 this Indian, at Coltman’s tavern, which is six or 
 seven miles distant from any habitation. Colt- 
 man has spent a dozen years in the woods, never 
 seeing any one except his own family and acci¬ 
 dental travellers; and this long seclusion has 
 communicated a delightful drowsiness to his 
 countenance, which, although he is very anxious 
 to know what is going on in the world, never 
 suffers any change of expression, whatever be 
 the character of the intelligence he receives. I 
 have observed that this lethargic insensibility 
 gradually attaches itself to all those who reside 
 long in the solitude of the forest. The sympa¬ 
 thies which once bound them to the world, and 
 made them feel a common interest with the rest 
 of mankind, are in the course of time broken and 
 annihilated, and they listen to details of recent 
 •battles, murders, earthquakes, and conflagrations, 
 with as much nonchalance as if the events had 
 happened in a planet that had long since ceased 
 to exist. How different are their feelings from 
 those of the restless village politician, who stands 
 shivering several hours at the post-office, during a 
 winter day, that he may learn how many of Lord 
 
165 
 
 Castlereagh’s windows were broken by the last 
 London mob ! In fact, their habits of thought 
 at length become assimilated to those of the In¬ 
 dians, and they conceive that they have wander¬ 
 ed out of their sphere, whenever they mentally 
 or sensibly lose sight of the wilderness. 
 
 In a little time Mr Coltman produced some 
 delightful venison, which, contrary to the Cana¬ 
 dian custom, had been kept three or four weeks. 
 It was in such a fine state, that it almost fell into 
 powder under the knife. As I did not find the 
 society which the house afforded very congenial, 
 I wandered into the woods after supper. 
 
 How feeble do those emotions, which the mind 
 derives from cultivated scenery, appear when 
 contrasted with the sublime flow of ideas that is 
 generated by solitary wanderings in the pathless 
 wilderness. There, the soul finds no difficulty 
 in detaching itself from the limited thoughts of 
 ordinary life, and rising upon the pinions of that 
 enthusiasm, which enables it to understand the 
 
 thrilling language of unsophisticated nature_ 
 
 The sombre forests standing erect in impregna¬ 
 ble strength, and stretching their boughs into 
 the deep, cold, blue, sky—the stars rising in 
 solemn and unobtrusive grandeur—the stupen¬ 
 dous galaxy moving round in solemn silence 
 through the immensity of space—the moon 
 clothing the trunks of trees in phosphoric 
 
166 
 
 brightness—and the roar of distant cataracts, 
 swelling and fading upon the ear like the mur¬ 
 murs of Eolian harps, produce a flood of harmo¬ 
 nious feelings too full of mystery to be account¬ 
 ed for. It is like some grand and awful strain 
 of music, that makes one shed tears, shiver, 
 and almost wish to die. At these times the 
 wilderness is filled with noiseless voices, which 
 can be heard by the heart alone—while every 
 breeze that sweeps through it becomes spiritual¬ 
 ized, and seems fraught with the mystic lan¬ 
 guage of the elements. 
 
 i 
 
LETTER XI. 
 
 Talbot Settlement—Its founder—Distribution of lands—First 
 occupants of a new settlement—Slow improvement—Condi¬ 
 tion of the inhabitants of the Talbot Settlement—Emigrants 
 from the Highlands of Scotland—Their clannishness—State of 
 society in the Settlement—Natural depravity of man—State 
 of mind during a residence in the Settlement—Physiognomy 
 of the material world. 
 
 The Talbot Settlement, to which I now pro¬ 
 pose to direct your attention, commences about 
 thirty miles beyond Long Point, and forms the 
 only monument of the colonizing exertions of 
 an individual, that Upper Canada exhibits. This 
 settlement is interesting in a double point of 
 view, both as it shews how much can be accom¬ 
 plished by the well-directed energies of an enter¬ 
 prising person, and as it is the land of promise to 
 which emigrants, native Americans, and Cana¬ 
 dians, are daily flocking in vast numbers. The 
 excellence of the soil, the condensed population, 
 and the superiority of climate, which characterize 
 this settlement, all combine to render it more 
 agreeable, and better suited to the lower orders 
 of Europeans, than any other part of the Pro¬ 
 vince. 
 
 This settlement owes it origin and present 
 
168 
 
 magnitude to the exertions of Colonel Talbot, a 
 person of birth and fortune, who, in the year 1802 , 
 took up his residence in the wilderness, for the 
 sole purpose of forming a colony around him. He 
 encountered all those difficulties that invariably 
 occur under similar circumstances, and was like¬ 
 wise strenuously opposed by some of the minions 
 of the Provincial government; however, he has 
 accomplished his object; for that tract of country, 
 which, ten or twelve years ago, hardly knew the 
 foot of man, now swarms with thousands of ac¬ 
 tive settlers. 
 
 The Talbot Settlement lies parallel to the 
 shore of Lake Erie, and consists of two great 
 roads, which extend seventy or eighty miles, be¬ 
 sides back settlements. The object in giving it 
 such a longitudinal form was, that a road might 
 be opened to the head of Lake Erie, and this 
 has consequently been effected, much to the ad¬ 
 vantage of the Province in general. The tract 
 of country in which the settlement lies, was 
 placed by government under the superintendence 
 and management of Colonel Talbot, and no one 
 can obtain land there without applying to him. 
 At first, lots, containing two hundred acres, were 
 given to emigrants; but, when both roads were 
 planted through their whole extent, the quantity 
 was reduced to one hundred acres. The settler 
 is obliged to clear ten acres of land, to build a 
 
109 
 
 house of certain dimensions, and to open one 
 half of the road in front of his farm, within the 
 space of three years;—regulations equally bene¬ 
 ficial to the country in general, and advantageous 
 to the occupier of the lot. 
 
 The first view of a new settlement excites 
 pleasing emotions. It is delightful to see forests 
 vanishing away before the industry of man; to 
 behold the solitude of the wilderness changed 
 into a theatre of animation and activity; and to 
 anticipate the blessings which a bountiful soil 
 will lavish upon those who have first ventured 
 to inhabit its bosom. A new field seems to be 
 opened for human happiness; and the more so, as 
 those who people it are supposed, by the casual 
 observer, to have been the victims of poverty 
 and misfortune while in their native land. But 
 a deliberate inspection will destroy all those Ar¬ 
 cadian ideas and agreeable impressions. He 
 who examines a new settlement in detail, will 
 find most of its inhabitants sunk low in degrada¬ 
 tion, ignorance, and profligacy, and altogether 
 insensible of the advantages which distinguish 
 their condition. A lawless and unprincipled 
 rabble, consisting of the refuse of mankind, re¬ 
 cently emancipated from the subordination that 
 exists in an advanced state of society, and all 
 equal in point of right and possession, compose, 
 of course, a democracy of the most revolting 
 
170 
 
 kind. No individual possesses more influence 
 than another; and were any one, whose qualifica¬ 
 tions and pretensions entitled him to take the 
 lead, to assume a superiority, or make any at¬ 
 tempt at improvement, he would be strenuously 
 opposed by all the others. Thus, the whole in¬ 
 habitants of a new settlement march sluggishly 
 forward at the same pace, and if one advances in 
 the least degree before the others, he is imme¬ 
 diately pulled back to the ranks. 
 
 That this has hitherto been the case, in most 
 settlements, can be proved by a reference to facts. 
 The farmers of the Niagara district, many of 
 whom have been thirty or forty years in the coun¬ 
 try, and now possess fine unencumbered farms, are 
 in no respect superior to the inhabitants of the 
 Talbot Settlement. They are equally ignorant, 
 equally unpolished, and one would suppose, from 
 their mode of life, that they were equally poor. 
 Their minds have made no advance, and their 
 ideas have not expanded in proportion to the in¬ 
 crease of their means. Is it then to be supposed, 
 that the people, who now fill the new settlements 
 of Upper Canada, and carry with them similar 
 ideas and prejudices, will make greater progress 
 in improvement, than persons of the same de¬ 
 scription have done before them ? 
 
 Few of the farms in the more improved parts 
 of the Province retain their original owners, who 
 
171 
 
 have generally been bought out by people of si¬ 
 milar habits, but greater wealth ; and new settle¬ 
 ments have hitherto almost invariably changed 
 their inhabitants, within ten or twelve years after 
 their commencement. It is to be hoped, that 
 this will be the fate of the Talbot Settlement, 
 and that its present occupants will henceforth 
 gradually disappear, and be succeeded by a po¬ 
 pulation of a superior kind. That this will be 
 the case seems highly probable; for emigrants of 
 some capital now begin to make their appearance 
 in the Province, and most of them will of course 
 rather purchase partially improved farms at a 
 moderate rate, than expose themselves to the 
 hardships and difficulties that attend the clear¬ 
 ing and cultivation of waste land. The advan- 
 tages which the Talbot Settlement presents, will 
 induce many persons of this description to take 
 up their residence in it, more especially, as a 
 large number of the farms will soon be offer- 
 ed for sale, at a low price, by their present pos¬ 
 sessors. 
 
 The Talbot Settlement exhibits more visibly 
 than any other part of the Province, these ad¬ 
 vantages, and that amelioration of circumstances, 
 which Upper Canada affords to the peasantry 
 who emigate from Europe. Nine-tenths of the 
 inhabitants were extremely poor when they com¬ 
 menced their labours, but a few years’ toil and 
 
172 
 
 perseverance has placed them beyond the reaeh 
 of want. All of them have rude houses and 
 barns, also cows and oxen, and innumerable hogs. 
 Some of the wealthier settlers feed sheep, but on 
 most lots the quantity of cleared land is so small, 
 that they cannot afford to lay much of it out on 
 pasture. Most of the settlers might live much 
 more comfortably than they do at present, if 
 they exerted themselves, or had any ideas of 
 neatness and propriety; but they follow the ha¬ 
 bits and customs of the peasantry of the United 
 States, and of Scotland, and, consequently, are 
 offensively dirty, gross, and indolent, in all their 
 domestic arrangements. However, these, it is to 
 be hoped, are temporary evils, and do not at all 
 affect the conclusions that a view of this settle¬ 
 ment must force upon every unprejudiced mind. 
 It is evident, that the advantages to be derived 
 from emigration to Upper Canada, are not alto¬ 
 gether chimerical, as has been too generally sup¬ 
 posed ; but that, in so far as concerns the lower 
 classes of Europeans, they are equally numerous 
 and important, as some of our most sanguine 
 speculators have represented them to be. No 
 person, indeed, will pretend to say, that the set¬ 
 tlers, whose condition I have described, are in a 
 way to grow rich; but most of them even now en¬ 
 joy abundant means of subsistence, with the ear¬ 
 nest of increasing comforts; and what state of 
 
173 
 
 things can be more alluring and desirable than 
 this to the unhappy peasantry of Europe ? 
 
 Great numbers of emigrants, from the High¬ 
 lands of Scotland, have lately taken lands in the 
 upper part of the Talbot Settlement. These 
 people, with the clannishness so peculiar to 
 them, keep together as much as possible; and, 
 at one time, they actually proposed, among 
 themselves, to petition the governor to set apart 
 a township, into which none but Scotch were to 
 be admitted. Were this arrangement to take 
 place, it would be difficult to say which party 
 was the gainer, the habits of both being equally 
 uncouth and obnoxious. However, the Scotch, 
 notwithstanding their dislike to an American 
 and Canadian neighbourhood, do not fail to ac¬ 
 quire some of those ideas and principles that are 
 indigenous to this side of the Atlantic. They 
 soon begin to attain some conception of the ad¬ 
 vantages of equality, to consider themselves as 
 gentlemen, and become independent; which, in 
 North America, means to sit at meals with one’s 
 hat on; never to submit to be treated as an in¬ 
 ferior ; and to use the same kind of manners to¬ 
 wards all men. 
 
 I resided many months in the Talbot Settle¬ 
 ment, and during that time enjoyed abundant 
 opportunities of acquiring a knowledge of its in¬ 
 habitants, who form a democracy, such as, I be- 
 
 6 
 
174 
 
 lieve, is hardly to be met with in any other part 
 of the world. The difference in point of wealth, 
 which exists among them, is as yet too trifling 
 to create any distinctions of rank, or to give one 
 man more influence than another; therefore, the 
 utmost harmony prevails in the colony, and the 
 intercourse of its people is characterised by po¬ 
 liteness, respect, and even ceremony. They are 
 hospitable, and, upon the whole, extremely wil¬ 
 ling to assist each other in cases of difficulty.— 
 But the most extraordinary thing of all is, the 
 liberality which they exercise towards emigrants, 
 in immediately admitting them to live on an 
 equality with themselves; for any poor starving 
 peasant, who comes into the settlement, will meet 
 with nearly the same respect as the wealthiest 
 person in it, captains of militia excepted. The 
 Scotch and English emigrants are frequently, at 
 first, a good deal puzzled with the consideration 
 with which they are treated, and, when they 
 hear themselves addressed by the titles, sir, mas¬ 
 ter, or gentleman, a variety of new ideas begin 
 to illuminate their minds. I have often observ¬ 
 ed some old Highland crone apparently revolv¬ 
 ing these things within himself, twitching his 
 bonnet from one side of his weather-beaten brow 
 to the other, and looking curiously around, as if 
 suspicious that the people were quizzing him. 
 However, those who are at first most sceptical 
 
175 
 
 about the reality of their newly-acquired import¬ 
 ance, generally become most obtrusive and assum¬ 
 ing in the end; and it is a remarkable circum¬ 
 stance, that, in Upper Canada, the ne plus ultra 
 of vanity, impudence, and rascality, is thought to 
 be comprised under the epithet Scotch Yankey. 
 
 A deliberate inspection of a new settlement 
 cannot fail to sink mankind lower in the estima¬ 
 tion of the observer, than, perhaps, they ever were 
 before. Human beings are there seen in a state 
 of natural and inexcusable depravity, that can 
 neither be palliated nor accounted for in any way, 
 except by referring its origin to those evil pro¬ 
 pensities which appear to be inherent in all men, 
 and which can be destroyed or counteracted only 
 by the influence of reason, religion, and edu¬ 
 cation. The apologists of the human race vainly 
 tell us, that men are rendered vicious by artifi¬ 
 cial means, and that they are excited to evil by 
 those miseries, disappointments, and oppressions, 
 which are inseparable from an advanced and 
 cultivated state of society. If we examine the 
 wilds of North America, we will find men plac¬ 
 ed beyond the reach of want, enjoying unbound¬ 
 ed liberty, all equal in power and property, and 
 independent of each other. Such a combination 
 of happy circumstances would seem well adapted 
 to extinguish and repress evil habits and vicious 
 
 % 
 
176 
 
 propensities; but it has no effect of the kind 
 whatever, for the inhabitants of the bountiful 
 wilderness are as depraved in their morals, and as 
 degraded in their ideas, as the refuse population 
 of a large city. It will be found, that the lower 
 classes are never either virtuous, happy, or re¬ 
 spectable, unless they live in a state of subordina¬ 
 tion, and depend in some degree upon their su¬ 
 periors for occupation and subsistence. 
 
 The time I lived in the Talbot Settlement 
 comprehended, I believe, some of the happiest 
 days I have ever passed in the course of my life. 
 My enjoyments were not indeed derived from, 
 or at all connected with, the place where I resid¬ 
 ed, it being destitute of every thing that could 
 render existence agreeable. Although I spent 
 my hours entirely by myself, sometimes scarce¬ 
 ly seeing or speaking to any person for days 
 together, I never knew what languor or weari¬ 
 ness was. My mind gradually expanded, as 
 its dependence upon itself became more neces¬ 
 sary. My imagination brightened,—my per-, 
 ceptions of the great and beautiful increased, and 
 a non-intercourse with the world seemed, by di¬ 
 vesting the soul of that mist in which the daily 
 business of life never fails to involve it, to enable 
 me to see, feel, and believe things I had never 
 participated in before; in the same way as soli- 
 
177 
 
 tude and abstinence are thought to operate in 
 rendering men more capable of holding commu¬ 
 nication with superior beings. 
 
 While in this state of mind, I recollect seeing 
 Plutarch's Lives in the house of a farmer, and 
 borrowing them. The impressions I received, 
 while perusing this book amidst the awful soli¬ 
 tude of the forest, never will be effaced from my 
 heart. The pictures of moral grandeur which it 
 presented to my mind were in strict consonance 
 with the magnificence of the material world that 
 surrounded me; and being in some measure ab¬ 
 stracted from human society, my estimate of that 
 intellectual mightiness, which characterized the 
 great spirits of ancient times, was not affected 
 or disturbed by an intrusive sense of the dege¬ 
 neracy of modern days. 
 
 I had likewise one number of Blackwood’s 
 Edinburgh Magazine, as a companion of my so¬ 
 litude, which afforded me many moments of de¬ 
 light. This work, among other things, contained 
 Coleridge’s Hymn to Mont Blanc: what could be 
 more adapted to my frame of mind than this 
 grand melody, this sublime effusion ! The trees, 
 the sky, the rocks, and the rushing waters, express 
 comparatively little when viewed in the vicinity 
 of a city, but they assume a far deeper character, 
 if surveyed from the depths of the wilderness. 
 
 M 
 
178 
 
 There, every object acquires new lineaments, 
 and a spiritual character appears in every feature 
 of the material world, although we cannot hear 
 nature speak, nor understand the sympathies 
 that pervade her different parts. 
 
LETTER XII. 
 
 Journey to the head of Lake Erie—Picturesque group at a ta¬ 
 vern, and characteristics—River Thames—Interesting scene 
 upon it—Delaware village and hotel—The Long Woods—A 
 snow-storm there—Scene in an Indian wigwam—Alarming 
 accident and subsequent difficulties—Singular means of extri¬ 
 cation—Assisted by an Indian—His hospitality—Ward’s ta¬ 
 vern—Interesting adventure at midnight—Settlement upon 
 the bank of the Thames—Its present state—Mineral oil—- 
 Quack doctor and patient—Town of Chatham—Lake St 
 Clair—French Canadians—Climate and fruit upon the De¬ 
 troit river—Sandwich and Amherstburgh—North-west coun¬ 
 try—Lakes Huron and Superior. 
 
 I shall now draw my travelling details to¬ 
 wards a conclusion, by presenting you with a 
 sketch of the journey I made from Talbot Road 
 to the head of Lake Erie, and to the most west¬ 
 erly settlement in Upper Canada. 
 
 My path lay along one of the cross-roads of 
 the Talbot Settlement, and I amused myself with 
 observing how gradually the marks of civiliza¬ 
 tion receded from my view. During the early 
 stages of my journey, houses, cleared land, fences, 
 cattle, and barns, met my eye on every side; but, 
 as I advanced, the dwellings diminished into mi- 
 
180 
 
 serable hovels, the woods became contiguous to 
 the road, the domestic animals disappeared, and 
 the fields were encumbered with fallen timber; 
 the changing aspect of the country thus mark¬ 
 ing the space of time that had elapsed since the 
 inhabitants first commenced their agricultural 
 labours. 
 
 About sunset I stopped at a house to feed my 
 horse. Having given directions to the landlord, 
 I entered the outer apartment, and found a mix¬ 
 ed assemblage of persons seated round the fire. 
 On one side sat several Scotch Highlanders 
 smoking tobacco, muttering Gaelic, and survey¬ 
 ing with suspicious scrutiny the rest of the com¬ 
 pany ; opposite them were three Indians in full 
 hunting costume; and a couple of New England 
 Americans, with some children belonging to the 
 house, completed the group. The New Eng¬ 
 landers talked volubly about politics, recounted 
 many incredible stories of their own prowess, 
 and intermingled the whole with oaths and im¬ 
 pious expressions. The Scotch eyed them with 
 a scowl of vacant curiosity, often shrugging 
 their shoulders and sullenly shaking their heads. 
 The attention of the Indians was directed to a 
 miniature wind-mill, which a child attempted to 
 turn by the blasts of an old pair of bellows. I 
 now had an opportunity at once of contemplat¬ 
 ing three different descriptions of human beings, 
 
181 
 
 and of estimating wliat had been the influence 
 of circumstances upon their respective charac¬ 
 ters. The Scotch peasants had been degraded 
 by a life of poverty, servitude, and ignorance. 
 Their ambitious propensities had never been de¬ 
 veloped, nor had their ideas ever strayed beyond 
 the circumscribed limits of their homes. They 
 knew nothing of the world; but their natural 
 cunning, stupidity, and selfishness, formed the 
 impregnable guardians of their own interests. 
 The New Englanders, on the other hand, unac¬ 
 customed to subordination, stood much higher 
 in their own estimation. They had ventured to 
 think independently upon most subjects, and as¬ 
 sumed the character of men of the world. They 
 were not fettered by vulgar associations like the 
 Scotch, and were shrewd in proportion; but in 
 consequence of their want of education, and their 
 being independent of the enlightened part of 
 society, they were destitute of any sort of prin¬ 
 ciple either moral or religious. The Indians 
 possessed a sort of negative superiority over both 
 parties, having no absolute vices, and being ex¬ 
 alted by those virtues that generally belong to 
 the savage. Though untutored, they were not 
 in a state of debasement, and they seemed more 
 entitled to respect than either the Scotch or Ame¬ 
 ricans. 
 
 It was nearly dark when I remounted my 
 
182 
 
 horse. The moon had indeed arisen, but, in 
 consequence of the cloudiness of the sky, I de¬ 
 rived but little benefit from her light. I still 
 had eight miles to ride before I reached the side 
 of the river Thames, where I intended to remain 
 during the night. When I had proceeded about 
 half way, I inadvertently left the main road, 
 while the increasing narrowness and intricacy of 
 the path I then followed soon convinced me that I 
 had taken a wrong course; however, upon hear¬ 
 ing the sound of voices, I continued to advance, 
 and soon found myself on the bank of the 
 Thames. A vivid glare of light illumined every 
 object around, but, as there was a little turn 
 in the course of the river, I could not at first 
 discover whence the radiance proceeded; in a 
 few moments, however, a large raft, in which 
 were five Indians and a blazing fire of hickory 
 bark, appeared floating down the stream. Two 
 of the Indians held torches in their hands, and a 
 couple of dogs sat in a small canoe that lay along¬ 
 side. A column of smoke rose from the fire, 
 which, extending itself into ruddy volumes, ho¬ 
 vered above the raft like a canopy, as it slowly 
 glided down the refulgent current of the Thames, 
 and rivetted my eyes. My attention was soon 
 drawn to the opposite shore by a young deer, 
 which had sprung from the thicket, and stood 
 stedfastly gazing upon the savages in an atti- 
 
183 
 
 tude of beautiful astonishment. In a moment 
 three rifles were levelled at it. They were dis¬ 
 charged, and it dropped down. The Indians 
 raised a triumphant shout, and waved their 
 torches, while a couple of them jumped into the 
 canoe, and, accompanied by the dogs, paddled 
 rapidly to the shore. But when they landed, the 
 deer, which had merely been wounded, sprung 
 upon its legs again, and rushed into the forest. 
 The dogs being despatched to turn it, barked 
 incessantly; the Indians on shore shouted and 
 whistled to encourage them, and those upon the 
 raft called loudly to their companions in tones of 
 anger and impatience. The dogs soon succeed¬ 
 ed in getting a-head of the deer, and driving it 
 to the shore, but it immediately plunged into 
 the river, and, having swam towards a little bay 
 that lay in the shade, it disappeared, to the great 
 disappointment of the hunters. The raft had 
 now floated far below the point at which the In¬ 
 dians had landed with the canoe, so that they has¬ 
 tily embarked, and paddled down the stream to¬ 
 wards it. When they reached their companions, 
 they were taken on board, and the whole party 
 moved down the river, illumining the woods, 
 and decoying their inhabitants into destruction. 
 
 This kind of hunting is practised, I believe, by 
 the North American Indians only. The bright¬ 
 ness of the fire allures the deer, and several other 
 
kinds of game, to the sides of the river, where 
 they are so much exposed to the shots of the 
 hunters, that they very rarely escape. 
 
 Having retraced my steps until I gained the 
 main road, I soon reached a place called Dela¬ 
 ware, where I intended to remain during the 
 night; and which has some claim to the name of 
 a village, as there is a saw-mill near it, and a 
 few houses within view of each other. Here I 
 enjoyed all the comforts that are usually to be 
 met with in Canadian hotels; and, after supping 
 on bread and hemlock tea , and supplying my horse 
 with buck wheat and wild hay, I went to bed at 
 an early hour, that I might next morning be 
 the better able to accomplish a journey through 
 what are called the Long Woods. The road 
 lies through thirty-seven miles of uninterrupted 
 forests, and there is only one human habitation 
 in the course of all that distance. The road being 
 very indifferent, the traveller cannot in one day 
 proceed beyond the house alluded to, which is 
 twenty-four miles from Delaware. 
 
 In the morning I was ferried over the Thames 
 on a raft. It was now the end of December, 
 and a drifting snow-storm threatened to make 
 my journey a very unpleasant one, nay I even 
 felt a little intimidated, for I had heard stories of 
 persons perishing in the Long Woods, from cold 
 and exhaustion. After I had crossed the river, I 
 
185 
 
 passed several miserable huts, which are occasion¬ 
 ally occupied by a few Delaware Indians, who 
 exhibit some faint traits of civilization in their 
 mode of life; and these were the last vestiges of 
 human agency that met my eyes during the 
 day. The road was, in many places, extremely 
 bad, and I frequently dismounted and walked, 
 that I might relieve my horse, and, at the same 
 time, keep myself warm by the exercise. When 
 about nine miles beyond Delaware, 1 came to 
 the remains of a large Indian wigwam, and, as 
 the snow fell thickly, I went into it, and shelter¬ 
 ed myself under the bark. Although it was 
 mid-day, not the faintest nor most distant mur¬ 
 mur could be heard. The flakes of snow fell 
 in noiseless succession among the boughs of the 
 leafless woods that encompassed me. The sky 
 was sombre, while the weather had a calmness 
 that amounted to solemnity. Several fragments 
 of Indian utensils, and likewise the skull of a 
 deer, lay near me, w r hile the blackness of one spot 
 of ground shewed where a fire had once been. 
 It seemed almost inconceivable, that human be¬ 
 ings should be permanent inhabitants of this 
 wilderness,— that domestic ties and affections 
 should often brighten the gloom of such a soli¬ 
 tude,—and that those leading passions, which agi¬ 
 tate the hearts of all men, should be elicited and 
 
186 
 
 brought into action amidst the appalling loneli¬ 
 ness and depressing monotony of the boundless 
 forest. The decaying vestiges of human exist¬ 
 ence, which the wigwam exhibited, made the 
 scene appear more desert and affecting than it 
 would otherwise have done. 
 
 The tract of country called the Long Woods 
 comprehends about one hundred and ninety 
 thousand acres of land, which will soon be sur¬ 
 veyed into townships and lots, and laid open for 
 the location of actual settlers. The soil appears 
 to be extremely good, but rather lighter than 
 that of the Talbot Settlement; and the timber 
 which grows upon it, though not heavy, is 
 of the best and most useful kinds. Notwith¬ 
 standing the remote situation of the Long 
 Woods, many hundreds of people are now wait¬ 
 ing for an opportunity to occupy lands in them ; 
 so that this wilderness, at present so obnoxious 
 to the generality of travellers, will probably be¬ 
 come, in the course of a few years, one of the 
 most populous and best cultivated tracts in the 
 western part of the Province. 
 
 In the afternoon the storm abated, and the 
 clouds forsook the sky. I had travelled during 
 the greater part of the day at a very slow pace; 
 for such was the badness of the road, that I more 
 frequently walked than rode ; and the way seem- 
 
187 
 
 ed wearisome beyond description, as there was 
 no means by which I could ascertain how far I 
 had still to go. 
 
 About sun-set I came to the edge of a creek, 
 the bridge over which had fallen into such disre¬ 
 pair that it was altogether impassable; however, 
 a large tree lay across the stream, and I attempt¬ 
 ed to lead my horse along this ; but its height 
 above the water terrified him so much, that he 
 started violently back, pulled the bridle from 
 my hand, and gallopped off. You may easily 
 conceive the consternation I felt at this accident; 
 for I knew that if he took to the woods, I would 
 inevitably lose him for ever, along with my 
 portmanteau, which contained many things of va¬ 
 lue ; however, I had sufficient presence of mind 
 to follow him cautiously, lest my sudden appear¬ 
 ance should again alarm him. I walked about 
 a quarter of a mile in a state of distressing an¬ 
 xiety, and then, on reaching a turn of the road, 
 perceived my runaway browzing the shrubs at a 
 little distance. By making a short circuit through 
 the woods I got a head of him unperceived, and 
 caught hold of the bridle again without much 
 difficulty. But my troubles were not at an end, 
 for I soon perceived that my portmanteau was 
 amissing; and aware that it must have been torn 
 off while my horse was passing through the 
 woods contiguous to the road, I tied him to a 
 
188 
 
 tree, and went in search of it. In my anxiety 
 to recover what was lost I neglected to mark 
 the course in which I wandered, and when I had 
 the good-fortune to meet with my portmanteau, 
 I found myself completely bewildered, and con¬ 
 tinued vainly looking for the road during, I 
 suppose, half an hour; in the course of which 
 time I thrice unexpectedly returned to one par¬ 
 ticular spot. It is impossible to describe the 
 sensations I felt on conceiving that I had entire¬ 
 ly lost it. My mind became as it were a perfect 
 blank—the faculties of observation and discri¬ 
 mination seemed to be effaced—and my me¬ 
 mory lost all recollection. I stood still in a state 
 of quiet despair, and knew not what might 
 have been the consequence, had not one re¬ 
 source occurred to me, the successful issue of 
 which perhaps saved my life. I had been ac¬ 
 customed to call my horse from the pasture by 
 whistling to him in a particular way, and I now 
 put this in practice. He immediately answered 
 me by neighing, while I advanced in the direc¬ 
 tion of the sound, and after repeating this kind 
 of conversation several times, I enjoyed the de¬ 
 light and satisfaction of finding myself once more 
 by the faithful animal’s side. 
 
 However, I still had the stream to cross, and 
 the tree that lay over it was much too narrow to 
 admit a horse with safety. Having looked 
 
189 
 
 around in all directions, without perceiving any 
 possibility of passing without plunging into the 
 water, I seated myself on a log that I might 
 consider what was to be done. In a little time 
 I observed a light twinkling in the woods upon 
 the opposite side. I called loudly, again and 
 again, and at last a tall figure appeared at a dis¬ 
 tance, as if reconnoitring, which proved to be an 
 Indian. When he advanced, I rejoiced to find, 
 by his salutation, that he understood English; 
 and no sooner had I explained the nature of my 
 difficulties, than he cried, “ Stop, my friend, be 
 patient, I will assist you.” He accordingly be¬ 
 gan to cut away, with his tomahawk, the ice 
 that projected from the edges of the stream; and 
 having done this on both sides, he told me there 
 was no depth of water, and I of course imme¬ 
 diately forded the creek. 
 
 Perceiving that I was cold, he hospitably con¬ 
 ducted me to his wigwam, which stood con¬ 
 tiguous to the road, and was rendered comfort¬ 
 able by a blazing fire in front. In the interior 
 I found a woman making leggings, and ornament¬ 
 ing them in the Indian style. At the request of 
 her husband I seated myself beside her, and en¬ 
 tered into conversation with him, in the course 
 of which he gave me a great deal of information 
 respecting himself, and I gratified him by being 
 equally communicative. The Indian wigwam, 
 
190 
 
 or camp, is constructed chiefly of bark, and is 
 open in front, that its inmates may sit or lie with 
 their feet to the fire. I found this one extreme¬ 
 ly comfortable, except when the wind blew the 
 smoke in my face; and I believe I would have 
 requested permission of its owners to pass the 
 night with them, had not a regard for my horse 
 induced me to proceed to the half-way house. 
 
 When I had become sufficiently warm, I 
 mounted my horse, having still six miles to 
 ride; but the moon now shone brightly, and the 
 road became much better, so that I soon reached 
 Ward’s tavern, which is twenty-four miles dis¬ 
 tant from any house on the one side, and fifteen 
 on the other. It was indeed delightful to expe¬ 
 rience the comforts of a cheerful fire and a good 
 meal, and to enjoy the attendance of human be¬ 
 ings, after a long and dreary day’s journey in the 
 tenantless wilderness. A person may, from 
 choice, live weeks without seeing any of his 
 species, and still feel indifferent about meeting 
 with them; but he who is placed, even for a 
 few hours, out of the reach and assistance of 
 man, will anxiously wish for his society, and 
 hail his presence with delight. Mr Ward, who 
 keeps the tavern in the Long Woods, is very 
 attentive to his guests, any one of whom may 
 obtain an extra portion of civility merely by 
 being communicative. He has a book, in which 
 
191 
 
 he requests all travellers to write their names, 
 places of abode, and destinations, and likewise to 
 add any remarks that their journey through the 
 Long Woods may have suggested. Compara¬ 
 tively few persons have as yet enrolled them¬ 
 selves in this book, and the majority of these 
 were apparently somewhat puzzled when they 
 attempted to comply with the first requisition— 
 that of simply writing their own names. The 
 only interesting memorandum that I could dis¬ 
 cover, was one which deponed that the writer of 
 it had been attacked by the cholic while in the 
 Long Woods, and that, on reaching Mr Ward’s, 
 he had taken some chicken soup, which, by the 
 help of God, had much relieved him ! 
 
 When it was midnight, I walked out, and 
 strolled in the woods contiguous to the house. 
 A glorious moon had now ascended to the sum¬ 
 mit of the arch of heaven, and poured a perpen¬ 
 dicular flood of light upon the silent world be¬ 
 low. The starry hosts sparkled brightly when 
 they emerged above the horizon, but gradually 
 faded into twinkling points as they rose in the 
 sky. The motionless trees stretched their majes¬ 
 tic boughs towards a cloudless firmament, and 
 the rustling of a withered leaf, or the distant 
 howl of the wolf, alone broke upon my ear. I 
 was suddenly roused from a delicious reverie, by 
 observing a dark object moving slowly and cau- 
 
 5 
 
192 
 
 tiously among the trees. At first, I fancied it 
 was a bear, but a nearer inspection discovered an 
 Indian on all fours. For a moment I felt un¬ 
 willing to throw myself in his way, lest he should 
 be meditating some sinister design against me; 
 however, on his waving his hand, and putting 
 his finger on his lips, I approached him, and, 
 notwithstanding his injunction to silence, inquir¬ 
 ed what he did there. “ Me watch to see the deer 
 kneel,” replied he; “ This is Christmas night, and 
 all the deer fall upon their knees to the Great 
 Spirit, and look up.” The solemnity of the scene, 
 and the grandeur of the idea, alike contributed 
 to fill me with awe. It was affecting to find 
 traces of the Christian faith existing in such a 
 place, even in the form of such a tradition. 
 
 Next morning I left Ward’s, and having pass¬ 
 ed through fifteen miles of forest, came again to 
 the banks of the river Thames, and found myself 
 in a populous settlement. The course of the 
 Thames is beautiful and meandering ; its waters 
 are delightfully transparent; and it can be navi¬ 
 gated by large vessels thirty miles above its mouth. 
 It is above forty-five leagues in length, has a mo¬ 
 derate current, and is, on an average, about eight 
 hundred feet in breadth. It is plentifully stocked 
 with excellent fish, and the lands that lie conti¬ 
 guous to its banks are, generally speaking, of the 
 finest quality. Both sides of the river have been 
 
193 ® / 
 
 settled, and under cultivation, during more than 
 thirty years; however, the uninquiring traveller 
 would suppose that they had but recently known 
 the presence of man. There is indeed a good 
 deal of cleared land on some of the farms; but 
 miserable log-huts, ill-ploughed fields, shackling 
 barns, and unpruned orchards, are to be seen 
 every where, disfiguring the face of the country, 
 and shewing too accurately the character of those 
 who inhabit it. This settlement, I was inform¬ 
 ed, had undergone little change or advance with¬ 
 in the last ten years, and, consequently, it has 
 reached the highest pitch of improvement it will 
 probably ever attain while in the hands of its 
 present occupants. The Canadians, in addition 
 to their indolence, ignorance, and want of ambi¬ 
 tion, are very bad farmers. They have no idea 
 of the saving of labour that results from forcing 
 land, by means of high cultivation, to yield the 
 largest possible quantity of produce. Their ob¬ 
 ject is, to have a great deal of land under im¬ 
 provement, as they call it; and, consequently, 
 they go on cutting down the woods on their 
 lots, and regularly transferring the crops to the 
 soil last cleared, until they think they have suf¬ 
 ficiently extended the bounds of their farms. 
 They then sow different parts of their lands pro¬ 
 miscuously, without any attention to nicety in 
 the tillage, or any regard to rotation of crops. 
 
 N 
 
 
 
194 
 
 • 
 
 There is hardly a clean or a well-ploughed field 
 in the western part of the Province; nor has any 
 single acre there, I believe, ever yielded nearly 
 as much produce as it might be made to do un¬ 
 der proper management. 
 
 At one of the houses where I stopped to feed my 
 horse, they showed me a specimen of mineral 
 oil, that is found in considerable quantities up¬ 
 on the surface of the Thames. It flows from an 
 aperture in the bank of the river, and three or 
 four pints can be skimmed off the water daily. 
 It very much resembles pretoleum, being of 
 thick consistence and black colour, and having a 
 strong penetrating odour. The people employ 
 it medicinally; and I was told, that its external 
 application proved highly beneficial in cases of 
 cramp, rheumatism, and other complaints of a si¬ 
 milar kind. 
 
 In this house there was a woman afflicted with 
 acute rheumatism. She had tried the mineral 
 oil without receiving any benefit from it, and 
 consequently had been induced to put herself 
 into the hands of one of the doctors of the set¬ 
 tlement. This gentleman happened to make 
 his daily visit when I was present, and entered 
 the room, carrying a pair of large saddle-bags, 
 in which phials and gallipots were heard clatter¬ 
 ing against each other in a most formidable man¬ 
 ner. He did not deign to take off his hat, but 
 
195 
 
 advanced to his patient, and shook hands, say¬ 
 ing, “ How d’ye do, my good lady, how d’ye 
 do ?”—“ Oh, doctor,” cried the patient, “ I was 
 wishing to see you—very bad—I don’t calculate 
 upon ever getting smart again.”—“ Hoity, toity,’’ 
 returned the doctor, “ you look a thundering 
 sight better than you did yesterday.”—“ Better!” 
 exclaimed the sick woman, “ no, doctor, I am 
 no better—I’m going to die in your hands.”— 
 “ My dear good lady,” cried the doctor, “ I’ll 
 bet a pint of spirits I’ll raise you in five days, 
 and make you so spry, that you’ll dance upon 
 this floor.”—“ Oh,” said the woman, “ if I had 
 but the root doctor that used to attend our fami¬ 
 ly at Connecticut; he was a dreadful skeelful 
 man.” Here they were interrupted by the en¬ 
 trance of her husband, who was a clumsy, cre¬ 
 dulous-looking person. “ Good morning to you, 
 doctor,” said he, “ what’s the word ?”—“ No¬ 
 thing new or strange, sir,” returned the doctor. 
 “ Well now, doctor,” continued the husband, 
 “ how do you find that there woman ?—no better, 
 I conclude ?—I guess as how it would be as well 
 to let you understand plainly, that if you can’t 
 do her never no good, I wouldn’t wish to be 
 run into no expenses—pretty low times, doctor— 
 money’s out of the question. Now, sir, can you 
 raise that there woman?”—“ Yes, my good sir,” 
 
196 
 
 cried the doctor confidently, “ yes I can—I of¬ 
 fered to bet a pint with her this moment, and 
 I’ll make it a quart if you please, my dear 
 friend.”—“ But, doctor, are you up to the natur 
 of her ailment ?” inquired the husband. " Oh, 
 perfectly,” said the other, “ nothing more sim¬ 
 ple ; it arises entirely from obstruction and con¬ 
 stitutional idiosyncrasy, and is seated under the 
 muscular fascia. Some casual excitement has in¬ 
 creased the action of the absorbent vessels so 
 much, that they have drawn the blood from the 
 different parts of the body, and occasioned the 
 pain and debility that is now present.”—“ Well 
 now, doctor,” cried the husband, “ I swear you 
 talk like a lawyer, and I begin to have hopes 
 that you’ll be pretty considerably apt to raise my 
 woman.” The doctor now opened his saddle¬ 
 bags, and, having set forth many small par¬ 
 cels and dirty phials upon the table, began to 
 compound several recipes for his patient, who, 
 when she saw him employed in this way, put 
 out her head between the curtains of the bed, 
 and cried, “ Doctor, don’t forget to leave some¬ 
 thing for the debilitation.” When he had finish¬ 
 ed, he packed up his laboratory, and ordered 
 that something he had left should be infused in 
 a pint of whisky, and that a table-spoonful of 
 the fluid should be taken three times a day.— 
 
“ Will that raise me slick ?”* said the woman ; 
 “ I guess I had as well take it four times a day.” 
 As the doctor was mounting his horse, I heard 
 the farmer say, “ Doctor, don’t be afeard about 
 your pay, I’ll see you satisfied; money, you 
 know’s, out of the question, but I’ve plenty of 
 good buck-wheat.” 
 
 About twelve miles above the mouth of the 
 Thames I passed a spot called the town of Chat¬ 
 ham. It contains only one house and a sort of 
 church; but a portion of the land there has been 
 surveyed into building-lots, and these being now 
 offered for sale, have given the place a claim to 
 the appellation of a town. There are many 
 towns like Chatham in Upper Canada, and al¬ 
 most all of them have originated from the spe¬ 
 culations of scheming individuals. When a man 
 wishes to dispose of a piece of land, or to render 
 one part of his property valuable by bringing 
 settlers upon the other, he surveys a few acres 
 into building-lots. These he advertises for sale 
 at a high price, and people immediately feel an¬ 
 xious to purchase them, conceiving that their si¬ 
 tuation must be very eligible indeed, otherwise 
 they would not have been selected for the site of 
 a town. The extravagant hopes and expecta¬ 
 tions that often fill the minds of speculators such 
 
198 
 
 as I allude to, would make the most enthusiastic 
 castle-builder smile. Often, while surveying 
 these embryo towns, have I been shewn particu¬ 
 lar spots of ground that were to be reserved for 
 universities, hospitals, churches, &c. although not 
 even a hovel had yet been erected within the pre¬ 
 cincts of the anticipated city. All these chime¬ 
 ras and erroneous conceptions have been introduc¬ 
 ed by people from the United States. There, villa¬ 
 ges and towns start into existence almost instanta¬ 
 neously ; and when any place is peculiarly calcu¬ 
 lated by nature to be a theatre for the energies, en¬ 
 terprise, and associated labours of man, it is im¬ 
 mediately occupied by an active and industrious 
 population, and soon attains that degree of im¬ 
 portance to which its advantages entitle it. But 
 in Upper Canada things are very different; for 
 the Province at present affords so few excite¬ 
 ments to individual exertion, and such unpro¬ 
 mising prospects, that all plans to promote its 
 aggrandisement and prosperity, whether rational 
 or chimerical, are alike doomed to languish for 
 want of supporters. 
 
 The river Thames discharges itself by a wide 
 mouth into Lake St Clair, the sides of which are 
 still uncultivated, there being only a few strag¬ 
 gling houses upon them. Lake St Clair forms 
 an intermediate body of water between Lakes 
 Huron and Erie. It has nothing at all singular 
 
199 
 
 or interesting about it, and is nearly of a circular 
 shape, being thirty miles wide, and ninety in 
 circumference. 
 
 The Detroit river, which connects Lake St 
 Clair and Lake Erie, is forty miles long, and di¬ 
 vides that part of Canada which it traverses, from 
 the United States. Its banks are in many places 
 thickly peopled, and in a high state of cultiva¬ 
 tion, and on the British side the settlement is 
 entirely confined to them. The inhabitants here 
 are chiefly French Canadians, who began to oc¬ 
 cupy the country when Canada was still under 
 the jurisdiction of France. They still retain that 
 amenity of manners which distinguishes them 
 from the peasantry of most countries; and this 
 quality appears to particular advantage, when 
 contrasted with the rudeness and barbarism of 
 the boot's who people the other parts of the Pro¬ 
 vince. The houses are so numerous and so close 
 together upon the banks of the Detroit river, 
 that there is the appearance of a succession of 
 villages for more than ten miles. The farms are 
 very narrow in front, and extend a great way 
 back. The lots were laid out in this awkward 
 and inconvenient form, that their respective oc¬ 
 cupants might be able to render one another as¬ 
 sistance when attacked by the Indians, who were 
 at one time very numerous and troublesome in 
 this part of the country. 
 
200 
 
 The banks of the Detroit river are the Eden 
 of Upper Canada, in so far as regards the pro¬ 
 duction of fruit. Apples, pears, plums, peaches, 
 grapes, and nectarines, attain the highest degree 
 of perfection there, and exceed in size, beauty, 
 and flavour, those raised in any other part of the 
 Province. Cider abounds at the table of the 
 meanest peasant, and there is scarcely a farm that 
 has not a fruitful orchard attached to it. This 
 fineness of the fruit is one consequence of the 
 amelioration of climate, which takes place in the 
 vicinity of the Detroit river and Lake St Clair. 
 The seasons there are much milder and more se¬ 
 rene than they are a few hundred miles below, 
 and the weather is likewise drier and less va¬ 
 riable. Comparatively little snow falls during 
 the winter, though the cold is often sufficiently 
 intense to freeze over the Detroit river so 
 strongly, that persons, horses, and even loaded 
 . sleighs, cross it with ease and safety. In summer 
 the country presents a forest of blossoms, which 
 exhale the most delicious odours; a cloud seldom 
 obscures the sky; while the lakes and rivers, 
 which extend in every direction, communicate a 
 reviving freshness to the air, and moderate the 
 warmth of a dazzling sun ; while the clearness 
 and elasticity of the atmosphere render it equal¬ 
 ly healthy and exhilarating. 
 
 About twenty miles down the Detroit river 
 
 6 
 
201 
 
 stands the village of Sandwich, which contains 
 thirty or forty houses, and a neat church. Be¬ 
 low this the soil becomes rather inferior in quali¬ 
 ty, being somewhat cold and swampy. The set¬ 
 tlement is likewise partial and circumscribed, and 
 a tract of land six miles in length, which belongs 
 to the Huron Indians, does not contain a single 
 inhabitant. A little above the mouth of the 
 Detroit river, and head of Lake Erie, is the 
 town of Amherstburgh, which forms the most 
 westerly settlement in the Upper Province. The 
 population of this place amounts to more than a 
 thousand souls, a proportion of whom are mer¬ 
 chants, who derive support in the way of trade 
 from the farmers residing upon the shores of 
 Lake Erie. Many of the inhabitants of Am¬ 
 herstburgh are persons of wealth and respectabi¬ 
 lity, and the circle which they collectively com¬ 
 pose is a more refined and agreeable one than is 
 to be met with in any other village in the Pro¬ 
 vince. 
 
 The mouth of the Detroit river, in which 
 there are several islands, forms a safe and com¬ 
 modious harbour. The river itself is navigable 
 for vessels of any size ; and a chain of water-com¬ 
 munication extends westward without interrup¬ 
 tion to the head of Lake Superior, which is more 
 than a thousand miles distant from Lake Erie. 
 The country north-west of Amherstburgh being 
 
202 
 
 entirely uninhabited, except by tribes of wander¬ 
 ing Indians, is but little known; however, it 
 would appear that many parts of it are well 
 adapted for agriculture. The land bordering 
 upon the river St Clair, which forms the com¬ 
 munication between Lakes Huron and Lake 
 St Clair, is of excellent quality, and will soon be 
 surveyed into townships, and given to actual set¬ 
 tlers, under the usual restrictions. But the soil 
 on the north side of Lake Huron is, generally 
 speaking, rocky and unproductive; and the cli¬ 
 mate there bears little resemblance to that of the 
 more easterly parts of Upper Canada, being cold, 
 humid, and tempestuous; but the amelioration 
 which would probably take place, were the forests 
 cut down, might render this extensive tract of 
 country more fertile, and more suitable for the 
 residence of man, than it is at present. Lake 
 Michigan does not lie within the British terri¬ 
 tories ; and the shores of Lake Superior have been 
 so partially explored, that it is difficult, and in¬ 
 deed useless, to ascertain whether or not they are 
 calculated for settlement, and capable of sup¬ 
 porting a large population. 
 
 He who has journeyed from the mouth of the 
 river St Lawrence to Amlierstburgh (a distance 
 of fifteen hundred miles), will find the latter a 
 magnificent and interesting point of observation. 
 He will be irresistibly led to contrast the tract 
 
 5 
 
203 
 
 of country he has traversed with those mighty re¬ 
 gions that stretch towards the north-west—wild, 
 boundless, and unexplored,—regions beside which 
 Lower and Upper Canada, with all their im¬ 
 provements, dwindle into insignificance, and ap¬ 
 pear alone worthy of a transient regard. This 
 wilderness contains within itself all those things 
 which are primarily requisite for the foundation 
 and prosperity of a great empire. Lakes and 
 navigable rivers every where afford the means of 
 internal commerce; while the wide-spreading fo¬ 
 rests will furnish materials for the construction of 
 ships, which may hereafter traverse Lakes Huron 
 and Superior, and ride in those bays and inlets 
 which emboss their shores, and which are at pre¬ 
 sent the resort only of water-fowl. 
 
LETTER XIII. 
 
 Departure from Sandwich—Dangers of the bordage—Violent 
 snow-storm—La Vallee s tavern—Company there—Evening’s 
 amusement—Scene on Lake St Clair—Effects of intoxication 
 —Sleigh-riding on the ice—Dangers that attend it—Cana¬ 
 dian skies—American economy—A new Catholic prohibition 
 —Arnold’s mills—Cottage there, and inmates—A walk in the 
 woods—The upper part of the Talbot Settlement—Scarcity 
 of money there—Amusing rencontre and conversation— 
 Death-bed scene—Conclusion of the journey. 
 
 After remaining ten days at Amherstburgh and 
 Sandwich, I prepared to set out for the Talbot 
 Settlement again. I had suffered so much from 
 cold during my journey upwards, that I dreaded 
 returning on horseback, and accordingly leaving 
 my horse at the former tow n, secured a seat in a 
 sleigh that was travellirtg towards my place of 
 destination. The severity of the weather had 
 frozen the Detroit river a few days after I 
 reached Amherstburgh, but a thaw soon coming 
 on, destroyed the ice so completely, that no part 
 of it remained except a narrow strip along the 
 shore, such as the Canadians call a bordage. 
 The snow began to fall, for the first time, that 
 season, on the morning on w hich we left Sand- 
 
205 
 
 wich ; but the quantity upon the ground being 
 too small to render the roads fit for a sleigh, we 
 were obliged to travel upon the ice, much against 
 our inclination, as it was very narrow and full of 
 large cracks and holes. 
 
 The snow soon began to drift so much, that 
 the driver could scarcely see which way the 
 horses’ heads were, and consequently was unable 
 to avoid the various dangers that environed us. 
 We trusted entirely to chance, and momentarily 
 expected that we would be dragged over the 
 brink of the ice and precipitated into the river, 
 which was at least twelve or fifteen feet deep. 
 At last a large rock stopped our progress. The 
 space between it and the high bank of the river 
 was too narrow to admit the passage of a sleigh, 
 and the ice beyond it did not appear to be strong 
 enough to bear us. As the storm continued 
 to increase, we now resolved to abandon the 
 bordage altogether, and to travel along the high¬ 
 way, bare and unfit for a sleigh as it was. We 
 gained the road with much difficulty, and imme¬ 
 diately getting out of the sleigh, walked behind 
 it, that we might relieve the horses. 
 
 I was not long able to keep up with my fel¬ 
 low-travellers, and soon lost sight of them. The 
 wind blew violently and irregularly, and some¬ 
 times raising up large quantities of the dry 
 snow that had fallen, whirled it aloft in clouds 
 
206 
 
 that enveloped every thing in a murky obscurity. 
 In some places the road was so bare that the 
 dust could be seen; and in others, immense 
 drifts several feet deep lay across it, and conceal¬ 
 ed the track. I twice found myself on the edge 
 of the steep bank of the river, and at another time 
 discovered that I had struck across a field, and 
 \tfas retracing my steps to Sandwich. I uncon¬ 
 sciously passed several houses in which I would 
 gladly have taken shelter, but the showers of 
 snow that loaded the air prevented me from see¬ 
 ing them. I did not meet with a single human 
 being, except one man, who, notwithstanding the 
 badness of the ice, and the tempestuous weather, 
 was driving furiously along the bordage in a 
 s one-horse sleigh. When viewed through the 
 changing and hazy medium of the snow-drifts, 
 he and the animal that preceded him appeared 
 to be of gigantic size, and to move forwards with 
 superhuman velocity. I watched their progress 
 for a time, but they soon disappeared amidst the 
 mazes of the drifting storm. 
 
 My fellow-travellers had informed me before we 
 parted, that they intended to stop at a tavern on 
 Lake St Clair. Fearing lest the weather should 
 grow worse, I did not allow myself to rest until 
 I reached the house and joined them, after a 
 walk of seven miles, and of more than four hours’ 
 duration. I felt inexpressibly fatigued, and en- 
 
207 
 
 joyed the good fire to which I was conducted by 
 the host, fully as much as I did that at Ward’s 
 tavern, after my journey through the Long 
 Woods. At the same time I could not but re¬ 
 flect, that if the snow-storm, which I encountered 
 while travelling there, had become as violent as 
 the one I had just escaped from, I would inevit¬ 
 ably have perished from cold and exhaustion. 
 
 The day following, being that on which the 
 quarter sessions took place at Sandwich, the 
 tavern was crowded with people who had been 
 prevented from pursuing their journey thither 
 by the violence of the storm. The public room 
 contained a wonderful medley of persons. They 
 were drinking, talking, smoking, swearing, and 
 spitting promiscuously; and the melting of the 
 snow, which they had brought into the apart¬ 
 ment upon their shoes, had deluged the whole 
 floor. As the scene was inexpressibly disagree¬ 
 able, I requested the landlord to conduct me to 
 another apartment. He willingly consented, and 
 ushered me into a room where his wife and se¬ 
 veral other females sat at work. They were 
 all Frenchwomen, and my limited powers of 
 conversation in that language prevented me from 
 addressing myself to any of them; but my hostess, 
 nevertheless, seemed to understand my feelings, 
 for she soon set about preparing supper, which 
 
I 
 
 208 
 
 was particularly acceptable to me, as I had tasted 
 nothing but snow since morning. 
 
 Shortly after the table equipage was removed, 
 two girls entered the apartment, carrying a small 
 tub of beautiful apples between them. They 
 placed it in the midst of us, and every one par¬ 
 took liberally of the dessert which it contained; 
 and I easily discovered, from the exquisite flavour 
 of the apples, that they had been produced upon 
 the banks of the Detroit river. The landlord. 
 La Vallee, now entered with a French news¬ 
 paper in his hand, and having seated himself 
 among the seamstresses, began to read articles of 
 foreign intelligence. His female auditors listen¬ 
 ed with undivided attention until he had got 
 through a paragraph, and then they all broke 
 silence at once, and commented with much pro¬ 
 lixity upon what it contained. The noise of 
 their tongues was so distracting, that, before La 
 Vailed had finished one page of the newspaper, I 
 began to suspect that I had not much improved 
 my situation, by exchanging the bar-room for 
 Madeline's parlour. 
 
 About ten at night I went out to ascertain the 
 state of the weather. It had ceased snowing, 
 but the wind was still very high. The heavens 
 were covered with large fleeces of broken 
 clouds, and the stars flashed through them as 
 
209 
 
 they were wildly hurried along by the blast. 
 The frozen surface of Lake St Clair stretched in 
 chill and dreary extent towards the horizon, and 
 exhibited a motionless and unvaried expanse, ex¬ 
 cept when a gust of wind whirled a wreath of snow 
 into the air, and swept it forward in eddying 
 columns. The leafless trees creaked and groan¬ 
 ed under the blast, and the crashing of boughs, 
 yielding to its violence, broke upon the ear at 
 irregular intervals. 
 
 The scene, though sublime, created a shudder¬ 
 ing sensation, so that I gladly returned to the 
 house, and followed my host to the chamber in 
 which I was to sleep. The French Canadians 
 keep themselves extremely comfortable within 
 doors, having a small stove in every room, and 
 often a large one in the hall or entry. The taverns 
 occupied by them are the best places of a similar 
 description that a traveller can resort to during 
 winter; for they will always afford him the lux¬ 
 ury of a warm sleeping apartment, whatever be 
 their deficiencies in other respects. 
 
 Fatigued as I was, I enjoyed but little sleep 
 in consequence of the noise made by the troop of 
 Bacchanals who caroused in the apartment imme¬ 
 diately under mine, and continued their orgies 
 during the whole night. Next morning the 
 public room of the tavern presented a shocking 
 spectacle; bottles, glasses, benches, and drunk 
 
 o 
 
210 
 
 men, being scattered promiscuously upon the 
 floor. All sorts of people are detestable when 
 under the influence of ardent spirits, but the 
 Americans particularly so. It is sometimes con¬ 
 tended, that a slight degree of intoxication makes 
 diffident and reserved persons more agreeable 
 than they naturally are, by rendering them free 
 and communicative; but the mauvais honte 
 being totally unknown among the lower orders 
 of the Americans, they do not require any sti¬ 
 mulus to induce them to exhibit their powers 
 and propensities. Therefore, the influence of 
 liquor only serves to draw forth their natural 
 coarseness, insolence, and rankness of feeling, 
 and to make them as it were caricatures of them¬ 
 selves. Whoever wishes to attain a just concep¬ 
 tion of the enormity which the human charac¬ 
 ter assumes when unchecked by restraint, unre¬ 
 fined by education, and unmodelled by depend¬ 
 ence, should spend an hour in the bar-room of 
 some low tavern in Upper Canada, when a party 
 of common farmers are drinking together. 
 
 We set out immediately after breakfast, and 
 drove along the ice upon Lake Clair, keeping 
 near the side, however, lest any accident should 
 happen. But there was in reality little to appre¬ 
 hend ; for in many places, at least thirty yards 
 from the shore, we saw that the ice rested on the 
 bed of the Lake, every drop of water having 
 
211 
 
 been literally frozen up. The cold was intense 
 beyond what I had ever before experienced, and 
 we felt its utmost severity, being exposed to a 
 strong wind, which swept over many miles of 
 ice before it reached us. 
 
 Lake St Clair seemed frozen as far as the eye 
 could discern, and, I suppose, is frequently in this 
 state the whole way across at the end of a severe 
 winter, its depth not being very great, and its 
 breadth only thirty miles. Even Lake Erie some¬ 
 times presents one continuous expanse of ice to¬ 
 wards the horizon, which must be at least fifteen 
 miles distant from the spectator, when he stands 
 on the top of a bank nearly one hundred feet 
 high. If there is a surface of ice to an equal ex¬ 
 tent on each side, which we may reasonably sup¬ 
 pose to be the case, it is not difficult to believe 
 that this Lake may sometimes be frozen over 
 entirely, as the water is not more than one hun¬ 
 dred feet deep in almost any part of it. 
 
 It is highly perilous for inexperienced persons 
 to travel upon the ice, even during the most in¬ 
 tense frost. Besides the cracks and flaws that 
 are to be avoided, there are places called air¬ 
 holes, which give way the moment a cariole is 
 driven upon them ; and when this takes place, the 
 passengers often find great difficulty in saving 
 their own lives, much more those of the horses. 
 People who are in the habit of travelling much 
 
212 
 
 upon the ice, usually carry halters with them, for 
 the purpose of choking the horses, should an 
 accident of this kind happen. The tightness of 
 the rope closes the windpipe, and prevents the 
 water from rushing into the lungs of the animal, 
 while the air they contain renders its body so 
 bouyant, that it floats upon the surface, and is 
 easily dragged out. However, considerable judg¬ 
 ment is required to ensure the successful execu¬ 
 tion of this plan, as people sometimes pull the 
 noose so tight, that they literally hang the ani¬ 
 mal they expected to save from drowning. 
 
 A little before sunset, we reached the mouth 
 of the river Thames, which was completely 
 frozen over. A man informed us, that a sleigh 
 had fallen through the ice the preceding night; 
 however, we were obliged to continue our jour¬ 
 ney upon the bordage, the snow having drifted 
 so much, that the roads were nearly impassable. 
 I suffered great uneasiness lest the ice should 
 give way; for it cracked incessantly under the 
 cariole; but my fellow-travellers said, this proved 
 that its strength might be depended upon. 
 The night was cloudless and beautifully clear, 
 and the stars gave so much light that I could 
 have read a book without any difficulty. The 
 skies in Canada, during winter, are peculiarly 
 transparent and dazzling. The brilliancy of the 
 different constellations, and the distinctness of 
 
213 
 
 the galaxy, make a stranger almost believe he 
 has been removed to a new hemisphere, and 
 brought nearer to the heavens than he ever was 
 before. Fine skies are generally supposed to 
 have an influence upon the character of those 
 who live under them ; however, the inhabitants 
 of Upper Canada cannot be produced as an 
 evidence of the correctness of this prevalent opi¬ 
 nion. 
 
 About nine o’clock we stopped for the night 
 at a small tavern on the bank of the river; and 
 I was delighted to get once more upon terra 
 jirma , beside a comfortable stove, notwithstand¬ 
 ing my love of star-gazing. We were soon pro¬ 
 vided with supper, which proved better than 
 the mean appearance of the house had led me 
 to expect. One of my fellow-travellers declin¬ 
 ed sitting down at table, as he had a supply 
 of provisions with him, but the other tried to 
 persuade him to join in our repast. Upon this 
 he began to walk thoughtfully about the room, 
 and then threw himself along a bench, resting 
 his head upon his hand with an air of abstrac¬ 
 tion for some minutes. At last he started up, 
 and cried out, with an oath, that he would sup 
 with us, and that he minded expense as little as 
 any man ! The lower orders of the Americans 
 are extremely parsimonious in those things that 
 regard their personal comfort. They never spend 
 
214 
 
 money with a good grace, unless it be for the 
 purpose of gratifying their vanity, or increasing 
 their importance. They will pay for the liquor 
 which their companions, or even total strangers, 
 have *drank at a tavern, that they may prove 
 their wealth, and receive applause for their self¬ 
 ish generosity. Upon the same principle they 
 will throw away large sums in the purchase of 
 fine bridles or glittering watch-chains, and then 
 endeavour to make up for such useless extrava¬ 
 gance, by starving themselves and their horses for 
 weeks together. But, in general, they would ra¬ 
 ther want a meal than pay the expense of one, 
 because the gratification of the cravings of vanity 
 does not accompany or follow the relief of the 
 cravings of hunger. 
 
 The woman who kept the tavern was a French 
 Canadian, and had several daughters. Two of 
 them remained in the room while we were at 
 table: I overheard their conversation, which 
 was carried on in a very desponding tone, and 
 related to some restrictions that their Catholic 
 priest had lately enforced with respect to danc¬ 
 ing. It appeared from what they said, that balls 
 had formerly been of frequent occurrence in the 
 settlement; but that the priest, anxious about the 
 spiritual welfare of his parishioners, had issued 
 an order prohibiting the amusement altogether. 
 However, notwithstanding this, dances occasion- 
 
215 
 
 ally took place at private houses in a quiet way. 
 The holy father, when informed that such was 
 the case, determined to put down the evil in an 
 effectual manner, and accordingly sent for the 
 musicians, and told them, that if they continued 
 to exercise their art at balls, they would forfeit 
 every chance of happiness in the next world, and 
 be the means of drawing many souls into the 
 vortex of destruction. But fearing lest the pro¬ 
 fits of their occupation should tempt them to sin 
 again, he promised to pay them out of his own 
 pocket all the money they might lose by strictly 
 adhering to his injunctions. He likewise denied 
 the rites of the church to all persons who persist¬ 
 ed in dancing. These prohibitory measures had 
 thrown a gloom upon the spirits of half the 
 young Canadians in the settlement; and the 
 propriety of them was canvassed in a very so¬ 
 phistical manner by my hostess’ two daughters. 
 
 Next morning we pursued our journey; and 
 to my great satisfaction kept upon the high-road, 
 the snow being now so well beaten, that a sleigh 
 went forward very smoothly. On reaching a 
 place called Arnold’s Mills, my fellow-travellers 
 informed me that circumstances had induced 
 them to change their route, and that they could 
 not cany me any nearer to my place of destina¬ 
 tion, and would therefore set me down at the 
 
216 
 
 first house vve came to. This intelligence was 
 equally unpleasant and unexpected; but I found 
 myself obliged to agree to what they proposed, 
 and accordingly took leave of them at the gate 
 of a cottage that stood near the road-side. 
 
 On entering the house, I was astonished to 
 find its interior characterized by a neatness very 
 uncommon in the dwellings of the peasantry of 
 Upper Canada. Its inmates willingly consented 
 to let me remain with them until I should find 
 an opportunity of proceeding to the Talbot 
 Settlement; so I accordingly seated myself at 
 the fire, and began to look over a parcel of books 
 that lay upon a table. Among them I found 
 Mackenzie’s Novels, Thomson’s Seasons, Cowper’s 
 Poems, Persian Tales, and several works of a si¬ 
 milar description, and likewise a Love Diction¬ 
 ary, the phraseology and definitions of which 
 were better calculated for the meridian of Bond- 
 street or St James’ than for that of Upper Ca¬ 
 nada. All this evinced that a degree of refine¬ 
 ment, not indigenous to the country, existed in 
 some of the members of the family. After a lit¬ 
 tle time a girl of interesting appearance entered 
 the room, and having seated herself at the win¬ 
 dow, began to read with much attention. She 
 had an air of languor and anxiety, and I remark¬ 
 ed that the old woman who kept the house, al- 
 
217 
 
 ways addressed her in a very respectful and af¬ 
 fectionate manner. 
 
 I watched anxiously the whole day, in hopes 
 of seeing some cariole that would convey me to 
 Talbot Settlement, from the nearest part of which 
 I was still seventeen miles distant When it be¬ 
 came dark I walked to the nearest farm-house, to 
 inquire of its owner, if he knew by what means 
 I could get forward to my place of destination. 
 On my return back, and when within a few 
 yards of the cottage, I heard footsteps behind 
 me. I looked round, and saw a young man 
 dresssed in a white gown, hurrying along the 
 road. He soon made up with me, and having 
 caught hold of my arm, stared wildly in my 
 face, and uttered some unintelligible sounds. I 
 was shocked at his appearance, and pushed him 
 from me, when he ran off with a maniacal laugh. 
 On reaching the cottage, I told the old woman 
 what a disagreeable interruption I had met with 
 in the course of my walk, and proceeded to de¬ 
 scribe the being whom I had encountered. She 
 looked distressed, and cried, “ I know him well, 
 for he is my son. He never has been gifted 
 with sense since he was born—but I don’t love 
 him the less for that.” The young man entered 
 the room soon after, and his mother began to ca¬ 
 ress him, and almost seemed to rejoice in his 
 
218 
 
 idiotism. The exhibition of maternal tenderness 
 and maniacal delight which ensued, was such a 
 revolting spectacle, that I immediately left the 
 apartment 
 
 As there appeared to be no chance of any 
 sleigh going towards the Talbot Settlement, I 
 resolved to set out for it next morning on foot. 
 This was rather an arduous undertaking. The 
 road lay through seventeen miles of uninhabit¬ 
 ed forest; it was bad and but little frequent¬ 
 ed, which was the more unfortunate as I had 
 to carry a portmanteau on my back. However, 
 after taking a good breakfast, and receiving di¬ 
 rections about my route, I began my journey. 
 Just as I struck into the woods a man accosted 
 me, and requested permission to bear me com¬ 
 pany, as he was going the same way. We found 
 the snow very deep in the middle of the road, 
 and not at all beat down, only two sleighs hav¬ 
 ing passed since it had fallen. The roughness of 
 the ground underneath rendered our walk in¬ 
 expressibly tedious and fatiguing ; however, my 
 companion contrived to beguile the time, by 
 telling stories of the murders that had been com¬ 
 mitted by the Indians, during the last American 
 war, on the very road where we then travelled. 
 About sunset, we heard the axes ringing in Tal¬ 
 bot Settlement, and never was any sound more 
 
219 
 
 delightful to my ears. However, I had still two 
 miles more to walk before I reached the house 
 where I intended to sleep, and I accomplished 
 these with the utmost difficulty. 
 
 t thought my fatigues almost repaid by the 
 pleasures of a good fire; and it was well I did so, 
 for the house afforded scarcely any other com¬ 
 forts. Its inhabitants had recently come to the 
 settlement, and were of course very poor. They 
 presented me with bread, pork, and tea without 
 sugar, and made a bed for me on the floor. 
 There was, however, no appearance of wretched¬ 
 ness or despondency in the house, its owner and 
 his wife being cheerful, and sanguine about what 
 the future would produce. I have always ob¬ 
 served, that the new settlers in Upper Canada 
 are perfectly happy and contented in the midst 
 of their severest hardships; and with reason, for a 
 moment’s observation must convince them that 
 prosperity and abundance will, sooner or later, be 
 the result of their labours and exertions. 
 
 Next morning, before commencing my jour¬ 
 ney, I wished to reward the hospitality of my 
 entertainers, but they positively declined ac¬ 
 cepting any thing. The part of the settlement 
 through which I now passed, having been re¬ 
 cently peopled, had as yet undergone little cul¬ 
 tivation or improvement; and the axe and hoe 
 were the only agricultural utensils its inhabitants 
 
220 
 
 had hitherto found it necessary to make use of. 
 When one sees the disorder that prevails upon 
 a newly-cleared farm, and estimates the quantity 
 of labour which will be requisite to put things 
 in a proper state, he feels astonished that its oc¬ 
 cupant is not disheartened at the number of ob¬ 
 jects which demand his industry and attention. 
 However, it fortunately happens that all the in¬ 
 habitants of a recent settlement have, in gene¬ 
 ral, equal difficulties to contend with, and every 
 one thus becomes satisfied with his lot, and is 
 encouraged to exertion by perceiving that he is 
 getting on as fast as his neighbours. 
 
 Having walked four miles, I stopped and 
 breakfasted. While thus engaged, two collect¬ 
 ors entered the house, and requested its owner 
 to pay his taxes, which amounted to twelve or 
 fourteen shillings. However, he told them he 
 was unable to comply with their demands at pre¬ 
 sent, as he had not the sum specified in his pos¬ 
 session, but would endeavour to raise it imme¬ 
 diately by disposing of some grain. I was 
 rather astonished to discover such a scarcity of 
 money in a settlement that was continually re¬ 
 ceiving an influx of emigrants, though I did not 
 feel any surprise at a man in Upper Canada not 
 being able to pay his assessment, trifling as it 
 always is. In the Niagara district, which is the 
 richest part of the Province, I have known farm- 
 
221 
 
 ers, who possessed large quantities of produce 
 and live stock, find it necessary to sell part of 
 their property for half its real value, that they 
 might be able to obtain enough of specie to an¬ 
 swer the demands of the tax-gatherer. This 
 scarcity of money induces many persons to give 
 false returns, and government is, consequently, 
 defrauded to a considerable amount every year; 
 for the assessors are not very strict in the per¬ 
 formance of their duty. 
 
 When I got up from the breakfast table, I found 
 that I could scarcely stand. The severe strain¬ 
 ing of the muscles, which the depth of the snow 
 and roughness of the roads had occasioned, was 
 the cause of this debility. I requested my landlord 
 to hire a horse for me if possible, and after some 
 delay he procured one, and I again set out to¬ 
 wards home. I had not proceeded far, when a 
 mean-looking fellow 7 , shabbily mounted, came up 
 with me, and made some observation about the 
 weather. I replied carelessly, and rode on in 
 silence; but he still kept close by my side, and I 
 at last spurred my horse into a trot, that I might 
 get rid of him. He likewise quickened his pace, 
 and then said, “ Well now, mister, I vow that’s 
 just about as smart a thing to trot as ever I 
 came across. Will you sell the critur ? 
 
 « No, I cannot—he is not my own.” 
 
222 
 
 " Oil, as for that, it may be or it may not be ; 
 but I like the critur considerably, and should be 
 glad if you would let me have him. If you’ll 
 make a trade, I’ll give you a good boot. I would 
 willingly give this excellent English watch, which 
 is as good as cash, and the thing I now ride, in 
 exchange for your critur; by which means both 
 of us would be satisfied.” 
 
 " I have already told you that the animal does 
 not belong to me.” 
 
 “ Well, now, I guess he don’t; but when you first 
 said so, I concluded you was only running me, 
 to see how high I would come up. Well, mis¬ 
 ter, I see as how we can’t make a trade—God 
 Almighty never intended that critur for me—I 
 suppose you’ve been up the Lake—was you at 
 the Rondeau ?” 
 
 “ No, I did not pass that way.” 
 
 “ Well, I’ve just been in that part; for I had 
 a notion of taking a lot there, and coming on it 
 in the spring—but I’m off that plan now, for I’ll 
 be damned if there’s any land or country up there 
 at all.” 
 
 “ How can that be ?” 
 
 “ Why, because it’s all covered with water— 
 I would rather swing the axe for a whole year 
 in the back woods of Kentucky, than make my 
 pitch any where in this here Canada—but, mis- 
 
 
223 
 
 ter, you don’t seem to say much—we States 
 people complain that you old country folks, 
 when you fall in with a gentleman on the road, 
 don’t behave as clever and free to him as you 
 might.” 
 
 “ And the old country people complain that 
 you Americans behave too free—good morn¬ 
 ing” 
 
 While stopping to feed my horse, I was forc¬ 
 ed, by particular circumstances, to witness a 
 distressing scene which took place at a farm¬ 
 house. Its inmates consisted of a family who 
 had recently emigrated from Scotland, and the 
 mother was dying in childbed. Supported by 
 pillows, she reclined on a mattress in the middle 
 of the floor, but had become nearly speechless. 
 The eldest daughter knelt behind the couch, and 
 tried to conceal her tears by pulling her hair 
 over her eyes, but loud and frequent sobs ren¬ 
 dered her anguish too apparent. The husband 
 walked hurriedly about the room in silent grief, 
 and his countenance shewed that his sorrow was 
 darkened by the disconsolate feeling of being 
 in a foreign country. I am confident he felt, at 
 the moment, that he could have borne his afflic¬ 
 tion better had it assailed him while he was in 
 his native land; all the associations connected with 
 which were undoubtedly recalled by the pre- 
 
224 
 
 sence of a son who had only arrived the preceding 
 day. This young man had been left in Scotland 
 by his parents, who were unwilling that he 
 should venture to Canada, until they had ascer¬ 
 tained what prospects the country offered to 
 persons of his description. But whenever they 
 got settled on their land, they wrote him, re¬ 
 questing that he would come out to them imme¬ 
 diately. In consequence of this, he set sail for 
 America, and just reached his father’s house in 
 time to witness the death of his mother. He 
 looked at her with an expression of wild asto¬ 
 nishment, and seemed too much shocked and be¬ 
 wildered to understand the nature of his situa¬ 
 tion. It was a gloomy winter day, but the fire 
 had been allowed to go nearly out—the furni¬ 
 ture of the room lay in confusion over the floor 
 —several half-dressed children scrambled upon 
 the hearth—and every thing was characteristic 
 of a house of mourning and a chamber of death. 
 The afflicted group brought to my recollection 
 the death-bed scene I had witnessed on the 
 shore of Lake Erie ; and I could not help con¬ 
 trasting the meekness, resignation, and unob¬ 
 trusive sorrow now displayed by the Scottish 
 peasants, with the heartless and noisy grief 
 which the Canadians had exhibited on a similar 
 occasion. 
 
225 
 
 After a little time I left the farm-house and 
 pursued my journey. The road was so bad and 
 hilly, that I did not travel much faster than I 
 could have done had I been on foot, and in pos¬ 
 session of my natural pedestrian powers. How¬ 
 ever, I reached Port Talbot that evening, and 
 next day arrived at my place of residence. 
 
 I have now, my dear friend, conducted you 
 from one extremity of the Province to the other, 
 and detailed almost every thing important or in¬ 
 teresting that fell under my observation. The 
 traveller cannot expect to meet with much vari¬ 
 ety in a country that is but recently peopled. 
 The impenetrable forest, the hovels of a rising 
 settlement, the dreary swamp, and the wander¬ 
 ing Indian, alone diversify a large part of Upper 
 Canada, and produce few entertaining adven¬ 
 tures, or few impressions worthy of record. He 
 who takes a general survey of Upper Canada 
 will, indeed, find abundant room for interest¬ 
 ing speculation, whether he considers the physi¬ 
 cal improvements of which the country is emi¬ 
 nently susceptible, or anticipates the grandeur 
 and importance it must eventually attain ; but 
 it would be vain and useless to indulge in views 
 of this kind, until the prosperity of the Province 
 is established upon more sure foundations than it 
 is at present, and an increase of wealth and po- 
 
 p 
 
226 
 
 pulation secures to it the means of carrying into 
 effect those plans and arrangements that would 
 elicit its capabilities, render it flourishing, and 
 make it, in some degree, beneficial to the parent 
 state. 
 
LETTER XIV. 
 
 Climate of Upper Canada—Winter—Sleigh-riding—Degree of 
 cold—Spring— Summer—Autumn — Indian summer—Im¬ 
 provement of climate from cultivation—Wild fruits—Soil 
 and productions—Price of lands—Expense of clearing them 
 —Rate of labour—Prices of grain and cattle—Taxes—Scarcity 
 of money—Manner of paying labourers—Different classes of 
 emigrants —Peasants and mechanics—Advantages Upper Ca¬ 
 nada affords them—What descriptions of them succeed best— 
 Directions about embarkation—Expense of the voyage to 
 Quebec—Plan to be pursued on arriving there—Manner of 
 travelling up the country—Steps to be taken at York— 
 Terms upon which government grants lands — Fees upon 
 grants—Where the emigrant should choose his lands—Things 
 to be attended to in selecting a lot—Plan to be followed by 
 poor emigrants—Different modes of settling—Their compara¬ 
 tive advantages—Importance of arriving early in the season 
 —Manner of building a house, and expense—Stock necessary 
 for a new settler—Provisions, and expense of them—Art of 
 chopping soon acquired—Different modes of clearing land— 
 Expense paid by the first crop—Profits of the second—Barn 
 to be erected - Garden to be made—Manner in which settlers 
 assist each other—Their mutual advantages—Different ways 
 of disposing of surplus produce—Occupations during winter 
 —Hauling firewood—Shooting—Mode of life—Articles of 
 diet—Substantial comforts—Advantage of emigrating to Up¬ 
 per Canada—Proofs of this—Fineness of the country—Second 
 class of emigrants—-Inducements that the Province offers 
 
228 
 
 them—-Objections and inconveniences—Emigrants possessing 
 capital—Different ways of employing it—Profits of specula¬ 
 tions in land. 
 
 I have now concluded the narrative of my wan¬ 
 derings ; but a few subjects connected with the 
 Province still remain to be considered; and these 
 will prove both important and interesting to 
 persons who have any intention of emigrating 
 to Upper Canada. 
 
 The nature of the climate is a consideration of 
 the greatest consequence to all those who propose 
 to remove to a foreign country, and deservedly 
 so; for a malignant atmosphere exerts an influ¬ 
 ence over the mind and body which it is impossi¬ 
 ble to evade. But he who takes up his residence 
 in Upper Canada runs no risk of suffering in 
 this way. The climate, in the westerly parts of 
 the Province particularly, is alike healthful and 
 agreeable. In winter, the thermometer occa¬ 
 sionally stands several degrees below zero; but 
 this intense cold seldom continues more than 
 three or four days at a time, and is by no means 
 Unpleasant. The temperature, during January 
 and February, may, in the generality of seasons, 
 average lo® Fahrenheit. The snow usually lies 
 six or seven weeks, but the time, of course, varies 
 according to the quantity that falls. While it 
 remains upon the ground, the carriage called a 
 sleigh or cariole (which is too generally known 
 
229 
 
 to require description), is exclusively used, and 
 forms a delightful mode of conveyance, one pair 
 of horses being able to draw several persons sixty 
 or seventy miles in the course of a day, without 
 much fatigue. Often, for some weeks in winter, 
 the sky continues bright and cloudless, and 
 though the air is intensely keen, yet its bracing 
 and exhilarating effects enable one to bear the 
 cold without any inconvenience. At these times 
 the public roads are crowded with sleighs; and 
 the farmer conveying his produce to market, the 
 wood-cutter hauling wood, the quack doctor, the 
 merchant driving for pleasure, and the jogging 
 traveller, all meet the eye in varying succession. 
 
 When the winter is moderate and steady, 
 with plenty of snow, it is the most agreeable 
 season in the year; however, it is sometimes 
 subject to vicissitudes which render it the most 
 unpleasant. I have seen storms of thunder and 
 lightning in the month of February, the thermo¬ 
 meter having stood at zero only a few days be¬ 
 fore ; and have also known hail, rain, and snow 
 occur successively in the course of half an hour. 
 The changes of temperature are sometimes ini 
 conceivably sudden and extraordinary; but they 
 affect the Canadians very slightly; for they are 
 always prepared for them, and their constitutions 
 are not so barometrical as those of English peo¬ 
 ple. The winter season is extremely healthy, 
 
230 
 
 sickness of any description being almost unknown 
 either among the natives or foreigners. 
 
 Spring commences in March; but the early 
 part of this season is seldom agreeable, being 
 damp, tempestuous, and rainy, and occasionally 
 very cold. The roads likewise become so bad, 
 that it is hardly possible to go out of doors.— 
 Towards the end of April the ground becomes 
 dry, vegetation commences, and the fields af¬ 
 ford a little pasture to the cattle. In May the 
 earth is covered with verdure; and if the weather 
 is genial and warm, the buds of the trees expand 
 with astonishing rapidity, while the forests exhi¬ 
 bit an innumerable variety of hues, all resplen- 
 dently bright and exquisitely pure. 
 
 In June, the orchards are in full blow, and a 
 transparent atmosphere and cloudless sky pre¬ 
 vail from the rising to the setting of the sun. 
 During July and August, however, the heat be¬ 
 comes so intense, that it is unpleasant to leave 
 the house, or take the least exercise; and mus- 
 quetoes abound wherever there are woods, which 
 prove a torment to those who are exposed to 
 their attacks. The heat in the course of the 
 summer has several times been found to exceed 
 100° Fahrenheit in the shade, but it usually 
 averages from 82° to 90°. 
 
 The autumns of Upper Canada very much re¬ 
 semble those of Britain. October is usually a 
 
231 
 
 delightful dry month, with mild days and clear 
 frosty nights. The early part of November is 
 generally characterized by a pecidiar state of the 
 weather, which the Canadians term Indian sum¬ 
 mer. The atmosphere has a haziness and smok¬ 
 iness which makes distant objects appear indis¬ 
 tinct and undefined, and a halo often encircles 
 the sun. At the same time, a genial warmth 
 prevails, and there is seldom any wind. The In¬ 
 dian summer is so delightful, that one would al¬ 
 most suppose the country where it takes place 
 to be transported for a season to some celestial 
 clime, where the elements ever existed in har¬ 
 mony and acted in unison. It is extremely dif¬ 
 ficult to explain the cause of the regular occur¬ 
 rence of this kind of weather; for scarcely a 
 year passes, in the autumn of which there are not 
 some days of Indian summer. It derives its 
 name from the vulgar and prevailing notion, 
 that the haziness of the weather is produced by 
 the smoke which arises from the burning of the 
 long grass, that covers the immense prairies bor¬ 
 dering on the Missouri and Mississippi. It is 
 true, that these prairies are annually set on fire 
 by the Indians; but that the conflagration affects 
 the climate and atmosphere of Canada is an idea 
 too absurd to require refutation. 
 
 The climate of Upper Canada has not yet 
 attained that salubrity and purity which will 
 
 A 
 
232 
 
 eventually characterize it. Thick forests cover 
 nine-tenths of the inhabited parts of the Pro¬ 
 vince, and these, by preventing the evaporation 
 of water from the surface of the earth, produce 
 marshes, swamps, and collections of water which, 
 in their turn, generate mists, chilly winds, and 
 agues. When the woods are cleared away, the 
 air, although perhaps colder, will be even more 
 dry than it is at present. The lakes will then 
 attract the clouds towards their surface, and 
 Upper Canada will seldom be exposed to heavy 
 falls of rain, or violent storms of snow. 
 
 I have already mentioned, that the soil and 
 climate of the Province are very favourable to 
 the growth of fruit. The cultivation of or¬ 
 chards, however, has hitherto been almost en¬ 
 tirely neglected. The kinds of fruit most com¬ 
 mon in the country are not well chosen, and 
 they appear to degenerate from want of care and 
 attention. Wild grapes grow abundantly in the 
 forests, and would, I believe, by proper culture, 
 become equal in size and flavour to the garden 
 grape, and also fit for making wine. Hickory 
 nuts, walnuts, butter-nuts, plums, wild straw¬ 
 berries, cranberries, &c. are found in profusion al¬ 
 most every where, and might all, of course, be 
 improved in value and quality by suitable culti¬ 
 vation. 
 
 The soil of Upper Canada is in general excel- 
 
233 
 
 lent, and likewise of easy cultivation. Wheat is 
 the grain that is raised in greatest quantity. A 
 bushel and a half of seed are generally allowed 
 for an acre, and the return averages from twenty- 
 five to thirty-five bushels. Buck-wheat is also 
 cultivated to a considerable extent, and an acre 
 yields about fifteen bushels. Rye succeeds well, 
 the crop being generally twenty bushels an acre. 
 Oats are very indifferent, and much inferior to 
 those raised in Europe, being small and light in 
 the grain, and comparatively not nutritious. An 
 acre yields on an average from thirty to forty 
 bushels. Barley is but little known in Upper 
 Canada; however, it would appear that the 
 seasons are rather too warm and dry to be favour¬ 
 able to its growth. Indian corn is much culti¬ 
 vated in the western parts of the Province, and 
 yields largely, if it is not injured or destroyed by 
 late frosts. Potatoes succeed well in most soils, 
 but are much inferior in quality to those pro¬ 
 duced in Britain. Turnips also form a profit¬ 
 able crop, and are used to feed live stock during 
 winter; but the vegetable best adapted for this 
 purpose is the squash or gourd, which affords 
 an abundant crop, is much liked by the cattle, 
 and never communicates any unpleasant flavour 
 to the milk of the cows, as turnips invariably do. 
 
 But while examining this general estimate of 
 the returns made by different crops, it must be 
 
234 
 
 recollected, that in Upper Canada the land is 
 scarcely ever made to produce nearly as much as 
 it would do, were it under judicious cultivation. 
 The Canadian farmers have no system in their 
 agricultural operations, or in the management of 
 their lands, and they prepare the soil for the re¬ 
 ception of the seed very imperfectly. These cir¬ 
 cumstances are generally the result of ignorance, 
 but often arise from a want of capital, and a dif¬ 
 ficulty of procuring labourers to assist them in 
 the business of the farm. Were an enlightened 
 English farmer to subject a portion of the best 
 lands in Upper Canada to the British system of 
 agriculture, making of course those deviations 
 which the climate, soil, and other circumstances 
 might render necessary, he would raise crops in¬ 
 finitely superior, alike in quantity and quality, 
 to those that are generally yielded at present 
 throughout the Province. 
 
 In Upper Canada, waste land varies in value 
 according to its situation. Near villages, and 
 populous parts of the country, its price is from 
 £4 to £8 an acre; however, when it lies remote 
 from any settlement, and has no particular local 
 advantages, it may sometimes be purchased in 
 tracts at the rate of two or three shillings an 
 acre. Cultivated land sells much higher, parti¬ 
 cularly when bought in small quantities, its 
 price being then sometimes £20 or £30 per acre. 
 
235 
 
 A farm containing two hundred acres, thirty of 
 which are under cultivation, and a log-house and 
 barn, may be purchased for £250 in the Talbot 
 Settlement, where the majority of British emi¬ 
 grants now take up their residence. A farm of 
 similar extent, situated any where upon the fron¬ 
 tier, between Niagara village and Fort Erie, 
 could not be bought for less than eight or nine 
 hundred pounds. In the back settlements, farms 
 are always for sale at prices much lower than any 
 I have mentioned; but the disadvantages inci¬ 
 dental to their situation render them not very de¬ 
 sirable for any person. In many of the villages 
 of Upper Canada, lots containing half an acre 
 sell for £50 or £60, and the lands in their imme¬ 
 diate vicinity often bear a proportionably high 
 value. 
 
 Waste land may be completely cleared and 
 fenced at the rate of £4 per acre; however, if 
 the quantity is large, and the work contracted 
 for, the cost will not be so great. Farm-labourers, 
 if hired by the day, receive from three shillings 
 to four and sixpence, exclusive of board. A 
 man’s wages are £3 per month, besides board; 
 but if he is hired by the year, he receives less in 
 proportion. Women servants can hardly be pro¬ 
 cured, and they generally receive eighteen shil¬ 
 lings or a guinea a month. A moderately good 
 horse costs £20 or £25; a yoke of oxen the 
 
236 
 
 same sum; a good cow from £5 to £7; a sheep 
 4s. 6d.; a large sow £2; and other domestic 
 animals in proportion. Wheat averages 4s. 6d. 
 a bushel; rye 4s.; oats Is. lOd.; buck-wheat 3s.; 
 Indian corn 3s.; potatoes 2s.; apples 2s. 6d.; 
 hay, per ton, £2. When farms are rented, it is 
 generally upon shares. The tenant is furnished 
 with horses, oxen, and agricultural utensils by the 
 owner, who receives one-third or one-half of the 
 whole produce, as may have been agreed upon. 
 This system is tolerably equitable, it being for 
 the interest of both parties that as much land as 
 possible should be laid down in crop. 
 
 In Upper Canada, the taxes are so trifling that 
 they scarcely deserve notice. All rateable pro¬ 
 perty, such as live-stock, houses, &c. is subject to 
 a tax of one penny upon the pound, ad valorem. 
 Cultivated land pays one penny an acre, and 
 waste land one farthing. Every male is obliged 
 to work three days annually upon the public 
 roads, or employ a substitute, or pay the sum of 
 thirteen shillings and sixpence to the path-master, 
 being the wages of a labouring man for three 
 days. Heads of families, and persons who keep 
 teams, are liable to a greater proportion of statute 
 labour. However, notwithstanding these regu¬ 
 lations. the roads throughout the Province in 
 general are in very bad repair, the path-masters 
 not being sufficiently strict in exacting the ap- 
 
237 
 
 portioned quantity of labour from each indi¬ 
 vidual. 
 
 From what I have stated, it will be seen that 
 the necessaries of life can be obtained at a small 
 expense in Upper Canada; but that labour is 
 very high, and quite out of proportion to most 
 other things. This circumstance arises from the 
 scarcity of labourers, and from their wages being 
 in a great measure nominal. Money is so diffi¬ 
 cult to procure, that almost all the farmers are 
 obliged to pay those they hire with grain of some 
 kind, which being unsaleable, those who receive 
 it are obliged to barter it away with loss for any 
 thing else they may require. He who has a 
 little money at command in Upper Canada will 
 possess many advantages. He will get his work 
 done at a cheaper rate than other people who 
 have none; and, in making purchases, will often 
 obtain a large discount from the seller. A third 
 cause of the high wages of labourers is the exor¬ 
 bitant rate at which all merchandize of British 
 manufacture is sold in Upper Canada, the retail 
 prices of such being, on an average, one hundred 
 and fifty per cent, higher than they are in Britain. 
 The different articles of wearing apparel cost 
 nearly twice as much as they do on the other 
 side of the Atlantic, and are of very inferior 
 quality. 
 
 The persons who may be inclined to emigrate 
 
238 
 
 to Upper Canada are of three different descrip¬ 
 tions, viz. the poor peasant or day-labourer; the 
 man of small income and increasing family ; the 
 man possessing some capital, and wishing to em¬ 
 ploy it to advantage. 
 
 Persons of the first class never would repent if 
 they emigrated to Upper Canada, for they could 
 hardly fail to improve their circumstances and 
 condition. I have already mentioned the in¬ 
 ducements when describing the Talbot Settle¬ 
 ment, and I repeat, that the poorest individual, 
 if he acts prudently and is industrious, and has 
 a common share of good fortune, will be able to 
 acquire an independence in the space of four or 
 five years. He will then have plenty to eat and 
 drink, a warm house to reside in, and no taxes to 
 pay; and this state of things surely forms a de¬ 
 lightful contrast with those hardships and priva¬ 
 tions which are at present the lot of the labour¬ 
 ing population of Great Britain. 
 
 It is evident that some descriptions of emi¬ 
 grants will succeed better in Upper Canada than 
 others. Those who have been accustomed to a 
 country life, and to country labour, are, of course, 
 more fitted to cultivate land, and endure the 
 hardships at first attendant upon a residence in 
 the woods, than artisans or manufacturers, whose 
 constitutions and habits of life are somewhat un¬ 
 favourable to the successful pursuit of agriculture. 
 
239 
 
 But every individual who, to youth and health, 
 joins perseverance and industry, will eventually 
 prosper. Mechanics cannot fail to do well in 
 Upper Canada; for, when not employed in clear¬ 
 ing lands, they will find it easy to gain a little 
 money by working at their professions; and 
 they likewise have the advantage of being able 
 to improve their dwelling-houses and repair their 
 farming utensils, at no expense. Weavers, be¬ 
 ing ignorant of country affairs, and unaccustom¬ 
 ed to bodily exertion, make but indifferent settlers 
 at first, and their trade is of no use to them what¬ 
 ever in the woods. Married persons are always 
 more comfortable, and succeed sooner, in Cana¬ 
 da, than single men; for a wife and family, so 
 far from being a burden there, always prove 
 sources of wealth. The wife of a new settler 
 has many domestic duties to perform; and chil¬ 
 dren, if at all grown up, are useful in various 
 ways. 
 
 Emigrants ought to embark in vessels bound 
 for Quebec or Montreal. If they sail for New 
 York, they will have to pay a duty of 30 per 
 cent, upon their luggage when they arrive at that 
 port; and, as there is very little water-carriage 
 between it and Canada, the route will prove a 
 most expensive one, particularly to people who 
 carry many articles along with them. Those 
 who have money to spare, should lay in a quan- 
 
240 
 
 tity of wearing apparel before leaving this coun¬ 
 try, as all articles of the kind cost very high in 
 Upper Canada. A stock of broad-cloth, cotton, 
 shoes, bedding, &c. can be carried out at a trifling 
 expense, and will prove advantageous to the 
 settler. But no one should take household furni¬ 
 ture with him; and if he cannot sell what he has 
 in this country, he ought to leave it behind him. 
 The conveyance of tables, chairs, &c. into the 
 back-woods costs far more than their value; be¬ 
 sides every thing that is necessary for the interior 
 of a log-hut can be procured in the settlements. 
 Good furniture is not at all fit for the rude abodes 
 that must at first be occupied by those who have 
 newly emigrated. 
 
 A passage to Quebec or Montreal can now be 
 procured for about £. 7, provisions included. 
 Half-price is usually paid for children. Nothing 
 is charged for luggage, unless the quantity is very 
 great. Those emigrants who have but a small 
 sum of money should convert it into guineas or 
 dollars, British bank-notes and silver not being 
 current in Canada. If the amount is large, it 
 should be lodged in the hands of a friend in this 
 country, and such arrangements made as will en¬ 
 able its owner to obtain the sum he wants, by 
 drawing a bill upon his correspondent at home. 
 
 There are offices, both at Quebec and Mont¬ 
 real, where persons, by paying a small fee, may 
 
s2H 
 
 obtain some information about vacant lands, the 
 expense of a grant, and the means of proceeding 
 to the Upper Province. Emigrants should go 
 to these whenever they get on shore, and make 
 such inquiries as they may think necessary, and 
 then immediately set out for York. It is highly 
 injudicious to waste any time in Quebec or Mont¬ 
 real, as living is very expensive in both cities, 
 and as nothing but general information can be 
 obtained in them, the people knowing as little 
 about the exact nature of the different lots of 
 land that are open to settlers, as we do in this 
 country. Every man should see not only the 
 settlement, but the farm which he proposes to 
 select as his place of residence, before he comes to 
 any decision; and, therefore, his object is to 
 hasten up the country as fast as possible, York 
 being the centre of all transactions connected 
 with land business. Several steam-boats ply 
 every day between Quebec and Montreal, and 
 steerage passengers are charged 15s. On reach¬ 
 ing Montreal, the emigrant should secure a place 
 for himself and his luggage in the batteaux, 
 which are open boats, that are rowed up the St 
 Lawrence, and usually arrive at Kingston in six 
 or seven days. Those who go by them must 
 carry provisions for their own use. The whole 
 expense will be about £l, 8s. for each person. 
 
 Q 
 
242 
 
 A steam-boat leaves Kingston once a week for 
 York, and the steerage fare is 15s. 
 
 When the emigrant reaches York, he should 
 go to the Land Office there, where he will be in¬ 
 formed concerning the steps that must be taken, 
 before he can be entitled to a grant. It is unne¬ 
 cessary to detail these farther than by stating, 
 that the chief object of them is, to make the ap¬ 
 plicant prove himself a British subject. 
 
 Government gives fifty acres of land to any 
 British subject, free of cost; but, if he wishes to 
 have a larger quantity, he must pay fees to a cer¬ 
 tain amount. In Canada, fifty acres are con¬ 
 sidered as a very small farm, and, therefore the 
 emigrant should procure at least twice as much, 
 if he can afford to do so; however, he will not 
 easily obtain more than one hundred acres, un¬ 
 less he proves himself possessed of the means of 
 soon bringing a larger quantity under cultivation. 
 All lands are bestowed under certain regulations 
 and restrictions. The settler must clear five 
 acres upon each hundred granted to him, open a 
 road in front of his lot, and build a log-house of 
 certain dimensions. These settling-duties, if 
 performed within eighteen months after the lo¬ 
 cation-ticket has been issued, entitle him to a 
 deed from government, which makes the lot his 
 for ever; and are so far from being severe or un- 
 
243 
 
 reasonable, that he will find it necessary to per¬ 
 form them in less than the time specified, if he 
 propose to obtain a subsistence from the cultiva¬ 
 tion of his farm. The following is a list of the 
 fees on grants of land exceeding fifty acres :— 
 
 100 acres 
 
 u* 
 
 <4! 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 14 
 
 1 
 
 200 
 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 300 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 to 
 
 11 
 
 7 
 
 400 
 
 32 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 500 
 
 39 
 
 19 
 
 9 
 
 600 
 
 47 
 
 18 
 
 10 
 
 700 
 
 55 
 
 17 
 
 11 
 
 800 
 
 • 
 
 I 
 
 o 
 
 OS 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 900 
 
 o 
 
 *> 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 16 
 
 0 
 
 1000 
 
 78 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 1100 
 
 86 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 1200 
 
 93 
 
 18 
 
 4 
 
 The emigrant 
 
 must now visit the 
 
 settlement, 
 
 or place, where he feels most inclined to take up 
 his residence. Different persons will, of course, 
 recommend different spots. But that tract of 
 land which extends from the mouth of the 
 Niagara river to the head of Lake Erie, com¬ 
 bines a greater number of advantages than any 
 other portion of the Province; and the emigrant 
 will do well to choose his lot in some part of it. 
 He may perhaps be told, that it lies too far from 
 
244 
 
 a market; but this is quite a temporary defect, 
 and is fully counterbalanced by the richness of 
 soil, comparative lightness of timber, fine water 
 communications, and superiority of climate, which 
 characterize its whole extent. An caster, Long 
 Point, Talbot Road, &c. are situated in this fer¬ 
 tile region, which contains many other settle¬ 
 ments equally beautiful and inviting. 
 
 Should the emigrant have a wife and family, 
 he ought, if possible, to leave them at York ; as 
 it would be unnecessary, expensive, and incon¬ 
 venient, for them to accompany him in his search, 
 and as he must return to that place after he has 
 chosen his location, that he may get it confirmed 
 by government. 
 
 The people in new settlements are very will¬ 
 ing to show the vacant land near them to stran¬ 
 gers, from the desire they have of acquiring neigh¬ 
 bours; and, therefore, the emigrant must ask 
 some person to walk over the different lots with 
 him, and point out their boundaries. The chief 
 objects to be considered in making a selection 
 are, the goodness of the land, its dryness, the ex¬ 
 istence of a spring of water upon it, its vicinity 
 to a road, a navigable river, a mill, a running 
 stream, a market, and an extensive and in¬ 
 creasing neighbourhood. It is very seldom 
 that a lot possessing all these advantages can 
 be obtained, and the emigrant ought therefore 
 
245 
 
 to fix upon the one that combines the most 
 important of them. At all events, he must not 
 choose barren or swampy land, whatever favour¬ 
 able circumstances may characterize its situation. 
 Good roads, markets, a large neighbourhood, and 
 mills, will make their appearance almost any 
 where in the course of time; but a piece of poor 
 wet ground will never produce enough to render 
 them of any value to its possessor. 
 
 Whenever the emigrant has obtained from go¬ 
 vernment a location-ticket, which is a sort of cer¬ 
 tificate that empowers him to take possession of 
 the portion of land he has selected, he ought to 
 commence operations immediately. But it some¬ 
 times happens, that emigrants are too poor to 
 purchase the provisions, stock, and farming uten¬ 
 sils that new settlers require, when commenc¬ 
 ing their labours. Persons so situated must 
 hire themselves out, until they gain enough to 
 make a beginning. They will be paid for their 
 work in money, grain, cattle, or provisions; all 
 which articles will prove equally useful and va¬ 
 luable to them. They will, at the same time, be 
 acquiring a knowledge of the manners and cus¬ 
 toms of the country, the nature of the seasons, 
 the mode of farming, and various other desirable 
 particulars. The female part of the family may 
 engage themselves as household servants, whose 
 wages are always paid in money, and thus add a 
 
246 
 
 good deal to the general stock. Many, who are 
 now independent settlers, came to the Province 
 in absolute poverty; but, by pursuing the plan 
 above described, were soon enabled to commence 
 working upon their own lands, and to raise them¬ 
 selves beyond the reach of want. 
 
 Some people choose to clear a few acres, and 
 crop them, before they build a house, or go to 
 reside upon their lots. Others erect a habitation 
 first of all, and move into it at once with their 
 families. The first plan is most congenial to the 
 feelings of British emigrants; for the partial cul¬ 
 tivation that has been effected, diminishes the 
 wildness of the surrounding forests, and things 
 are usually more comfortable and orderly within 
 doors, than they can be when the settler takes up 
 his residence on his land before any trees have been 
 cut down. But the expense of supporting a family, 
 while clearing operations are going forward, is 
 great, unless the idle members engage themselves 
 as servants; and the work, particularly if hired 
 persons are employed, does not proceed so fast as 
 it would do, were the principal residing upon his 
 lot, and superintending the business himself. 
 Therefore, all settlers who have little money 
 ought to set themselves down in the woods at 
 once, and boldly commence chopping. This plan 
 may subject them to a few hardships, but it will 
 assuredly be for their advantage in the end. 
 
247 
 
 Much of the immediate success of a settler de¬ 
 pends upon the time of his arrival in the coun¬ 
 try. Should he not reach Quebec till the 
 autumn, winter will be almost commencing be¬ 
 fore he arrives at York, and the badness of the 
 roads, and inclemency of the weather, will then 
 make it difficult for him to travel to the new 
 settlements, and survey the lands that are open 
 for location. Even were he able to fix upon a 
 lot, and build a house before winter set in, he 
 could not clear any land till spring, on account 
 of the deepness of the snow and severe cold; 
 while he would all the time be at the expense of 
 supporting himself and his family in idleness.— 
 But if the emigrant reaches York in the month of 
 July, he will find sufficient time to choose a 
 good lot, erect a habitation, clear several acres of 
 ground, and sow it with wheat or Indian corn, 
 previous to the commencement of winter; thus 
 getting the start, by a whole year, of him who 
 arrives late in the autumn, and who would only 
 be preparing his land for seed, when the other 
 was reaping his first crop. 
 
 I shall now suppose that the emigrant has 
 made all necessary arrangements for the occupa¬ 
 tion of his land. His first object then is to get 
 a house built. If his lot lies in a settlement, his 
 neighbours will assist him in doing this without 
 being paid; but if far back in the woods, he must 
 
248 
 
 hire people to work for him. The usual dimen¬ 
 sions of a house are eighteen feet by sixteen. 
 The roof is covered with bark or shingles, and 
 the floor with rough hewn planks, the inter¬ 
 stices between the logs that’compose the walls be¬ 
 ing filled up with pieces of wood and clay. Stones 
 are used for the back of the fire-place, and a hol¬ 
 low cone of coarse basket-work does the office of 
 a chimney. The whole cost of a habitation of 
 this kind will not exceed L.12, supposing the 
 labourers had been paid for erecting it; but as al¬ 
 most every person can have much of the work 
 done gratis , the expense will not perhaps a- 
 mount to more than £5 or £6. 
 
 Whenever the house is completed, the emi¬ 
 grant ought to bring his family, cattle, provi¬ 
 sions, and farming utensils, upon the lot. He 
 should, if possible, have a couple of oxen, a cow, 
 two pigs, a harrow, and an axe. The cost of 
 the whole will be about L.28. But many set¬ 
 tlers commence their labours without any cattle 
 or implements at all, contriving to borrow what 
 they want from their neighbours, and returning 
 the obligation in work. If the emigrant’s loca¬ 
 tion lies in a settlement, he will find it advan¬ 
 tageous to purchase his provisions there, particu¬ 
 larly if there is much land-carriage between it and 
 the nearest market. Flour and pork are the only 
 articles of subsistence which can be conveniently 
 
249 
 
 transported into the woods. The price of a 
 barrel of flour, containing 186 lbs., is £l, 10; 
 and of a barrel of pork, holding 200 lbs., about 
 £5. It is easy to calculate how long a barrel of 
 each article will support any given number of per¬ 
 sons. A cow always proves a valuable animal 
 to a new settler, her milk being convertible into 
 many agreeable varieties of diet. He will find 
 pigs a very profitable kind of stock, as they pick 
 up abundant subsistence in the woods, require 
 little attention, and multiply very fast. 
 
 The emigrant will use the axe rather awkward¬ 
 ly, and suffer a good deal of fatigue, when he 
 first commences chopping. However, a few 
 months’ practice will render him tolerably expert. 
 It is quite a mistake to suppose that a man never 
 proves a good or successful settler, unless he has 
 been accustomed from his infancy to cut down 
 trees. The Americans and Canadians doubtless 
 excel all other people in the use of the axe; but 
 they do not work so steadily as Englishmen and 
 Scotchmen, and seldom have much advantage 
 over them in the end. This is daily exempli¬ 
 fied in the new settlements of Upper Canada. 
 
 The clearing of land overgrown with timber is 
 an operation so tedious and laborious, that differ¬ 
 ent plans have been devised for abridging it, and 
 for obtaining a crop from the ground before it is 
 completed. The easiest and most economical 
 
250 
 
 system is that named Girdling, The land is 
 first cleared of brushwood and small timber, 
 and then a ring of bark is cut from the lower 
 part of every tree; and, if this is done in the 
 autumn, the trees will be dead and destitute of 
 foliage the ensuing spring; at which time the 
 land is sown, without receiving any culture 
 whatever except a little harrowing. This plan 
 evidently possesses no advantage except that of 
 enabling the settler to supply his immediate 
 v wants, at the expense of comparatively little time 
 and labour. The crops obtained in this way are 
 of course scanty, and of inferior quality. The 
 dead trees must be cut down and removed at 
 last; and being liable to fall during high winds, 
 the lives of both labourers and cattle are en¬ 
 dangered. 
 
 After the trees have been felled, the most suit¬ 
 able kinds are split into rails for fences, and the 
 remainder, being cut into logs twelve feet long, 
 are hauled together into large piles, and burnt. 
 The land cleared in this manner is sown with 
 wheat, and harrowed two or three times, and in 
 general an abundant crop rewards the toils of the 
 owner. 
 
 After the felling, dividing, and burning of the 
 timber have been accomplished, the stumps still 
 remain, disfiguring the fields, and impeding the 
 effectual operation of the plough and harrow. 
 
251 
 
 The immediate removal of the roots of the trees 
 is impracticable, and they are therefore always 
 allowed to fall into decay, to which state they are 
 generally reduced in the space of eight or nine 
 years. Pine stumps, however, seem scarcely sus¬ 
 ceptible of decomposition, as they frequently show 
 no symptoms of it after half a century has elapsed. 
 
 Notwithstanding the quantity of labour ne¬ 
 cessary in clearing a piece of land, the first crop 
 seldom fails to afford a return, more than suffi¬ 
 cient to repay all that has been expended. The 
 clearing, fencing, sowing, harrowing, and har¬ 
 vesting an acre of waste land will cost about 
 £5, 5s. The produce is usually about twenty- 
 five bushels of wheat, which on an average are 
 worth £6. After the land has been in crop, its 
 cultivation becomes much less expensive. The 
 cost of putting in a second crop (ploughing be¬ 
 ing then necessary), will not exceed £2 per acre, 
 while the produce will amount to perhaps thirty- 
 five or forty bushels; thus affording a clear profit 
 of from £4, 15s. to £6, 10s. after £l, 10s. has 
 been deducted for harvesting and threshing. 
 
 In Upper Canada grain is always put under 
 cover instead of being made into stacks; and 
 therefore the farmer must build a barn, which 
 at first is usually ^formed of logs, in the same 
 way as a dwelling-house; however, it does not 
 cost nearly so much, no inside work being 
 
252 
 
 necessary. But when lie becomes wealthier, and 
 is more at leisure, he may erect a frame-barn, so 
 called because it is constructed of joiner’s work, 
 and covered with boards. Such buildings are 
 commonly made fifty feet long and forty wide, 
 and cost about £60. The farmer ought to pay 
 little attention to his dwelling-house, until he has 
 provided a safe depository for his grain, and a 
 warm shed to shelter his cattle. In Upper Ca¬ 
 nada, a miserable hovel is often seen in the midst 
 of fruitful fields and fine orchards, forming a sin¬ 
 gular contrast with the handsome barn, which its 
 owner has wisely spent his first gains in erect¬ 
 ing. 
 
 When the emigrant has found himself com¬ 
 fortably established upon his lot, and surmount- 
 
 } * 
 
 ed his first difficulties, he ought to make a small 
 kitchen-garden. This is a convenience which 
 few Canadian farmers care to possess. They in 
 general suppose that it requires a great deal of 
 time and attention, but most erroneously; for the 
 soil is so productive, that all useful vegetables 
 grow without much culture. Every settler 
 should likewise endeavour to raise a good stock 
 of poultry. The first cost of them will be small, 
 and the refuse from his barn will be sufficient 
 to support any number he may require. They 
 must be put into a house every night, otherwise 
 the foxes will very soon carry them all away. 
 
253 
 
 The emigrant will sometimes require assist¬ 
 ance in the business of the farm, particularly if 
 he has no family. Those whom he hires to 
 work for him will generally be contented to re¬ 
 ceive two-thirds, or perhaps the whole, of their 
 wages in grain. This makes payment very 
 easy to the farmer, as the nominal value of his 
 produce is usually equal to double the sum it 
 has cost him to raise it; but if he has neigh¬ 
 bours, he will often be able to get his work done 
 without any direct outlay, it being customary 
 for the inhabitants of a new settlement mutually 
 to help each other, by accepting labour in return 
 for labour. There is thus no outlay on either side, 
 every one affording another a degree of assistance 
 equal to what he has received from him. A 
 man, perhaps, borrows a waggon for a day from 
 his neighbour, and repays him by lending his 
 oxen for an equal length of time. A new settle¬ 
 ment is sometimes twenty or thirty miles dis¬ 
 tant from a mill, and the roads are generally 
 so bad, that the person who carries grain to 
 it waits till it is ground, although he should 
 be detained several days. When this is the 
 case, each individual, by turns, conveys to the 
 mill the grain of three or four of his neighbours, 
 and thus the great waste of labour, which would 
 be occasioned were every one to take his own 
 produce there separately, is avoided. From 
 
254 
 
 these simple facts the advantage of living in a 
 settlement must be very evident. 
 
 When the farmer is able to raise a larger 
 quantity of produce than is required for the 
 support of his family, there are several ways in 
 which he may dispose of the surplus. In many 
 new settlements the influx of emigrants is so 
 great, as to produce a demand for grain more 
 than equal to the supply. In Talbot Road, the 
 average price of wheat has of late years been 
 4s. 6d. per bushel, while in most other parts of the 
 country it was selling for 3s. and 3s. 6cL ; shew¬ 
 ing evidently, that the farmer will sometimes 
 find the best market at his own door. But should 
 there be no demand of this kind, he may carry 
 his produce to the merchants. They will give 
 him in exchange, broad-cloth, implements of 
 husbandry, groceries, and every sort of article 
 that is necessary for his family, and, perhaps, 
 even money, at particular times. He will like¬ 
 wise often have it in his power to barter wheat 
 for live stock of different kinds, and can hardly 
 fail to increase his means, although without a 
 regular market for his surplus produce, if he gets 
 initiated into the system of traffic prevalent in 
 the country. 
 
 In Upper Canada the winter is the farmer’s 
 idle season, the depth of the snow, and the seve¬ 
 rity of* the cold, alike putting a stop to agricul- 
 
255 
 
 tural operations. But still there are several 
 things which require attention, and particularly 
 the live stock, which ought to be regularly fed. 
 The farmer must, indeed, be careful in this re¬ 
 spect, both in summer and in winter. As there 
 is no grass in the woods, and as new settlers 
 cannot raise fodder for their cattle immediately, 
 they are obliged to buy either hay or straw, or 
 pumpkins, to feed them, or to cut down trees for 
 them to browse upon. Oxen and young cows 
 thrive well enough on the tender shoots of the 
 birch, maple, &c.; but sheep must have hay or 
 turnips, and ought to be secured from the wolves 
 every night. Every settler should, in the course 
 of the winter, haul a quantity of fire-wood suffi¬ 
 cient to supply him the whole year; and the good¬ 
 ness of the roads will enable him to do this with¬ 
 out much difficulty. When the weather is bad 
 he may employ his time within doors, in improv 
 ing the interior of his dwelling-house, or amus¬ 
 ing himself by the fire, which can always be 
 made a warm and cheerful one, from the pro¬ 
 fusion of fuel that the poorest person has con¬ 
 tinually at command. Those who delight in field- 
 sports may go into the woods in search of deer, 
 which usually abound in the vicinity of new set¬ 
 tlements. fn Canada, the privilege of shooting 
 them, and all other game, belongs equally to the 
 lord and the peasant. 
 
256 
 
 The emigrant must not expect to live very com¬ 
 fortably at first. Pork, bread, and what vegetables 
 he may raise, will form the chief part of his diet 
 for perhaps two years. To these articles, however, 
 he may occasionally add venison, if he is a toler¬ 
 able sportsman. The various kinds of grain 
 which farmers raise, enable them to enjoy a great 
 many sorts of bread that are not known in Bri¬ 
 tain. Buck-wheat, rye, and Indian corn, make 
 excellent cakes; and they have several ways of 
 using flour, besides that of baking it into loaves. 
 All the above-mentioned articles, conjoined with 
 vegetables, poultry, and milk, which every settler 
 can have in the course of time without much 
 trouble or expense, afford sufficient materials for 
 the support of an abundant and comfortable ta¬ 
 ble. In Upper Canada, the people live much 
 better than persons of a similar class in Bri¬ 
 tain ; and to have proof of this, it is only neces¬ 
 sary to visit almost any hut in the back woods. 
 The interior of it seldom fails to display many 
 substantial comforts, such as immense loaves of 
 beautiful bread, entire pigs hanging round the 
 chimney, dried venison, trenchers of milk, and 
 bags of Indian com. Many of the farmers in¬ 
 deed live in a coarse and dirty manner; but this 
 arises from their own ignorance, not from a want 
 of those things that are essential to comfort and 
 neatness. 
 
257 
 
 I have now detailed, in the shortest manner, 
 the successive steps which emigrants of the low¬ 
 er class must take, in order to establish themselves 
 in Upper Canada, and given a general outline of 
 the difficulties they have to contend with, and of 
 the counterbalancing advantages. The hardships 
 which poor settlers must at first encounter are 
 sometimes rather severe and trying to their pa¬ 
 tience ; but if they are active and industrious, 
 they will become tolerably comfortable, and ob¬ 
 tain a sort of rude independence, in the course of 
 three or four years; being then able to raise 
 enough of every kind of produce for their own 
 consumption, and likewise sufficient to purchase 
 all the necessaries of life. But were the priva¬ 
 tions which emigrants must endure, on first tak¬ 
 ing up lands, infinitely greater than they really 
 are, I believe few, who were well acquainted 
 with the true state of things, would hesitate in 
 preferring Upper Canada to Great Britain, inas¬ 
 much as most people would rather purchase ease 
 and abundance at the expense of a few years’ 
 hard labour, than remain exposed to poverty and 
 its attendant miseries during their whole lives, 
 as is the lot of the bulk of the British peasantry. 
 
 All the foregoing details are founded upon ac¬ 
 tual observation; and the estimate I have given, 
 of the advantages which poor people derive from 
 emigrating to Upper Canada, is deduced from a 
 
 R 
 
258 
 
 personal inspection of new settlements. My op¬ 
 portunities of ascertaining the correctness of all 
 the particulars I have advanced upon this sub¬ 
 ject, have been equally various and satisfactory. 
 I resided eight months in the most populous and 
 extensive new settlement in the Province, and 
 daily witnessed the increasing prosperity of thou¬ 
 sands of people, most of whom had been forced 
 from their native land by absolute poverty. No 
 one who emigrates to Upper Canada, with ra¬ 
 tional views, will be disappointed. The country 
 is becoming more agreeable every day, and only 
 requires a large population to render it equal in 
 point of beauty, comfort, and convenience, to 
 any part of the earth. The delightful asylum 
 which it affords to the poor and unfortunate of 
 every class, is a circumstance that has hitherto 
 been little known or appreciated, and one which 
 is of particular importance at the present time, 
 when agricultural and commercial embarrass¬ 
 ments have reduced so many individuals to a 
 state of destitution and misery. 
 
 The second class of emigrants, viz. men of 
 small income and increasing family, will find 
 Upper Canada, in many respects, an advantage¬ 
 ous place of residence. When I say this, I of 
 course include those persons only who do not de¬ 
 rive their incomes from the exercise of any pro¬ 
 fession, and who have no obvious means of im- 
 
259 
 
 proving their circumstances. Half-pay officers, 
 annuitants, &cc. are in this situation. An indivi¬ 
 dual of this class may do well in Upper Canada, 
 if he possesses a farm, and raises enough of all 
 kinds of produce to supply his own wants. 
 With £250 a-year, and fifty or sixty acres of 
 land, he might, by proper management, support 
 a large family in comfort and abundance; but he 
 would not augment his income by farming ex¬ 
 tensively, unless he engaged in the business prac¬ 
 tically, and were assisted by his children; the 
 price of labour being so high, and that of pro¬ 
 duce so low, that the agriculturist cannot de¬ 
 rive much profit from the returns made by the 
 soil, if lie employs hired men to work it. Re¬ 
 spectable families suffer a good deal of inconve¬ 
 nience from a difficulty of obtaining household 
 servants, most of whom are both negligent and 
 unprincipled, and conceive themselves insulted, if 
 the person who proposes to hire them makes any 
 inquiry about their characters. Some will not 
 engage themselves, unless they are allowed to sit 
 at table with the master and mistress of the 
 house. Emigrants sometimes bring servants 
 from Britain; but such seldom remain long with 
 them after their arrival in Canada, their ideas 
 and prospects being directed into new channels, 
 by the system of independence and equality 
 which prevails in the country. The women are 
 
260 
 
 soon married, and the men become landholders. 
 Some people bind their domestics by indentures, 
 to continue with them for a certain time; but 
 this plan seldom answers well, as persons so ar¬ 
 ticled are apt to grow insolent and troublesome, 
 whenever their bondage becomes disagreeable to 
 them. The chief objection which men with 
 large families will have to Upper Canada is, that 
 it does not afford them the means of educating 
 their children. Schools, at which the essential 
 branches are taught, exist in the most secluded 
 parts of the Province; but there is no seminary 
 on a liberal scale, except at York and Kingston. 
 However, the generosity which the Provincial 
 government displays in the endowment of schools, 
 and the encouragement which the inhabitants 
 give to respectable teachers, will soon render the 
 means of education as accessible in Upper Ca¬ 
 nada, as they are in the country parts of Great 
 Britain. 
 
 To the man of capital, Upper Canada, I am 
 sorry to say, offers few inducements. The Pro¬ 
 vince indeed requires the presence of such per¬ 
 sons, and the circulation of their capital, more 
 than any thing else; but the benefit of a country 
 will, of course, always be a secondary considera¬ 
 tion with every one, when individual interest is 
 concerned, and therefore it cannot be expected 
 that persons of wealth should as yet emigrate to 
 
261 
 
 Upper Canada. There are a good many ways of 
 employing capital, but few which will ensure 
 such a speedy return, as would in general be con¬ 
 sidered necessary. The mercantile business is 
 already overdone. Merchants swarm in every 
 part of the Province, and have, in a great mea¬ 
 sure, been the means of reducing public credit to 
 its present low ebb. Farming is not profitable 
 for the reasons already stated, and likewise, be¬ 
 cause there is at present no steady market for 
 agricultural produce. Those who could afford 
 to wait many years for the interest of money laid 
 out, might speculate advantageously in lands. 
 Large and excellent tracts may, at present, be 
 purchased for half the sum they are really worth. 
 These belong to individuals who are neither re¬ 
 sident in the Province, nor at all connected with 
 it, and who would gladly sell possessions in which 
 they take no interest, and of which they do not 
 know the value. Some people may suppose, that 
 if such properties were in the market, the Cana¬ 
 dians would buy them up, but they are prevent¬ 
 ed from doing so by a want of capital. The man 
 who bought eight or ten thousand pounds worth 
 of land, would derive no revenue from it for per¬ 
 haps as many years. The persons to whom he 
 sold it out in small portions, at a very advanced 
 rate, probably would not be able to pay any part 
 of the price, until they had cleared and frequent- 
 
262 
 
 ly cropped it, and thus gained something by their 
 labours ; but the speculator would secure himself 
 all the time, by not granting a deed to any set¬ 
 tler, until he had paid the amount of his pur¬ 
 chase. When money did begin to flow in, he 
 would receive a return not only equal to the in¬ 
 terest of the capital he had laid out, but triple or 
 quadruple the amount of the capital itself. The 
 man who buys lands at two or three shillings an 
 acre, and sells it again at ten or fifteen, makes a 
 fortunate speculation, although twenty years 
 should intervene between the date of his making 
 the purchase, and that of his receiving the profits 
 it has produced. 
 
LETTER XV. 
 
 Emigration a serious step—Ideas of different people upon the 
 subject—Attractions of Upper Canada—Happiness of its po¬ 
 pulation—State of society in the Province—Favourable to 
 personal importance — Amusements—Field-sports — Eques¬ 
 trian pleasures—Horticulture—Balls and cards—Character 
 of the Canadians—Beauty of the ladies—Emigration recom¬ 
 mended to a certain class of persons—A consolatory hint to 
 the ambitious—Conclusion. 
 
 The circumstances I have concisely stated in 
 my last letter, may enable you to form some es¬ 
 timate of the advantages that are to be derived 
 from emigrating to Upper Canada, which is a 
 step no one ought to take without reflection and 
 serious consideration. A traveller, in describing 
 a country, may easily communicate to the pub¬ 
 lic a correct idea of the expense of living in it, 
 the value of property, the prospects of success 
 which different kinds of settlers have, and vari¬ 
 ous other details connected with ways and means; 
 but he will find it difficult to give his readers a 
 just conception of those things that would exclu¬ 
 sively affect the minds, tastes, and prejudices of 
 people of knowledge and education. 
 
 However, there are men who feel indifferent 
 
264 
 
 about what part of the world they reside in, pro¬ 
 vided they can obtain the necessaries and sub¬ 
 stantial comforts of life easily and economically, 
 and whose impressions respecting the advantages 
 of emigrating to any country are altogether re¬ 
 gulated by the price of provisions, and the rate 
 of labour there. Such persons may, of course, 
 obtain all the satisfaction and information they 
 can require, from the pages of a tourist. 
 
 Upper Canada, though destitute of those ad¬ 
 vantages which high agricultural improvement 
 and a dense population never fail to bestow, is 
 still, in many respects, a delightful place of re¬ 
 sidence ; and the inhabitants often remark, that 
 those who have spent many years of their lives 
 in the Province, very frequently return to it when 
 opportunity offers. There is a freedom, an in¬ 
 dependence, and a joyousness, connected with 
 the country, which dazzle those who have visit¬ 
 ed it into a forgetfulness of its defects, and gild 
 their most familiar reminiscences with an exhilar¬ 
 ating brightness. There, beggary, want, and 
 woe, never meet the eye. No care-worn anxious 
 countenances, or famished forms, are to be seen 
 among its inhabitants. Poverty assumes a milder 
 aspect than it does in Europe, and the inmates 
 of the most miserable hovel are always able to 
 satisfy the cravings of nature, and to defend 
 themselves from the winds of heaven. The as- 
 
265 
 
 pect of a country and a people such as I have 
 described, my dear friend, is indeed reviving and 
 delightful to one, who, like me, has been con¬ 
 versant with the famishing and healthless poor of 
 a large city; who has visited those alleys where 
 starving human wretchedness takes refuge, and 
 w itnessed the depravity, filth, aversions, and re- 
 pinings, which poverty gives birth to among the 
 uneducated part of mankind. Though Upper 
 Canada may be inferior to the old world, in many 
 respects, she has still one superlative advantage 
 over it, which is, that a man may travel through 
 her various settlements again and again, and never 
 have his mind agitated, nor his feelings harassed, 
 by the voice of misery, or the murmurs of dis¬ 
 content. 
 
 Another circumstance tends to make Euro¬ 
 peans partial to Upper Canada. They find 
 themselves of much more importance there than 
 they would be at home; for the circle of society 
 is so limited, and the number of respectable people 
 in the Province so small, that almost every person 
 is able to obtain some notice and attention. There 
 is likewise no aristocracy, and consequently no 
 man can assume a higher station in society than 
 another, except upon the score of superior intellect 
 or greater wealth ; the latter of which is of course 
 rather oftener recognised as a ground of distinc¬ 
 tion than the former. A person of respectability 
 
 « 
 
266 
 
 at once finds a place in the best company the 
 Province affords; and neither ambition, jealousy, 
 nor envy, is excited among individuals, there 
 being nothing greater to aspire to. This state of 
 things is favourable to the existence of general 
 harmony and good-will, but rather hostile to the 
 cultivation and advancement of manners. 
 
 The man who resides in Upper Canada must, 
 in a great measure, depend upon himself for re¬ 
 creation and amusement, the small portion of 
 society which the Province affords being so scat¬ 
 tered, that the people who compose it cannot 
 meet together, and minister to each other’s plea¬ 
 sures, so often as would be desirable. However, 
 the forests and waters are at all times open to 
 those who enjoy the sports of the field. Hunting, 
 of course, cannot be practised on account of the 
 woods; but there is excellent partridge, duck, 
 and snipe shooting, at different seasons of the 
 year; and many of the streams abound with good 
 fish of various kinds. Those who love eques¬ 
 trian exercises, and take delight in rearing horses, 
 will be able to indulge in these amusements at 
 comparatively little expense. It costs very little 
 to keep a horse in Upper Canada; and one may 
 ride, work, or drive him in a gig, without hav¬ 
 ing a tax-gatherer at his elbow twice a year, 
 as is the case in Britain. The climate and 
 soil of the western parts of the Province are well 
 
267 
 
 adapted for the culture of flowers and fine fruits; 
 and he who loves gardening may spend his leisure 
 hours, in a way very agreeable to himself, and 
 useful to the public; for the Canadians have as yet 
 paid very little attention to any of the branches 
 of horticultural science. 
 
 During winter, the amusements I have just 
 mentioned cannot be resorted to; but then they 
 are less necessary, as the state of the roads per¬ 
 mits a free communication between all parts of 
 the country, and as a social intercourse takes 
 place among its inhabitants. When the snow is 
 on the ground, a great deal of visiting goes on, 
 and balls, pic-nics, and card parties, very frequent¬ 
 ly occur. The Canadians, in general, partake 
 largely of the sanguine temperament, as they are 
 lively, inclined to hospitality, and extremely fond 
 of pleasure. The climate they live under is in¬ 
 deed well adapted to excite constitutional gayety, 
 the atmosphere, of Upper Canada not being 
 overcast by those depressing and dreary mists 
 that often prevail for days together in Great 
 Britain. Some of the Canadian ladies are ex¬ 
 tremely pretty; but their chief attractions lie in 
 the naivete of their manners, and in their beauti¬ 
 fully dark and sparkling eyes. They lose their 
 teeth and good looks eight or ten years sooner 
 than the females of Europe; but I am unable to 
 account for this early constitutional failure. 
 
268 
 
 To conclude, I would say, that the man who 
 is fond of a country life, who loves to be exempt 
 from the restrictions imposed by fashion and 
 ceremony, and whose wishes seldom stray be¬ 
 yond the limits of his home and domestic circle, 
 might live very comfortably and very happily in 
 Upper Canada; and when I say this, I also in¬ 
 clude people of education and small independent 
 income, who, whatever be their inclinations, can¬ 
 not possibly afford to indulge in the luxuries and 
 pleasures of a town life. To such, the Province 
 cannot fail to be an agreeable place of residence. 
 For, since persons of small fortune cannot par¬ 
 take of the recreations, or mingle in the society 
 which a large city affords, they will lose nothing 
 by removing to Upper Canada, and their in¬ 
 comes will be much augmented by such a change 
 of residence. There, they will not find them¬ 
 selves thrown in the shade by the false preten¬ 
 sions of persons of superior rank, nor see the 
 avenues to distinction closed, and their ambitious 
 efforts defeated, by the influence of a presuming 
 aristocracy. I strongly suspect that all persons 
 of taste, feeling, and judgment, mentally ac¬ 
 knowledge the justness of the principle contain¬ 
 ed in those words which Milton has put in the 
 mouth of the fallen arch-angel, 
 
 “ Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven 
 
 and, consequently, one thing that must render 
 
269 
 
 Upper Canada an agreeable place of residence to 
 people of a certain class and of certain ideas is, 
 that no person there can, upon any just ground, 
 “ lord it over” another, or claim precedence upon 
 the plea of rank or extrinsic dignity. 
 
 But, my dear friend, I must now conclude my 
 lucubrations; for the interest I take in the beau¬ 
 tiful country I have been describing has seduced 
 me into a prolixity which, I fear, will be pardon¬ 
 ed by those only who have visited it, and felt its 
 fascinations. No man of any sensibility could 
 view Canada with indifference, or leave it with¬ 
 out a sensation approaching to regret. And 
 to his farewell, he would join a fervent wish, that 
 the progress of its prosperity might never be re¬ 
 tarded, nor its tranquillity disturbed, by the de¬ 
 vastating effects of hostile invasion. 
 
 * 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OP 
 
 THE UNITED STATES 
 
 OF 
 
 AMERICA. 
 
RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNITED STATES 
 
 OF 
 
 AMERICA. 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 Lewiston—Hatred between the Canadians and Americans—De¬ 
 parture from Lewiston—State of the farmers near it—Con¬ 
 versation at a tavern—Cambria post-office—Driver’s account 
 of himself—Story of the methodist priest— Sang froid of the 
 Americans exemplified—An American breakfast—Rochester 
 —Genesee Falls—Clyde Bridge—Grand Canal—Beauties of 
 Canandaguia—Geneva—Reflections—Waterloo village—An 
 American hotel—Cayuga Bridge—Arrival at Auburn— Table 
 d'hote there—Specimens of new phraseology—Village describ¬ 
 ed—States prison—Divine service there—Criminals—Their 
 behaviour—Shopkeeper at Weed’s port—Canal track-boat— 
 Conversation with the captain—Town of Utica—Cotton ma¬ 
 nufactory near it—An American stage-coach—Scenery on the 
 Mohawk—A female traveller—Albany—State legislature, 
 and De Witt Clinton—North River steam-boat—Regulations 
 on board—Dinner—High lands of the Hudson—A disap¬ 
 pointment—Arrival at New York. 
 
 In the middle of June, 1820,1 bade adieu to the 
 
 beautiful and happy shores of Upper Canada, 
 
 s 
 
274 
 
 and was conveyed across the Niagara river to 
 Lewiston. A mail-coach leaves this place for 
 Rochester three times a week; but the proprietors 
 having made some alteration in their usual ar¬ 
 rangements, I was detained a day and a half; and 
 the village and its environs consequently em¬ 
 ployed a greater share of my time and attention 
 than their beauty or importance demanded, or I 
 would otherwise have been willing to bestow 
 upon them. 
 
 Lewiston occupies a large flat upon the bank 
 of the Niagara river, and consists, like most other 
 American villages, of a single street, which is 
 about one mile in length. The houses are mean, 
 and the people poor; for the neighbouring coun¬ 
 try being thinly inhabited, the place derives lit¬ 
 tle advantage from trade. At the conclusion of 
 the last American war, the legislature of New 
 York State, desirous that there should be a town 
 of importance here, and that the frontier near it 
 should become populous, promised, as an induce¬ 
 ment to the purchase and cultivation of lands, 
 that they would grant a lot of one acre, within 
 the limits of the projected city, to every indivi¬ 
 dual, when he had cleared a certain quantity of 
 ground upon the Niagara river, and paid the 
 price of it to government. But the offer of this 
 douceur does not appear to have had the antici¬ 
 pated effect, as the greater part of the frontier 
 
27"» 
 
 in the vicinity of Lewiston remains unbought 
 and uncultivated. 
 
 Although the Americans and Canadians upon 
 the Niagara frontier, are not a quarter of a mile 
 distant from each other, the difference that ex¬ 
 ists between them, in point of character and ideas, 
 is as perceptible as the line of demarcation which 
 divides the two countries. 
 
 1 entered America with prepossessions some¬ 
 what unfavourable. Having resided in Canada 
 for a considerable time, I had usually heard the 
 people of the United States mentioned with dis¬ 
 like and reprobation. Though I did not imbibe 
 all the prejudices of the Canadians, I supposed 
 they had a more justifiable foundation than that 
 of mere personal animosity, which has arisen 
 between the two nations in consequence of poli¬ 
 tical and commercial circumstances. 
 
 During the rebellion, many loyalists abandon¬ 
 ed the United States, and retired to Canada, 
 where they received lands, as a reward for their 
 adherence to the British government. The aver¬ 
 sion, with which they regarded the revolutionists, 
 never decayed, and was, of course, communicated 
 to their descendants, who now form a consider¬ 
 able part of the population of Upper Canada.— 
 The Americans returned their hostility with 
 vehemence; and the two nations became so com¬ 
 pletely estranged from each other, that the long 
 
276 
 
 peace which followed the rebellion had little ef¬ 
 fect in restoring harmony between them. How¬ 
 ever, the invasion of Canada in 1812 removed all 
 chance of reconciliation, and made both parties 
 more personal, and more inveterate, in their dis¬ 
 like. And, as the social and moral condition of 
 the two countries is growing more dissimilar 
 every day, the aversion, with which their inha¬ 
 bitants regard each other, is not likely to dimi¬ 
 nish. 
 
 I departed from Lewiston before sun-rise, in 
 a small waggon drawn by one horse. The driver, 
 who was one of the stage proprietors, informed 
 me, that, as the mail-coach did not arrive the 
 preceding night, as had been expected, he found 
 it necessary to carry me forward in a humbler 
 style; but observed, by way of consolation, that 
 we would go like a lark. Indeed, at first we 
 went almost as swiftly as a lark, though rather 
 less smoothly. 
 
 After a few miles hard driving, we came up to 
 a man on foot, carrying a large saw over his 
 shoulder; and my attendant immediately request¬ 
 ed him to ride with us, at the same time offering 
 a seat on his knee, as the bench in the waggon 
 was too short to admit three persons. When 
 all was adjusted, we pursued our journey, and 
 my fellow-travellers entered into conversation 
 about the value of the farms along the road, and 
 
277 
 
 the circumstances of their possessors. There was 
 scarcely a tract of land in sight which they did 
 not criticise, and pronounce to be under mort¬ 
 gage. To these details, they added sketches of 
 the characters of the various individuals whose 
 affairs they commented upon, and summed up the 
 whole with accounts of the methods such per¬ 
 sons had occasionally employed, to defraud their 
 creditors, and evade public justice. Thus, in 
 the course of an hour, I had many opportunities 
 of hearing the local scandals of the new country 
 into which I had entered. 
 
 The circumstances I learned from the conver¬ 
 sation of these men, whose veracity I had no 
 reason to doubt, astonished me a good deal. It 
 appeared that seven or eight farmers in a 
 dozen were insolvent; though the aspect of their 
 lands, and an estimate of the advantages they 
 had enjoyed in the course of their agricultural 
 labours, rendered the thing, at first view, almost 
 incredible. But I soon discovered that their 
 embarrassments had not been brought about by 
 general causes affecting the prosperity of the 
 country, but were the consequences of their own 
 imprudence, idleness, and extravagance. In the 
 northern parts of the United States all trade is 
 carried on by means of barter, the farmers pay¬ 
 ing the merchants with grain, or produce of some 
 kind. It is evident that, when this is the case, 
 
278 
 
 a man may be entirely deceived with regard to his 
 means of liquidating the demands against him. 
 When he engages in any new extravagance, he 
 resolves to bring an additional quantity of land 
 under cultivation, and also flatters himself with 
 the prospect of high prices and great crops. But, 
 on the arrival of spring, he finds that he is un¬ 
 able to clear and sow more ground than usual; 
 and, perhaps, an unfavourable autumn, and de¬ 
 pressed state of the market, afterwards increase 
 his embarrassments. Thus he sinks into a state of 
 insolvency, and is forced to mortgage his farm to 
 save himself from suit and imprisonment. 
 
 About six in the morning we drove up to a 
 small house, which appeared to be a sort of 
 tavern. The landlord w r as at the door ready to 
 receive us, and the following conversation took 
 place: 
 
 Landlord. Good morning, gentlemen. 
 
 Driver. Good morning, mister. 
 
 L. Very warm, but pretty considerable of air 
 stirring. 
 
 D. I guess so. Can we get any thing to 
 drink ? 
 
 L. Well, I suppose you can. What liquor 
 would you please to have ? 
 
 D. Brandy, I guess. 
 
 L. We’ve got nothing in the house but whis¬ 
 ky, sir. 
 
279 
 
 D. Let us have some then—by God I’ll treat; 
 but where’s Bill ? 
 
 L. Cleared out, I guess. 
 
 D. What an almighty shame! and where’s 
 his family ? 
 
 L. Cleared out too, mister. 
 
 D. ’Tarnation! well, I vow one feels pretty 
 damned cheap, when a fellow clears out without 
 paying scores. 
 
 L. By the life he does—but here’s success to 
 Bill (drinking), though he owes me for a pair of 
 shoes. 
 
 D. Bill owes me eight dollars and fifty-seven 
 cents and a half. 
 
 L. Cash ? 
 
 D. Ho, good morning to you ! no, no, I’ll be 
 satisfied with three hundred rails and some 
 leather (a pause). Bill knows what he’s about; 
 did he clear out slick ? 
 
 L. Yes, mister, right off; but I guess lie’s 
 still in the bush, and I swear I could find him if 
 I had a mind. » 
 
 D. Bill will steer southward. 
 
 L. I guess he will—howsomever, here’s suc¬ 
 cess to Bill, and damn the shoes. 
 
 We now continued our journey, and, while 
 passing through a long piece of woods, my com¬ 
 panion began to blow his horn; for we were ap¬ 
 proaching Cambria post-office, and his object 
 
280 
 
 was, to warn them to have the mail ready for 
 him. We soon approached this post-town, and 
 found that it contained a small house, and a great 
 many musquetoes. When we stopped, the post¬ 
 master made his appearance; but, instead of ask¬ 
 ing for the mail-bag, quietly re-entered the house, 
 and soon returned with a glass of spirits in his 
 hand, which he presented to my companion. Hav¬ 
 ing then inquired who I was, and why we tra¬ 
 velled in a waggon instead of the stage, he took 
 the mail-bag, and, after opening sundry padlocks, 
 shook it violently over the dusty road, till one 
 three-cornered letter dropt out, the address of 
 which we left him attempting in vain to de¬ 
 cipher. 
 
 About nine o’clock, we stopped at my compa¬ 
 nion’s house, and I was immediately provided 
 with breakfast. The house was large and well- 
 built, and stood in the midst of shrubbery, 
 having upwards of eighty acres of cultivated 
 land behind it, part of which afforded pasture 
 to a flock of beautiful sheep. Eighteen or twenty 
 fine cattle lay indolently round a barn full of 
 fodder, and dozens of pigs and poultry occupied 
 a yard in front of the house. After we had got 
 into the waggon again, my host gave an account 
 of himself. Any American will willingly grati¬ 
 fy a stranger in this way ; and if the truth is un¬ 
 favourable to him, he will invent falsehoods, ra- 
 
281 
 
 tber than not play the egotist. This man in¬ 
 formed me, that he had begun life with nothing, 
 but now possessed the farm already described, 
 and eight thousand dollars, besides what was 
 owing him. “ Although I drive the mail,” said 
 he, “ I guess I’m not obliged to, for I have a 
 farm where I can take my ease, and tigger about 
 independent of any one. Some of you English, 
 I know, w r ould feel pretty damned small when 
 driving a stage; but in America we are all 
 equal, when our employments are honest ones— 
 and why not? for we cannot choose our station, 
 howsomever much we may try to. Aye, man 
 appoints, and God disappoints. Had things 
 turned out different, I might have been president 
 of the States, and Jem Monroe coach-driver.” 
 I assented to the justness of his remarks; and 
 could not help thinking, that such opinions must 
 be a great source of happiness to the lower classes 
 of the American people. Among them, when a 
 man rises in the world, he neither abandons his 
 usual habits, manners, and companions, nor feels 
 afraid lest his behaviour should betray the rank 
 of life in which he formerly was. He does not 
 torment himself with forming plans for the sup¬ 
 port of his newly-acquired importance, nor finds 
 it necessary to intrigue for admission into circles 
 immediately above him; but is satisfied if his 
 
282 
 
 wealth gains him a little additional consequence 
 in the bar-room, and increases his influence at 
 township meetings or county elections. 
 
 It now became excessively hot, the dust flew 
 in suffocating clouds, and myriads of musquetoes 
 attacked us with unrelenting fury. We had just 
 entered upon a very long cross-way, and the 
 horse could not go beyond a walk for upwards 
 of an hour. This cross-way, which deserves the 
 attention of the traveller on account of its strength 
 and uniformity, extends three miles, and was con¬ 
 structed during the last American war, for the 
 purpose of improving the communication be¬ 
 tween the frontier and interior of the country, at 
 the expense of four thousand dollars. 
 
 About noon we stopped at a house to give our 
 horse some water. As we alighted, our driver 
 told me that I would see some methodists, and 
 said he intended “ quizzing the damned crea¬ 
 tures.” Presently two women made their ap¬ 
 pearance, and one of them inquired anxiously 
 about her husband, who had gone to Lewiston 
 some days before to preach the gospel. The 
 driver informed her in return, that a person, an¬ 
 swering the description she gave, had slept at 
 his house a few nights ago, and seemed very se¬ 
 rious, frequently telling them that he would not 
 be permitted to work much longer in the vine- 
 
 6 
 
283 
 
 yard. Early next morning he departed, and 
 they soon after heard, that he had been drowned 
 in crossing the Niagara river. 
 
 All this was delivered with the utmost gravi¬ 
 ty ; but the narrator did not meet with the im¬ 
 plicit credit he expected; for the mistress of the 
 house immediately came into the adjoining 
 apartment, where I had remained and heard all 
 that was passing, and questioned me in the fol¬ 
 lowing formidable manner : “ Well now, ’squire, 
 ha’n’t you heard nothing of no methodist priest 
 never being drowned at the ferry over agen 
 Lewiston ?” I said 1 had not. “ Ha’n’t you ?” re¬ 
 iterated she, putting her hands upon her sides. 
 “ Indeed I have not.”—“ There now,” cried she, 
 after a pause, “ I guess as how I sees how it is, that 
 that there man, who’s never no gentleman, has 
 been trying to work me, by telling me on things 
 that ha’n’t never had no existence.” After some 
 time, the driver retracted all that he had said, and 
 dispelled the anxiety of the two ladies, who were 
 so polite as to treat him to a glass of bitters, not¬ 
 withstanding the panic he had maliciously occa¬ 
 sioned. When we had proceeded on our jour¬ 
 ney again, he said, “ Why, ’squire, I guess you 
 don’t seem to laugh at the fun I set a-going.” I 
 told him there was no fun in making people mi¬ 
 serable. “ Hoity toity,” cried he, “ they are 
 methodists you know—I wouldn’t have given 
 
284 
 
 them to understand that I lied at all, hadn’t the 
 priest’s wife told me, that her husband always 
 declared that I showed myself a gentleman in 
 the way I treated him, whenever he stopped at 
 my house. Now, sir, when a man calls me a 
 gentleman, I always wish to use him like one— 
 and so you see as how I let the pig out of the 
 bag.” 
 
 After driving about ten miles, we stopped at 
 a small village, and waited until the stage-coach 
 arrived from Rochester. The two drivers then 
 agreed, that it should return with me to that 
 place, and that the passengers it had contained 
 should be carried on to Lewiston in the waggon. 
 This arrangement being made, three people, with 
 their baggage, were crammed into the latter 
 vehicle, exposed to a burning noon-day sun and 
 clouds of dust. They submitted without a mur¬ 
 mur; and this incident exemplified that pas¬ 
 siveness which characterizes the Americans, when 
 things of small moment occur. They bear the 
 petty miseries and disagreeable accidents of hu¬ 
 man life with a most philosophical sang froid, 
 and scorn to betray any sensibility to trifles, that 
 slightly affect their personal comfort. 
 
 I now took my seat in the stage, and travelled 
 till late in the afternoon. Next morning we 
 started at four o’clock, and after a drive of eight- 
 teen miles, reached a pretty little village called 
 
285 
 
 Farming. Here I stopped to breakfast; but, as 
 this meal was rather long in making its appear¬ 
 ance, and as I betrayed some symptoms of im¬ 
 patience, my hostess sent me out to the back¬ 
 yard to look at her pigs, telling me that every 
 thing would be ready before I returned to the 
 house. She was as good as her word; for I had 
 made but few observations on the inmates of the 
 stye, when she called me in. The table afforded 
 the most wonderful variety I ever had before 
 me, when breakfasting alone. There were ham, 
 veal, fish, eggs, toast, cucumbers, cheese, pre¬ 
 served apples, gingerbread, short-cake, salad, 
 and coffee, and also several other small dishes, 
 of which I neither knew the nature, nor did I 
 venture to attack them. 
 
 About mid-day I arrived at the village of Ro¬ 
 chester, which is eighty-five miles distant from 
 Lewiston, and lies upon the bank of the Gen- 
 nesee river. It contains about three thousand 
 inhabitants, and has the neatest appearance im¬ 
 aginable, almost all the houses being regularly 
 built and painted white. The streets, which are 
 spacious, present a succession of well-furnished 
 shops, and the bustle which continually pervades 
 them, gives the whole place an air of activity 
 and commerce. This town was begun to be built 
 only about five years ago, and its present magni¬ 
 tude and importance appear astonishing even to 
 
286 
 
 the people of the United States, among whom 
 villages increase more rapidly than in any other 
 part of the world. Rochester owes its prosperity 
 chiefly to the fine water power which it com¬ 
 mands. Besides the Gennesee river, there are 
 many smaller streams in the immediate vicinity 
 of the town, that are admirably adapted for 
 driving machinery. Grist-mills, saw-mills, card- 
 ing-machines and manufactories, &c. are always 
 in operation here; and I was shewn a very in¬ 
 genious and newly-invented apparatus for making 
 nails, together with various other pieces of curious 
 mechanism, which I had neither time nor inclina¬ 
 tion to inspect minutely. 
 
 In the afternoon I took a ramble through the 
 village, and visited the Great Falls of the Gen¬ 
 nesee river, which are close by it. Their pitch 
 is eighty feet; yet, the quantity of water thrown 
 over them being small, the effect is not very 
 grand or imposing, particularly to one w r ho has 
 viewed the Niagara cataracts a few days before. 
 They are unfortunately surrounded with ma¬ 
 chinery ; for the rattling of mills, and the smoke 
 of iron founderies, of course, neither harmonize 
 well with the wildness of uncultivated nature, 
 nor give any additional interest to a scene where 
 they are so manifestly out of place. 
 
 I next strolled about two miles out of town, 
 that I might survey Clyde Bridge, or rather the 
 
 
287 
 
 ruins of it; for half of this magnificent structure 
 fell several weeks before I arrived at Rochester. 
 The bridge, which was built of wood, and con¬ 
 sisted of a single arch, was thrown across the 
 Gennesee river, for the purpose of opening a 
 nearer route between Canandaguia and Lewiston. 
 
 The road I took led me to the edge of the 
 cliffs that confine the Gennesee river. This 
 stream roared ninety feet beneath me; and a 
 half arch stretched far above my head, as it were 
 “ suspended in mid airwhile on the opposite 
 cliffs, heaps of planks, shattered beams, and massy 
 supporters, lay in horrible confusion, being the 
 remains of that part of the structure which had 
 fallen. Nothing can exceed the exquisite beauty, 
 the elegant proportions, and the aerial magnifi¬ 
 cence, of that half of the bridge which is still entire. 
 Its complicated architecture, the colossal span of 
 its arch, its appalling height above the surface of 
 the water, and the noble scenery around, fill the 
 mind with astonishment. A little way up the 
 river, the Lesser Gennesee Falls rush over broken 
 rocks; while the woods, which bound the prospect 
 on all sides, and darkly overshadow the hoary 
 cliffs, communicate a wildness to the scene, that 
 makes the imaginative spectator almost believe 
 that the bridge above him has been raised by the 
 spells of a magician, rather than by the hands of 
 man. 
 
28$ 
 
 Clyde Bridge, when entire, formed a piece of 
 architecture which was altogether unrivalled by 
 any thing of a similar kind in Europe or Ame¬ 
 rica. The span of the arch was 352 feet, and 
 the height of its summit above the surface of the 
 river 196 feet. The bridge itself was 718 long 
 and 30 wide; and though the whole structure 
 contained more than 130,000 feet of timber, it 
 was completed by twenty workmen in the space 
 of nine months. 
 
 Next morning I proceeded to the village of Pitts- 
 ford, and, while they were preparing breakfast for 
 me, walked to the Grand Canal, which passes with¬ 
 in a quarter of a mile of the place. Here I found 
 about a dozen labourers actively employed in 
 digging and embanking. The country being 
 level, and the soil easily worked, they made 
 rapid progress in the excavation; the parts of 
 it that were completed measured forty feet wide, 
 and four feet in depth. The workmen told me, 
 that they were boarded by the contractor, and re¬ 
 ceived only half a dollar a day; a wage which 
 shews how much the price of labour has declined 
 in the populous parts of the United States. The 
 commissioners for the Grand Canal divided the 
 line into sections of one mile each; these were 
 publicly contracted for, and the person, who 
 made the lowest tender, had, of course, the pre¬ 
 ference. Many of the first contractors realized 
 
 5 
 
289 
 
 a great deal of money by the business ; but there 
 is now so much competition in the purchase of 
 the sections, that the persons desirous of obtain¬ 
 ing them are obliged to offer at the lowest rates 
 possible. 
 
 About 12 o’clock we reached the village of 
 Canandaguia, which is 29 miles from Koch ester, 
 and it is indeed difficult for description to do 
 justice to its surpassing beauty and fascinating 
 elegance. Canandaguia is about a mile long, 
 and consists of one street, both sides of which are 
 ornamented with a row of lovely poplar trees; 
 behind these are the houses, placed at a little 
 distance from each other, and generally having 
 shrubbery and flower-plots before them. One 
 usually connects the idea of poverty and mean¬ 
 ness with that of a village; but Canandaguia pre¬ 
 sents an appearance very different from any thing 
 of the kind, the worst habitations in it being 
 extremely neat and clean, and the best highly 
 elegant and tasteful. There is a beautiful church 
 at one end of the street; and a handsome meet¬ 
 ing-house, jail, county-room, academy, and hotel, 
 adorn the other parts of the village, although its 
 population does not exceed 1800 souls. It is 
 situated upon a cultivated slope, at the bottom 
 of which lies a lake, several miles in circumfer¬ 
 ence, and encircled with pretty cottages and rich 
 forests. 
 
 T 
 
290 
 
 Fifteen miles beyond Canandaguia is Geneva, 
 a village nearly as captivating in its aspect as the 
 former. It too has a lake, I suppose as beautiful 
 as its celebrated namesake in Europe, which 
 Rousseau has immortalized. In passing through 
 the United States, the traveller is particularly 
 struck with the elegance and magnitude of the 
 villages; and often feels inclined to ask where 
 the labouring classes reside, as not a vestige of 
 the meanness and penury, that generally charac¬ 
 terize their inhabitants, is to be discovered. One 
 would almost suppose Canandaguia and Geneva 
 to have been built as places of summer resort, for 
 persons of fortune and fashion; since so much 
 taste, elegance, comfort, and neatness, are dis¬ 
 played in the design, appearance, and arrange¬ 
 ment of the houses which compose them. 
 
 After we had passed through Geneva, I could 
 not help looking back upon it with a tender re¬ 
 gret. The lake, which stretched itself beneath 
 the village in stillness and purity, had never re¬ 
 flected any but scenes of peace. The forests 
 that waved around, had never been invaded by 
 any visitors more rude than the husbandman or 
 wood-cutter; and the fields, then glowing with 
 the richness of harvest, were annually permitted 
 to ripen their crops, and to distribute plenty 
 among a happy people. The village had, as 
 yet, known but one generation of inhabitants; 
 
291 
 
 and nothing that composed the prospect had 
 hitherto been witness to the oppressions, miseries, 
 and iniquities of mankind, as is the case with al¬ 
 most every stone and bit of ground in Europe. 
 All things were young, vigorous, bright, and 
 hopeful. But how long was this delightful 
 state of things to last ? Would not revolutions 
 of different kinds speedily disturb the calm that 
 prevailed? Was it not to be feared that the 
 troublous scenes of the old world would ulti¬ 
 mately be reacted in the new, and make its peo¬ 
 ple look back, with painful regret, to the outset 
 of their history ? 
 
 We next stopped at the village of Waterloo, 
 eight miles beyond Geneva. It happened to be 
 court-day here, and the place was so crowded 
 with judges, lawyers, and farmers, that it had a 
 very gay and animated appearance. The hotel 
 at which I alighted particularly drew my atten¬ 
 tion, as it was three stories high, and built of 
 brick. As I proposed to dine before we set out 
 again, I communicated my intention to the 
 landlord, who ushered me into the bar-room, 
 which was very large and commodious, and full 
 of Yankey loungers. There were fifteen or six¬ 
 teen chairs in the apartment, but I could not 
 procure one for my own accommodation, al¬ 
 though five or six persons only were seated.— 
 But each of these individuals occupied three or 
 
292 
 
 four chairs. He sat upon one, laid his legs up¬ 
 on another, whirled round a third, and, perhaps, 
 chewed the paint from the back of a fourth.— 
 However, those who had segars in their teeth, 
 contented themselves with collecting the smoke 
 in their mouths, and blowing it out in volumes 
 when any one passed. None of them offered to 
 resign me a chair; but I suppose the clouds of 
 tobacco vapour, which filled the room, prevented 
 them from observing that I wanted one. 
 
 Fortunately, the landlord soon announced that 
 dinner was ready, and shewed me into an ele¬ 
 gant room, fifty-six feet long. 
 
 Four miles beyond Waterloo is Cayuga Lake, 
 which we crossed by means of a wooden bridge, 
 one mile and a furlong in length. The support¬ 
 ers of the bridge rest upon the bottom of the 
 lake all the way through, the average depth 
 of water being six feet. The bridge is wide 
 enough to admit a carriage, and likewise foot- 
 passengers ; and the whole structure is so strong 
 and w r ell knit together, that, notwithstanding its 
 vast extent, scarcely any tremour is perceptible 
 w r hen a heavy-loaded waggon passes over it.— 
 When viewed from one extremity, it appears 
 gradually and beautifully to converge into a 
 narrow point at the other, and, at last, eludes the 
 eye in the minuteness of its termination. 
 
 About six in the evening we arrived at the 
 
293 
 
 village of Auburn, and I abandoned the stage 
 there, intending to go to Utica by way of the 
 Grand Canal. Having seen my portmanteau dis¬ 
 posed of, I entered the tavern, and desired that 
 water might be sent into a room. “ Water!” 
 exclaimed the landlord, “ why, here’s water and 
 towels enough in the bar—I guess all the gen¬ 
 tlemen washes there.” I surveyed the bar from 
 curiosity, and found things in such a state, that 
 I would rather have worn the coat of dust I had 
 received while in the stage, than attempted ab¬ 
 lution in it. However, after some parley and he¬ 
 sitation, my apparently unheard-of request was 
 granted, and soon afterwards they rung a bell to 
 announce that tea was ready. I immediately 
 obeyed the summons; and, on entering the pub¬ 
 lic room, found eighteen or twenty people al¬ 
 ready seated at a table, which was abundantly 
 furnished with beef-steaks, ham, fowls, preserved 
 fruit, cake, cheese, &c. The hostess, who was 
 rather pretty, stood at one end of the table, and 
 poured out tea, gracefully enough, to those who 
 called for it, and occasionally joined in the con¬ 
 versation, with the same ease as if she had been 
 one of the guests. Most of the people were re¬ 
 spectable enough in appearance, but very plain 
 in their manners. A good deal of detached un¬ 
 connected conversation passed among them ; but 
 some of it was in such extraordinary language, 
 
294 
 
 that I found no difficulty in remembering the 
 expressions verbatim, until tea was over, when 
 I wrote them down, and shall now give the 
 reader the following specimens: 
 
 “ Take some beef, ’squire.—No, I guess not, I 
 don’t feel much like eating to-night.—’Squire, is 
 your cip out ?—It will be so right off, ma’am.— 
 My tea is too strong.—I conclude you’re ner¬ 
 vous, sir.—I vow, ma’am, I can’t sleep when I 
 take much tea.—Indeed I like tea, it makes me 
 feel good.—I agree with you, I never feel so 
 spry as when I’ve got a good raft of tea aboard 
 of me.—I calculate upon there being some elec¬ 
 tricity in tea, it makes one feel so smart—An’t 
 you from Canada lately, mister ? how are poli¬ 
 tics there ?—Nothing stirring in that way, sir. 
 —I conclude to go there very soon, and hope to 
 see you; and if I can rip out your quarters, I’ll 
 give you a damned blow up.—Well now, I shall 
 feel pretty considerably tickled to see you.— 
 You didn’t stay long at Canandaguia?—No, I 
 dined at full jump, and went right off in the 
 stage, which carried me slick to this place.—I 
 fear that little shaver (child) is troubling on you, 
 sir.—Not at all, ma’am, pretty considerable of a 
 boy, I guess.—Yes, sir, only three years old, and 
 knows his letters.—He was in the abbs and ebbs 
 last week.—He must be awfully smart!!!” 
 
 In the morning I strolled through the town of 
 
295 
 
 Auburn, and found it even more extensive and 
 respectable than I had anticipated. It contains 
 spacious streets, excellent houses, plenty of shops, 
 and about 3000 inhabitants ; and, moreover, ap¬ 
 pears to be a place of considerable trade. There 
 are two churches in it, one of which is extreme¬ 
 ly pretty in its architecture; and I cannot but 
 allude to the attention which the Americans 
 invariably bestow upon buildings for religious 
 worship. No place in the State of New York, 
 that has any pretensions to the name of a village, 
 is destitute of a respectable church and regu¬ 
 larly ordained clergyman. This circumstance is 
 highly creditable to the Americans, and ought 
 to refute the notion so commonly entertained, 
 that they are not a religious people; for it is not 
 very probable, that individuals would furnish 
 means for the erection of churches, if they had 
 no object in view but national policy, or the en¬ 
 joyment of human applause. Auburn is parti¬ 
 cularly interesting to the traveller, from its being 
 the site of the second penitentiary erected in 
 the State of New York. This building is ex¬ 
 tensive, strong, and of a gloomy appearance, 
 being composed of dark-coloured stone, and sur¬ 
 rounded with a very high and thick wall. The 
 town also contains a court-house, bank, printing- 
 office, extensive book-store, &c. and even a soda- 
 water shop. This last appendage of luxury is to 
 
296 
 
 be found in most American villages; which, I 
 believe, in general comprise a greater number of 
 comforts and conveniences within their limits, 
 than places of double their magnitude and popu¬ 
 lation in Great Britain. 
 
 Next day being Sunday, I went to the State’s 
 prison, that I might hear divine service perform¬ 
 ed before the criminals. The public are freely 
 admitted on these occasions, and when I reached 
 the gate in the wall that surrounds the building, I 
 found eighty or ninety people waiting for entrance. 
 I was a good deal astonished at this circumstance, 
 as it was impossible to suppose them all strangers; 
 and I thought it argued a degree of depravity in 
 the inhabitants of Auburn, to make a practice of 
 idly viewing the children of guilt, and the out¬ 
 casts of society. In a little time, the female part 
 of the crowd was admitted, and soon after the 
 males. We ascended many flights of stairs, and 
 traversed several dreary passages, along which 
 soldiers were posted with fixed bayonets, before 
 we reached the place of public worship, which 
 lies next the roof of the building. I had scarcely 
 seated myself, when the clanking of fetters struck 
 my ear, and, as the criminals soon began to en¬ 
 ter the apartment, I was wholly occupied, for 
 some time, in scanning their countenances as they 
 passed. They were all dressed in the same garb, 
 and looked as if they lived well, and met with 
 
297 
 
 gentle treatment. Their number amounted to 
 about two hundred, and I observed eighteen or 
 twenty blacks among them. When they had 
 seated themselves on the benches assigned them, 
 the clergyman gave out a psalm, which was sung 
 in the worst style possible, and then proceeded 
 with the service in the usual manner. It was 
 indeed shocking to hear their fetters clank, dur¬ 
 ing the singing of hymns, and in the midst of 
 prayers. The sermon was an indifferent one. 
 but I must confess I paid but little attention to 
 it, being chiefly employed in examining the faces 
 of the criminals, and endeavouring, by physiog¬ 
 nomical means, to ascertain who were the most 
 hardened and depraved among them. A majo¬ 
 rity of the countenances had a stupid expression, 
 but a few bore the marks of strong passions and 
 mental atrocity; and, I believe, a detailed in¬ 
 spection might have enabled me to discover in 
 the features of all, an index to their respective 
 characters. I should have been glad to have put 
 to the test the systems of Spurzheim and Lavater, 
 by applying their principles to the subjects then 
 before me. It is in jails, penitentiaries, and mad¬ 
 houses alone, that physiognomy can be studied 
 with advantage and effect. The common multi¬ 
 tude pass so quietly through their term of exist¬ 
 ence, and are so seldom the victims of strong and 
 constant passions, that their countenances, par- 
 
298 
 
 taking of the character of their lives, afford com¬ 
 paratively little scope for the observations of the 
 physiognomist. 
 
 Among the criminals were three females. 
 One was an Indian woman, who had murdered 
 her husband under circumstances of indescribable 
 barbarity. The other two were confined for 
 stealing. They sat at a little distance from the 
 men, who apparently paid very little attention to 
 the words of the clergyman ; indeed, what could 
 be expected from a congregation consisting al¬ 
 most entirely of housebreakers, highway-rob¬ 
 bers, murderers, incendiaries, swindlers, and per¬ 
 jured persons? 
 
 Next morning, there was a large party at my 
 hostess’s breakfast table, in consequence of its be¬ 
 ing court-day. Judges, lawyers, clients, pur¬ 
 suers, and defendants, all associated together 
 good-humouredly, and without ceremony, and 
 seemed to vie with each other in the use of the 
 knife and fork. The judges had no useless 
 pride. They assumed none of the airs of the 
 bench while at table, as they and the lawyers 
 treated each other with equal degrees of respect. 
 I must confess, however, that I could not ap¬ 
 prove of their manners, which were slovenly and 
 clownish, and unlike those of people of education, 
 or knowledge of the world. 
 
 After breakfast, my host drove me in his 
 
299 
 
 waggon to a place called Weed’s Port, upon 
 the bank of the Grand Canal, eight miles from 
 Auburn; and here he left me to wait till the 
 track-boat made its appearance. I walked for 
 some time along the canal; but at last becoming 
 tired, I went into a small shop on the way-side, 
 which contained a few dozen candlesticks, seve¬ 
 ral snuff-boxes, and some pieces of ribbon, &c. 
 The owner stood behind the counter, and I 
 merely bid him good morning, and seated my¬ 
 self; for the Americans have a very slight opi¬ 
 nion of a man who uses any ceremony towards 
 them. After some time, he took down a bottle 
 and dusty glass, and asked me if I would drink 
 some bitters, but this I declined. “ Well now,” 
 said he, “ I swear you’re from the old country, 
 ’squire.” I told him that I was. “ I guessed as 
 much,” returned he, and having given me a very 
 significant look, he cautiously put the cork in the 
 bottle, and returned it to its place. There was a 
 long pause. “ Belike, ’squire,” said he again, 
 “ as you a’nt in drinking trim, you may have a 
 mind to read a bit. Here’s my brother’s Trea¬ 
 tise on the Trinity.” He accordingly presented 
 me with a small volume, which I read until the 
 canal-boat came up. 
 
 On going aboard the boat, I found its accom¬ 
 modations of a much meaner description than I 
 
300 
 
 expected. It was about thirty feet long, had 
 a small cabin fore and aft, and was drawn by 
 two horses, at the rate of nearly four miles an 
 hour. The water in the canal was four feet deep, 
 and tolerably transparent, but I could not per¬ 
 ceive that it had any current. I soon entered 
 into conversation with the captain, and the fol¬ 
 lowing dialogue passed between us : 
 
 “ Have you any canals like this in Britain ?” 
 
 “ No; none so extensive.” 
 
 “ Well, now, sir, this is a great thing for our 
 country, a’nt it ?” 
 
 “ Yes; you owe all this to De Witt Clinton.” 
 
 “ Well, I don’t know—some say yes, and some 
 say no, but he had plenty to help him; however, 
 you, being a foreigner, must judge impartially.” 
 
 “ De Witt Clinton had some assistance of 
 course, but to him must be ascribed the merit of 
 completing the canal.” 
 
 “ I know that’s the general idear in Britain. 
 You all think De Witt Clinton a great man 
 there.” 
 
 “ Yes; we think him the first statesman in 
 America.” 
 
 “ Well, lie’s considerable of a statesman, 
 though all don’t think so now; but in a coun¬ 
 try like ours, the governors are continually 
 changing, and the people alter their opinions. 
 
301 
 
 and are led about like a pig by the nose. How- 
 somever, De Witt Clinton has done a great deal 
 of good, though all don’t like him.” 
 
 “ It would appear so by the last election—he 
 had a very small majority in his favour.” 
 
 “ Very small, I guess—he had a pretty hard 
 run, and a good many buck-tails to fight with.” 
 
 “ What are buck-tails ?” 
 
 “ The name, sir, has it origin from the Tam¬ 
 many society, in New York. That society is 
 named after a celebrated Indian chief, and the 
 members of it parade the streets on the fourth 
 of July, with buck-tails hanging behind their 
 heads.” 
 
 “ Why do the Tammany society oppose De 
 Witt Clinton?” 
 
 “ God only knows—but he has enemies of an¬ 
 other kind; for the lawyers are strongly against 
 him, because he curtailed their fees. He cut 
 their nails so close, that their fingers han’t done 
 smarting yet.” 
 
 “ This curtailment of fees was a great benefit 
 to the country ?” 
 
 “ Aye, to be sure it was; but you must know 
 there are a great many young lawyers in the 
 State of New York—a damned deal too many. 
 They are pretty smart fellows, and impose upon 
 the farmers and country people, and make them 
 believe what they like.” 
 
302 
 
 “ What do they say against De Witt Clinton ?” 
 
 “ They say, that if he continues in office, aris¬ 
 tocracy will be introduced, and that he and his 
 party will gain so much power, that, bye and 
 bye, we will have tithes and taxes, like the poor 
 oppressed people of England. De Witt Clinton 
 and his party are thought to be too fond of the 
 English. They don’t wish to go to war with 
 them, because they are akin to them. His party 
 are called damned tories ; and I have often been 
 called so myself, but I don’t care.” 
 
 “ Is it not astonishing that people should be¬ 
 lieve all these things ?” 
 
 “ Ah, sir, the people of the United States will 
 believe any thing; and if one takes the proper 
 way, it is as easy to lead them as it is to lead 
 ringed ox.” 
 
 The country through which the canal extends 
 is far from being beautiful or interesting. No¬ 
 thing but woods are to be seen, except in a few 
 places, where cultivation has recently been com¬ 
 menced, and where incipient villages raise their 
 unassuming heads. 
 
 The land which we passed was so low and 
 swampy in many places, that it had been neces¬ 
 sary to embank the canal on both sides with im¬ 
 mense mounds of earth. Some of these have 
 sunk eight or ten feet since they were first made, 
 and others are crumbling away so fast, that they 
 
303 
 
 will soon be completely undermined, if the action 
 of the water is not prevented by a covering of 
 planks. It will hardly be believed, that there are 
 wretches so depraved as wantonly to make sluices 
 in them, to permit the escape of the water. But 
 it is so, as the legislature of the State of New 
 York has found it necessary to pass a law for 
 the severe punishment of such offenders; and it 
 is to be hoped that none of the guilty will escape 
 its vengeance. 
 
 The canal-boat stopped at a small village 
 called Syracuse, a little after sunset. All the 
 passengers slept on board; and in the morning, at 
 dawn, the horses were again yoked. We travel¬ 
 led the whole day without interruption, and 
 reached Utica about nine at night. 
 
 Utica is ninety-six miles from Auburn, and is 
 a very extensive and flourishing village, contain¬ 
 ing, I suppose, five thousand inhabitants, with 
 many spacious streets and excellent buildings.— 
 The canal passes through the middle of it, 
 (though the water had only been admitted 
 within one mile of the town at the time I was 
 there) and this advantage must hereafter render 
 Utica a place of no small commercial importance. 
 
 Next day I visited a cotton-manufactory, three 
 miles from the village. The machinery, which 
 is very beautiful, and occupies four flats of a 
 large building, is moved entirely by water.— 
 
304 
 
 There are about eighty persons employed:— 
 these consist chiefly of women and children, who 
 have a much more healthful and happy look 
 than any work people I ever saw in British ma¬ 
 nufactories. Many of the females were reading 
 the Bible, and others sat sewing, during the in¬ 
 tervals of leisure which their respective occupa¬ 
 tions afforded them. One woman could attend 
 two looms; and each of these, on an average, 
 made twenty-five yards of cotton a-day. Their 
 wages were one cent per yard ; part of which was 
 paid in goods, and they provided themselves 
 with board. The children received 14s., New 
 York currency (7s. 7d. sterling), per week, and 
 worked twelve hours every day. Cotton stuff 
 was sold at the factory at 16 cents per yard (8id. 
 sterling); the superintendent of which informed 
 me, that the concern proved very profitable, and 
 that he found no difficulty whatever in get¬ 
 ting labourers, or, as he delicately termed them, 
 helps , upon the terms already mentioned. 
 
 I quitted Utica at two in the morning, in the 
 mail-coach. In America, the comfort of a stage- 
 passenger is much more attended to than in 
 Britain. He is not obliged to walk through 
 dark, and perhaps dirty streets to the mail-of¬ 
 fice, and to seek for people to convey his bag¬ 
 gage there in the middle of the night; as the 
 coach calls at his residence, if within the limits 
 
 5 
 
305 
 
 of the town, and takes him comfortably up. I 
 had five fellow-passengers; but it continued so 
 dark, and they were so silent for a considerable 
 time, that I neither could see their faces, nor as¬ 
 certain what sort of characters they were; but 
 I afterwards found that they were a lawyer 
 from the state of Ohio, a young lady, who ap¬ 
 peared to be his niece, a stout jolly Irishman, 
 a simpleton from Lower Canada, and another 
 person, whose character I could not discover.— 
 At five o’clock we stopped and had breakfast, 
 which was a very good one, but much too early 
 to be acceptable to me. 
 
 The country, a little w r ay beyond Utica, is in 
 a high state of cultivation, and the different 
 farms which compose the prospect present as¬ 
 pects equally various and beautiful. The road 
 winds, for a considerable way, along the Mohawk 
 river, and, in consequence of this, much delight¬ 
 ful scenery meets the eye of a traveller. Lofty 
 cliffs, covered with trees, tower on one side of 
 the stream, and are vividly reflected in its tran¬ 
 quil waters ; in the midst of which, clusters of 
 romantic rocky islands raise their verdant heads, 
 and add indescribable variety to the scene. No¬ 
 thing can be more wild than the appearance of 
 the Mohawk, the sides of it being bordered with 
 immense fragments of brown rock, which have 
 
 u 
 
306 
 
 fallen from the cliffs above, and darkly overshadow 
 the waters. The fields around are level and exten¬ 
 sive, and, when we passed, were covered with 
 crops, the different colours of which formed an im¬ 
 mense variegated carpet, enlivened with pretty 
 villas, nurseries, flocks of cattle, and cottages. 
 
 In the middle of the day, as we were driving 
 past a house on the road side, a female suddenly 
 threw up one of the windows, and bawled out, 
 “ You can't give me a seat in the stage ?”—“ Yes, 
 mistress, I guess I can,” cried the driver, pulling 
 up his horses. “ Well, then, let us aboard,” said 
 she, hurrying towards us with a trunk in her 
 hand ; “ it’s most almighty hot.”—“ I think as 
 how you’ll feel it hotter when we get agoing,” 
 replied the driver, “ there’s a raft of folks inside 
 to-day.”—“ Oh,” returned she, “ I guess once 
 we’re started we’ll go as regular as a tea-party.” 
 Having seated herself, she proceeded to arrange 
 her luggage, and seemed particularly anxious to 
 preserve from accident a large bottle, which was 
 fastened on the top of her trunk. “ Well now, 
 mister ,” said she to me, “ don’t put your feet 
 agen my trunk ; for, if you don’t take care on 
 my bottle, you’ll be breaking on’t. I’ve been 
 
 sick on this road this fortnight. Dr S-raised 
 
 me last week; he’s a dreadful clever man, and 
 said, if I didn’t begin taking on wine, I would 
 
 ✓ 
 
307 
 
 never get smart, and this is my bottle of wine 
 Now you, mister , keep back your feet, or you’ll 
 be breaking on’t.” 
 
 About ten at night we arrived in the town of 
 Albany, which is ninety-six miles distant from 
 Utica. The tavern at which I lodged there was the 
 best I had yet seen in the course of my travels, 
 and things were conducted very much in the 
 English style. At the hotels in the United 
 States, one does not meet with that obsequious¬ 
 ness and unremitting attention, which are com¬ 
 monly shewn to strangers by the innkeepers of 
 other countries; but this is surely far from being 
 a disadvantage ; for if a man always gets what he 
 wants on calling for it, he has reason to congra¬ 
 tulate himself upon being free from the torment 
 of seeing a servant in perpetual attendance. He 
 likewise gains by it in another way. In Ame¬ 
 rica, travellers are not expected to bestow any 
 gratuity upon the waiters of a tavern, except in the 
 large towns ; and, consequently, one is exempted 
 from the disagreeable and expensive tax which 
 custom imposes upon people in England. 
 
 I can say little about Albany, having spent 
 only one night and part of a morning in it. 
 The town, although it presents neither an ele¬ 
 gant nor attractive appearance, looks somewhat 
 interesting from the antiquity of its aspect,—a 
 thing little to be expected in North America, 
 
308 
 
 the cities there being all comparatively of recent 
 origin. Albany is quite a commercial town, and 
 seems to be a place of much business; it is like¬ 
 wise the resort of a number of strangers and tra¬ 
 vellers during the summer season, in consequence 
 of its vicinity to the celebrated mineral springs 
 of Ballston and Saratoga, which are annually fre¬ 
 quented by most of the fashionables of the Union; 
 and which have become, I am told, nearly as 
 gay and brilliant as some of the second-rate wa¬ 
 tering-places in England. But the inhabitants 
 of most cities of the Union are so engaged in 
 commercial transactions, that they cannot easily 
 leave their counting-houses, during the most busy 
 season of the year, or afford to pass the summer 
 in idleness, and in the enjoyment of expensive 
 pleasures. 
 
 Albany is the seat of the legislature of the 
 State of New York; and though the members 
 who compose this body, do not, I believe, pos¬ 
 sess very great abilities, the talents of De Witt 
 Clinton, their illustrious governor, shed a splen¬ 
 dour over their proceedings, of which they would 
 otherwise be destitute. This man is doubtless 
 the most profound political economist in North 
 America. The vast scope of his mind, his grand 
 views of human society, the magnificence of his 
 projects, and benefits he has rendered to that part of 
 the Union over which he presides, rank him high 
 
309 
 
 among the great characters of the present day; while 
 his writings and speeches, at the same time, 
 prove him to be a scholar, an orator, a statesman, 
 and an enlightened philosopher. The address¬ 
 es he delivers at the opening of the legislature, 
 are doubtless the finest that are now pronounced 
 on similar occasions, in any part of the world. 
 
 The powerful talents which De Witt Clinton 
 possesses, and the important objects he has effect¬ 
 ed in the course of his administration, have creat¬ 
 ed him many enemies. At his last election, the 
 tide of opposition ran so strong, that he had only 
 a majority of 1100 votes. The leading charges 
 brought against him are, ambition and love of 
 monarchy. 
 
 About ten in the morning I quitted Albany 
 in one of the North River steam-boats. These 
 steam-boats are very large, being six or seven 
 hundred tons burden, and fitted up so as to af¬ 
 ford the best accommodations possible. I found 
 about sixty passengers on board, among whom 
 were a number of ladies, and some very genteel- 
 looking people. I did not observe any thing re¬ 
 markable or amusing, except certain regulations 
 which were framed and hung up in the cabins, 
 stating, that no person was allowed to smoke 
 below decks, or to spit on the floor, or to go to 
 bed with boots on, under a penalty of half a dol¬ 
 lar. The practice of going to bed with boots 
 
310 
 
 on is, I am told, no uncommon thing in Ame¬ 
 rica. The New Englanders, it is said, sometimes 
 do not even take off their spurs before retiring 
 to rest; and a gentleman humorously informed 
 me, that he once saw one of these people come 
 down to breakfast, unconsciously dragging a pair 
 of sheets at his heels, the spurs upon which had 
 got entangled in the cotton while he was asleep! 
 
 At eleven o’clock, we had a luncheon of ham, 
 cold beef, &c.; and, while it lasted, I observed 
 many people calling loudly and unsuccessfully 
 for water, an article which the steward had, for 
 obvious reasons, contrived to render very scarce. 
 About three, the bell rang to announce dinner; 
 and then a dreadful hubbub ensued, which render¬ 
 ed it necessary for one to take care of his shins. 
 Most of the male passengers rushed tumultuous¬ 
 ly down the cabin stairs, jostling, pushing, and 
 squeezing each other; and, having secured seats, 
 they attacked every article indiscriminately; 
 stretched across the table, and helped themselves 
 with their own knives and forks; and, when any 
 one asked for part of a dish, they sent him the 
 plate that contained it. 
 
 The banks of the Hudson are covered with 
 beautiful farms, and exhibit a good deal of va¬ 
 riety, being sometimes high and rocky, and some¬ 
 times very low. There are a number of fine- 
 looking villages upon them, and some tasteful 
 
311 
 
 country-seats belonging to the wealthy inhabit¬ 
 ants of New York. In several places, groups 
 of rocky islands embellish the river; and the sce¬ 
 nery is altogether sufficiently interesting to keep 
 one on the deck of the steam-boat, during the 
 greater part of the voyage. 
 
 At seven in the evening we had tea; and it 
 soon after became dark, which I lamented ex¬ 
 tremely, as we would necessarily pass most of 
 the high lands of the Hudson (which I am told 
 afford exquisite scenery) during the night. How¬ 
 ever, I determined to get up before sun-rise 
 next day, that I might at least see a little of 
 those celebrated high lands, and accordingly 
 went to bed about eleven; but the first thing 
 that awakened me the following morning was 
 the noise of laying the table for breakfast; so, 
 from my unfortunate propensity to slumber, I 
 lost all the shew, in the same way as Gold¬ 
 smith’s alderman lost a sight of the coronation; 
 and did not even enjoy the consolation he ex¬ 
 perienced after his disappointment—that of hav¬ 
 ing had pleasant dreams. We partook of a no¬ 
 ble breakfast; and at eight o’clock reached New 
 York harbour, having been little more than 
 twenty-two hours on our passage-way, although 
 the distance run was one hundred and seventy- 
 six miles. 
 
LETTER XVII. 
 
 New York—People on the streets—Blacks—Broadway describ¬ 
 ed—A fashionable promenade—Personal appearance of the 
 ladies—Gentlemen—New York hotels— Table & holes —Style 
 of manners at these—Americans indifferent to convivial plea¬ 
 sures—Private boarding-houses—Anniversary of national in¬ 
 dependence—Festivities of the day—Scene on Broadway— 
 Quietness of the populace—Amusements of New York—Thea¬ 
 tre—Vauxhall Gardens—American museum—Wax-work— 
 Apollino—Academy of fine arts—Colonel Trumbull—His 
 pictures and style of painting—Chatham Garden—Steam-boat 
 cotillion parties—American troops—Not respectable—Charac¬ 
 teristic anecdote—Military College—American navy—Its high 
 state of discipline—Booksellers* shops—British authors most 
 in repute in America—Circulating libraries—Advantages of 
 New York as a place of residence—Departure from it—East 
 River—First view of Philadelphia—Quakerism—Loungers 
 in Chesnut-street—West's picture—Almshouse and hospital 
 —Regularity of the town—Characteristics of its inhabitants. 
 
 I shall not attempt any minute description of 
 New York. The local situation of the town, the 
 number of churches it contains, a list of the 
 principal streets, and other information of the 
 same sort, would be uninteresting to most read¬ 
 ers. I shall therefore speak only of what con¬ 
 cerns the inhabitants of the city. 
 
 The first thing that strikes a stranger, on en- 
 
313 
 
 tering New York, is the appearance of the peo¬ 
 ple who fill the streets, and the number of blacks 
 that are to be seen every where. The labouring 
 classes look comfortable and independent; and 
 dress so well, that one would suppose them to be 
 respectable tradesmen, rather than people who 
 hire themselves by the day. One rarely meets 
 with beggars or distressed objects; nor does he 
 see any loungers, the genteelest persons having 
 an air of haste and business about them. Many 
 of the blacks carry walking-canes, and parade the 
 streets arm in arm, bowing most affectedly to 
 the negresses, who are often dressed in a style so 
 costly, that it is difficult to conceive how they 
 can procure such finery. 
 
 Broadway is the principal street in the city. It 
 is nearly two miles long and very irregular; but 
 contains many excellent houses, which are occu¬ 
 pied by persons of wealth and fashion. Shops of 
 almost every kind line Broadway, and display 
 all that can please the eye or attract the attention; 
 but within narrow compass, for most of the 
 warehouses are small. There are likewise many 
 little recesses on each side of the street, where 
 soda water, aerated mead, &c. are retailed in 
 glassfuls; and the tasteful decorations of these 
 places, the inviting fruits and sweetmeats which 
 they exhibit, and the prettiness of the women 
 
 5 
 
314 
 
 who attend, seldom fail to induce passengers to 
 enter. 
 
 Broadway is the fashionable promenade dur¬ 
 ing summer; and at sunset vast crowds of people 
 frequent it, who continue to walk long after dark. 
 Here, one may form an estimate of the beauty 
 and personal graces of the people of New York. 
 The ladies do not show a great deal of either, be¬ 
 ing generally without bloom, dark-complexioned, 
 and irregular in their features; but many of 
 them have expressive black eyes, and figures 
 which would be called fine, if their motions and 
 attitudes were less stiff and ungraceful. They 
 dress very much in the French style, but 
 display more extravagance than taste in their 
 toilette arrangements: I am told they also 
 imitate that nation in the frequent use of 
 rouge, which, combined with the destructive ef¬ 
 fects of a climate very much in extremes, suffi¬ 
 ciently accounts for the premature appearance of 
 age, which overtakes them before an English¬ 
 woman has come to her prime. The men have 
 personal defects similar to those of the women; 
 and are moreover too spare in habit, and too 
 large-boned, to be elegant. However, they 
 dress well, avoiding the extreme of foppishness, 
 and at the same time not neglecting fashion. 
 None of the American young men have that as- 
 
 4 
 
315 
 
 pect of idiotic stupidity which is frequent among 
 the exquisites of Britain ; and though the Ame¬ 
 ricans are far inferior in elegance of manner, they 
 surpass them in good sense and energy of mind. 
 
 The principal hotels are situated in Broadway ; 
 and, as they differ entirely from British hotels, it 
 is worth while to say something about them. 
 The City Hotel is the best and most fashionable 
 place of resort for travellers. It is a large brick 
 building, four storeys high, containing a splendid 
 dining saloon, and a magnificent drawing-room, 
 each 85 feet in length, a billiard-room, several 
 suites of apartments for private families, and 
 more than 100 bedchambers. Upwards of 80 
 people breakfast and dine there every day, at the 
 public table, during the summer months; and the 
 charge for board and lodging is ten dollars a- 
 week, for which four meals a-day are furnished 
 in the best possible style. At the City Hotel, a 
 traveller neither has it in his power to dine alone, 
 nor to have private apartments, but must take 
 his seat at the ordinary, at the established hours. 
 Travelling parties, consisting of ladies and gen¬ 
 tlemen, cannot even obtain separate sitting apart¬ 
 ments, but must either remain in the bedcham¬ 
 bers, or mingle together in a drawing-room al¬ 
 lotted for their reception. They are all expected 
 to dine at the same table and at the same hour; 
 or, if any party chooses to deviate from this 
 
 * 
 
316 
 
 plan, the charge is more than double what it 
 would otherwise be. Washington-hall, Frank¬ 
 lin-house, Mechanics’-hall, Wall-street-house, and 
 nearly all the other public establishments for tra¬ 
 vellers, are conducted in this style; which is evi¬ 
 dently but little adapted to the taste of Europeans, 
 who generally choose privacy when they reside at 
 a hotel. The Americans, however, are not so 
 fastidious; and many of them would be at a loss 
 to conceive why a man should wish to take his 
 meals alone, when he might command a great¬ 
 er variety of dishes by sitting down among the 
 multitude. 
 
 The persons who encircle these table (Vholes 
 are, for the most part, genteel in their appear¬ 
 ance, and polite in their manners. Many of 
 them are permanent residenters in New York, 
 and merely board at a hotel for convenience. 
 The conversation never becomes general; as no 
 one addresses those who sit round him, unless 
 he has been particularly introduced to them. 
 When any person wants part of a dish, he sends 
 the waiter for the whole of it, as no one troubles 
 himself with carving for another. Every thing 
 that is drunk is charged extra to the individual 
 that calls for it ; but most of the guests take 
 nothing but water, and the moment they have 
 dined, they start up, and hurry away. The Ame¬ 
 ricans are not at all addicted to the pleasures of 
 
317 
 
 the table, being no judges of good cookery, and 
 dining usually at two or three in the afternoon. 
 Men of business hasten to their counting-houses 
 or offices immediately after dinner, leaving 
 good wine and convivial friends without the 
 least regret. Should they feel inclined to drink 
 a little in the course of the evening, they engage 
 a few acquaintances, and carry them to their 
 homes or boarding-houses; where, having called 
 for some wine, the whole party drink it off as fast 
 as possible, without either sitting down or taking 
 off their hats. This is called a flying glass. 
 However, people of wealth and fashion live much 
 in the same way as respectable merchants in 
 England, and have fewer standing toasts than 
 their inferiors. 
 
 The number of 'private boarding-houses in 
 New York is very great. Few young men have 
 a house and domestic establishment of their own, 
 until they are married, and some not even then. 
 The people who keep these boarding-houses are 
 usually widow ladies, who have been left in des¬ 
 titute circumstances; but most of them are quite 
 superior in manners and respectability, to the 
 same class of persons in Britain. They do not 
 receive any one into their houses, unless he is re¬ 
 commended by a mutual acquaintance. He is 
 then treated as a friend, and enjoys an easy in¬ 
 tercourse with the daughters, sisters, or other 
 
318 
 
 members of the family, if he feels inclined; and 
 is allowed to walk out with them, or escort 
 them to public places. A young man will some¬ 
 times find a boarding-house rather dangerous, if 
 there are agreeable females in it. Many widows 
 procure husbands for their unportioned daugh¬ 
 ters, by keeping one ; though I do not mean to 
 say, that they ever have this object in view 
 when they receive lodgers. The New York 
 boarding-houses are not agreeable in general; 
 for the social intercourse that takes place in 
 them creates a restraint which would not exist, 
 were there no communication at all between the 
 parties. 
 
 The fourth of July, which the Americans ce¬ 
 lebrate as the anniversary of their national inde¬ 
 pendence, occurred immediately after my arrival 
 in New York. All the shops were shut through¬ 
 out the town, and Broadway was so crowded with 
 people, that it was hardly possible to pass along. 
 Military and naval officers, tradesmen, com¬ 
 mon labourers, women, children, free blacks, 
 slaves, and negresses, composed the motley as¬ 
 semblage, who were all dressed in their best ap¬ 
 parel, and seemed equally to participate in the 
 exhilarating influence of the happy day. Bands 
 of music paraded the streets, the “ star-spangled 
 banner” waved every where, and discharges of 
 musketry resounded at intervals. Two rows of 
 
319 
 
 tents and booths, each about a quarter of a mile 
 in length, occupied the sides of Broadway.— 
 They were chiefly kept by black women, and 
 contained tables, upon which roast pigs, roast 
 turkeys, fowls, ham, pies, tarts, fruit, sweetmeats, 
 and cakes, were placed in an inviting manner; 
 while chairs and benches stood vacant, ready for 
 the accommodation of passengers. It was amus¬ 
 ing to observe the blacks handing the negresses 
 to these tables, and asking, with a profound bow, 
 what they would choose to be helped to. The 
 day was intensely hot, yet I saw several of these 
 dark brunettes devouring platefuls of roast pig, 
 ham, and cabbage, and drinking rum and water 
 out of tin jugs of formidable dimensions. Many 
 tradesmen, women, and children likewise, enjoy¬ 
 ed a good dinner at these refectories, and paid 
 but a trifle for it. The bawling of the black 
 women, their incessant invitations to the passen¬ 
 gers, the clattering of knives and plates, the un¬ 
 couth dialect of the negro men, the laughter 
 of the bye-standers, the gaudy dresses of the 
 booth-keepers, and the extraordinary groups 
 that filled the streets, composed a spectacle very 
 grotesque and amusing. At twelve o’clock the 
 military paraded in the Grand Square in Broad¬ 
 way, and fired a feu dejoie. The different pub¬ 
 lic societies, who had previously assembled in 
 the City Hall, then walked in procession to their 
 
 6 
 
320 
 
 respective places of resort; and among them I 
 observed the celebrated Tammanies, “ a motley 
 crew,” with buck-tails in their hats, and looking 
 as if they thought more of the good dinner that 
 awaited them, than of politics or national inde¬ 
 pendence. 
 
 It is not possible for any festival to diffuse 
 more general satisfaction, than this anniversary 
 of independence appeared to do among the Ame¬ 
 ricans ;—a gloomy or discontented countenance 
 was not to be seen. Notwithstanding the mix¬ 
 ed multitudes that were wandering in idleness 
 through the city during the whole day, no riot or 
 disorder took place; and when night was a little 
 advanced, all parties voluntarily and quietly dis¬ 
 persed. 
 
 The tumultuousness of mobs in the streets is, 
 indeed, rare among the Americans. They are not 
 so easily led astray as the lower classes in Britain ; 
 being better informed, and more cool and 
 deliberative in their mental constitution. They 
 would not feel any satisfaction in breaking the 
 windows of the President’s house, or insulting 
 him personally, however much he had offended 
 them. 
 
 It was, as already observed, the middle of sum¬ 
 mer when I arrived in New York ; and at that 
 time the wealthiest people are out of town.— 
 Most of the places of public amusement were. 
 
321 
 
 of course, closed. These consist of a theatre, a 
 circus, Vauxhall Gardens, a museum, where con¬ 
 certs take place, the Pavilion, an academy of fine 
 arts, dancing assemblies, and several galleries of 
 paintings. 
 
 Their regular theatre was burnt down in the 
 spring of 1820, and that which I visited was 
 merely a temporary one. The actors were no 
 better than third or fourth rate, and the scenery 
 and decorations corresponded in meanness, but 
 were, I was told, very much inferior to those 
 that the fire had destroyed. The ladies and 
 gentlemen, who occupied the boxes, did not ap¬ 
 pear in full dress; and the latter generally sat 
 with their hats on. Though the play was pa¬ 
 thetic and affecting, I could not discover the 
 least symptom of feeling in any of the faces 
 around me; and this observation harmonized 
 with the idea I had previously formed, of the 
 total insensibility of the American people to all 
 the finer sources of emotion. 
 
 I had no opportunity of attending the circus; 
 neither was the pavilion open. It is a building 
 appropriated to concerts of military music. Vaux¬ 
 hall Gardens are a most contemptible and ludi¬ 
 crous imitation of those in London. The music 
 is detestable, and the illuminations are only fit to 
 decorate the exterior of a puppet-shew. 
 
 The American museum, so called, is the pro- 
 
 x 
 
perty of a private individual; but occupies a large 
 building that was erected by the state legislature, 
 as a national depository for antiquities, rarities, 
 and curiosities; but the American sgavans, it 
 would appear, could find nothing to put in it, 
 and it was accordingly let to a virtuoso, named 
 Scudder, who, among a great quantity of trash, 
 has collected some exquisite specimens of birds 
 and amphibia, and a few valuable minerals. The 
 walls of one apartment are covered with a series 
 of paintings, which represent American naval 
 achievements, and are executed in a style which 
 makes me suppose that the artist received no 
 remuneration, except a per centage on the price 
 of the colours he expended in the work. The 
 museum also contains a wax exhibition, in which 
 the solemn scriptural event of the witch of Endor 
 raising the ghost of Samuel, is represented as 
 large as life. She is seated in an elbow-chair, 
 and dressed like an old English housekeeper. 
 Saul’s apparel consists of a laced coat, a vest with 
 large flaps, tight breeches and buckles, and silk 
 stockings, while the unfortunate ghost is shroud¬ 
 ed in cotton, and wears one of Richardson’s patent 
 elastic nightcaps. The museum is also enriched 
 with that astonishing piece of musical mechanism 
 called the Apollino. Concerts are performed 
 upon this instrument, and a few others, almost 
 every evening; and are frequented by the milli- 
 
328 
 
 ners, merchants’ clerks, governesses, and old maids 
 of New York. 
 
 The gallery of the academy of fine arts is for 
 the reception of the productions of native paint¬ 
 ers only; and, of course, presents nothing very 
 interesting. The works of American artists are, 
 in general, insipid, and monotonous in design and 
 colouring. However, Messrs Waldo and Jewitt 
 succeed tolerably well in portraits; and some 
 person, whose name I do not recollect, shows a 
 good deal of genius in landscape. 
 
 The native painter most highly esteemed 
 among them at present is Colonel Trumbull. 
 Government has engaged that gentleman to 
 execute a series of national pictures for the de¬ 
 coration of the Hall of Congress, for every one 
 of which he is to receive the sum of 4000 dol¬ 
 lars. Last summer he had finished two, the 
 subjects of which are, the declaration of inde¬ 
 pendence, and the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. 
 The last I saw while in New York; but was 
 greatly disappointed in finding its merits much 
 inferior to what I had anticipated. Colonel 
 Trumbull is the most lady-like painter in the 
 world; his colours appear to be laid on with the 
 utmost timidity; he shows as much aversion 
 to strong shadows as the Chinese do; and his 
 faces have an expression of red-cheeked stupidity 
 about them, which denotes a corresponding want 
 
324 
 
 of soul in the artist However, in justice to 
 Colonel Trumbull, it ought to be stated that his 
 subject is an unfortunate one. The picture re¬ 
 presents the French and American armies drawn 
 out in lines opposite to each other, and survey¬ 
 ing the British, who march between them, de¬ 
 prived of the honours of war; and surely no ob¬ 
 ject can be farther from ideal beauty than sol¬ 
 diers standing stiff in their ranks, and dressed in 
 pipe-clayed breeches, white belts, and black gai¬ 
 ters. Had the colonel put a row of poplar trees 
 (which, by the bye, the Americans admire very 
 much,) parallel to each of the armies, the com¬ 
 position and expression of his picture would have 
 been complete. 
 
 Besides the public amusements I have already 
 mentioned, New York, during the summer, af¬ 
 fords others chiefly calculated for the lower 
 classes. These are gardens, where vocal and in¬ 
 strumental concerts, on a small scale, are perform¬ 
 ed almost every evening. To Chatham Garden, 
 the most respectable of these, there is admission 
 gratis to all persons of decent appearance; only 
 it is expected that most of the company will call 
 for ice creams, punch, or some other trifle, as, 
 upon the profits derived from the sale of such ar¬ 
 ticles, the support of the establishment depends. 
 It is a place of agreeable resort for mechanics and 
 tradesmen, after they have finished their day’s 
 
325 
 
 work; it is the means of keeping them out of ta- 
 verns, and renders them careful about their dress 
 and deportment, lest they should be refused ad¬ 
 mission. Persons of this description will take 
 their wives to Chatham Garden, perhaps twice a 
 week, and treat them to the little luxuries that 
 the place affords, without finding themselves 
 much out of pocket at the end of the season. 
 An establishment of this kind would not answer 
 in any of the large towns in Britain, the labour¬ 
 ing people there being too poor to support it, 
 and too riotously inclined to submit to the neces¬ 
 sary regulations. 
 
 However, I have forgot to mention an elegant 
 summer amusement, called the “ Steam-boat co¬ 
 tillion parties.” One of the small steam-boats, 
 that ply upon the East River, is occasionally en¬ 
 gaged for an evening, to make an excursion 
 round the islands opposite New York. Any 
 genteel person gets on board for half a dollar. 
 At the appointed hour the vessel leaves the pier, 
 and the company are entertained with a vocal 
 and instrumental concert till sunset. The decks 
 are then cleared for dancing, and for a military 
 band. Cotillions, quadrilles, and waltzes, are 
 danced in the cool moonlight, and continue till 
 perhaps ten in the evening, when the people are 
 landed at the place where they embarked. These 
 parties, as may be supposed, are frequented chief- 
 
326 
 
 ly by young persons. They are convenient for 
 lovers who cannot meet but by making assigna¬ 
 tions ; for the Americans, notwithstanding their 
 mental apathy, do not hesitate to acknowledge 
 the conjoined influence of music and pretty wo¬ 
 men, when heard and seen in the stillness of 
 moonlight. 
 
 On the festival of the fourth of July, I had an 
 opportunity of seeing a considerable number of 
 the American regular troops. Their appearance 
 was far from being either very warlike, well-dis¬ 
 ciplined, or respectable; and they went through 
 their manoeuvres with an awkwardness that was 
 rather surprising, when one considered the service 
 they had already seen. In fact, the commissioned 
 officers of the American army differ very much 
 from the same class of people in most countries, 
 being chiefly mechanics, tradesmen, and persons of 
 no education or station in society. The military 
 are held in little estimation by the public; hence 
 it is evident, that a body of individuals must 
 be respected, before it can become respectable. 
 During the Canadian war, the better part of the 
 nation evinced a great unwillingness to inlist in 
 the service; and government, in order to aug¬ 
 ment the land forces, was obliged to take all 
 who offered themselves, and grant commissions 
 to many whose characters and rank in life did 
 not entitle them to such a distinction; besides. 
 
327 
 
 the republican ideas of the Americans respecting 
 the equality of persons and employments, like¬ 
 wise rendered them, in some measure, indifferent 
 about the pretensions of those whom they placed 
 on the staff. A gentleman in Upper Canada told 
 me an incident which illustrates this last observa¬ 
 tion. In the course of the war, he and his party 
 surprised a small detachment of the enemy’s 
 force, and captured them. There were several 
 officers among them, one of whom, a major, re¬ 
 quested an interview with my informant, and 
 stated, that, being now a prisoner, he hoped he 
 would be treated with respect, for he kept one 
 of the largest taverns in Connecticut!—But the 
 military college, that has recently been establish¬ 
 ed at West Point, will be the means of render¬ 
 ing the American army as respectable as any in 
 the world. A young man cannot get admission 
 into that seminary, without much interest and an 
 unimpeachable character; and there he has an op¬ 
 portunity of acquiring every species of know¬ 
 ledge that is suited for the profession of a soldier. 
 The number of pupils received at this establish¬ 
 ment is limited, lest a military spirit should be 
 too extensively diffused among the people. 
 
 The navy is the national establishment which 
 the Americans foster with the greatest care, and 
 view with most affection ; and they may well do 
 so, for they have received infinite benefits from its 
 
328 
 
 services; and have reason to be proud of the dis¬ 
 cipline and perfection which their maritime force 
 at present displays. The young naval officers 
 are most respectable, and gentlemanlike in their 
 deportment and appearance; and would put to 
 shame our contemptible little midshipmen, many 
 of whom are hardly able to carry the little toy 
 swords that are tied round their waists. No one 
 is allowed to enter the naval service of the United 
 States, until he has attained the age of eighteen ; 
 is able to give proofs of an unspotted character, 
 and shews a proficiency in all the most import¬ 
 ant branches of education. Every commander of 
 a vessel is bound to make annual reports to go¬ 
 vernment, concerning the conduct of the officers 
 on board his ship; and should he note any one 
 as guilty of great immorality, unwarrantable dis¬ 
 sipation, or mean behaviour,—the culprit is cen¬ 
 sured, or dismissed the service, according to the 
 magnitude of his offence. It is evident that this 
 plan is well calculated to render the navy fit for 
 real gentlemen, and to prevent it from becom¬ 
 ing a place of refuge for every prodigal, block¬ 
 head, or vagabond who chooses to enter its 
 lists. 
 
 There are a considerable number of booksellers 
 in New York, most of whom are also publish¬ 
 ers ; but the works they issue are printed in an in¬ 
 ferior style, and often abound with typographical 
 
329 
 
 errors. Mr Eastburn is the chief bookseller in 
 the city; and he also keeps an establishment 
 called the Literary Rooms , where newspapers 
 and periodical publications, American and Bri¬ 
 tish, and a tolerably good library, are constantly 
 at the command of subscribers, who do not, how¬ 
 ever, appear to frequent the place much, except 
 to peruse the daily journals. The inhabitants of 
 New York are too deeply engaged in commerce 
 to read much ; but there is evidently some de¬ 
 mand for books, the most popular productions 
 that issue from the English press being usually 
 republished in that city, or in Philadelphia. The 
 works of Scott, Byron, the Ettrick Shepherd, 
 and Anacreon Moore, the Tales of my Landlord, 
 Mrs Opie’s Novels, and books of a similar descrip¬ 
 tion, meet with a ready sale; but Coleridge and 
 Wordsworth, and the other poets of the Lake 
 school, are unknown. 
 
 The Edinburgh Review is re-printed at Bos¬ 
 ton, and has still an extensive circulation. The 
 Quarterly is much read; but the Americans com¬ 
 plain, that they are treated in it with too great 
 severity. This, however, is only their own opi¬ 
 nion, which must be imputed to national feeling. 
 Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine is in great re¬ 
 pute in the United States, though I suspect its 
 readers there do not understand many of the al¬ 
 lusions contained in its pages. 
 
330 
 
 New York contains a great many circulating 
 libraries; and the terms upon which books are 
 lent seem characteristic of those who borrow 
 them, the person who takes out a volume being 
 obliged to pay for a week’s use of it, though he 
 may choose to read the whole in three hours. 
 This custom is easily explained, by referring to 
 the slowness with which most Americans peruse 
 any work. A merchant will come home from 
 his counting-house at nine in the evening, and 
 take up the last novel or poem, and, after read¬ 
 ing a few pages, he will begin to yawn, then 
 complain of a headache, smoke a segar, drink 
 some brandy and water, and go to bed. It 
 would not do for a person who reads in this 
 manner to borrow books by the night. 
 
 The New York press teems with several perio¬ 
 dical works; but they are unworthy of criticism, 
 being chiefly filled with extracts from English 
 magazines and reviews; and the native effusions 
 which they occasionally contain are such as would 
 not do credit to any country. The American 
 press, however, sends forth many novels, most of 
 which seem remarkable for poverty of incident, 
 feebleness of conception, *and a want of know¬ 
 ledge of the world ; and their poetry has no 
 more resemblance to real poetry, than toast and 
 water has to Madeira wine. 
 
 The want of literary talent among the Ameri- 
 
331 
 
 cans is not disgraceful to them, when it is consider¬ 
 ed how much else they have had to do. Some of 
 the nations of Europe have less literature than 
 the United States; and even not much more than 
 half a century has elapsed, since the Scotch had 
 any pretensions to the name of an intellectual 
 people. Many persons conceive that the inhabi¬ 
 tants of the United States, being originally from 
 Britain, should retain a portion of the literary spi¬ 
 rit which distinguishes that country; but when 
 one considers who the emigrants were, it seems 
 very doubtful whether they carried any thing 
 across the Atlantic, except their own persons. 
 
 It is evident, from the general character of the 
 Americans, that the society in New York cannot 
 be of a very refined or elegant description. As yet 
 there appears to be but little feeling of aristocracy 
 among the rich; for people in moderate circum¬ 
 stances associate freely and indiscriminately with 
 the most affluent, provided they are of respecta¬ 
 ble family and profession. I believe there is at 
 present as much equality to be found in Ame^- 
 rica as can exist in civilized society. 
 
 I conceive New York to be an agreeable place 
 of residence, particularly to individuals of narrow 
 fortunes, every thing there being cheap, except 
 house rent, which was declining fast when I left 
 the city. Some persons might not, perhaps, 
 meet with the kind of society they valued most; 
 
332 
 
 but every other enjoyment would be within 
 their reach; and the communication which exists 
 between New York and all the rest of the world 
 renders correspondence, whether literary, politi¬ 
 cal, epistolary, or commercial, as easy and fre¬ 
 quent as could be desired. 
 
 I shall now give a sketch of Philadelphia. I 
 quitted New York at noon, in a small steam¬ 
 boat called the Olive-branch, which plies upon 
 the East River. The scene which displayed itself, 
 as we receded from the city, was exquisitely 
 beautiful. The houses of the town gradually be¬ 
 came indistinguishable from each other, and at 
 last appeared as a black cloud, from which many 
 spires shot into the clear blue atmosphere above; 
 while the tumult upon the quays, the dashing 
 of the oars in the harbour, and the bustle of un¬ 
 mooring vessels, slowly died away ; and we soon 
 saw nothing but a confused forest of masts, and 
 thousands of pennants floating in the breeze. 
 The north battery, surrounded with trees and 
 verdure, continued longest in sight, and detained 
 the eyes, until the broad expanse of the East 
 River, bordered with luxuriant champaign banks, 
 made the spectator transfer his attention from 
 objects of art to the beauties of nature. 
 
 There were crowds of passengers on board, 
 and among them several young ladies, who, as 
 appeared from their conversation, had never been 
 
333 
 
 in a steam-boat before. At one time, they prais¬ 
 ed the scenery in passionate terms of delight— 
 the next moment wondered how deep the river 
 was—then repeated verses about the blue sky— 
 asked the captain if steam was made from coals 
 or water—criticised an essay on enthusiasm that 
 had appeared in the Ladies’ Literary Cabinet, 
 and finished with exclaiming, “ Oh, if the boilers 
 should burst!” 
 
 The banks of the East River presented the 
 finest specimen of cultivated American scenery I 
 had hitherto beheld. They are chiefly low, but 
 being diversified with little eminences, and co¬ 
 vered with villas and pretty farm-houses, their 
 aspect is destitute of uniformity. They afford a 
 place of summer retirement to the inhabtiants of 
 New York. The river abounds with fish, and is 
 well suited for pleasure sailing ; while the neigh¬ 
 bouring country contains a good deal of game; 
 and lies under the influence of a climate which, 
 during summer and autumn, is as fine as can be 
 desired. 
 
 In about three hours we reached the village of 
 Amboy, which is thirty miles from New York; 
 and abandoned the steam-boat there, that we 
 might proceed over land to the Delaware river. 
 Several stage-coaches were in waiting to receive 
 us, and we were driven on, at the rate of seven 
 
 miles an hour, through the most beautiful inland 
 
 6 
 
334 
 
 country I had yet seen in the United States. 
 We were now in Pennsylvania; and I could al¬ 
 most fancy I saw the celebrated and virtuous 
 Penn looking down from heaven, with compla¬ 
 cency, upon the happy consequences that had re¬ 
 sulted from his colonizing exertions. 
 
 In the course of the afternoon, we passed the 
 small towns of Kingston, Queenston, and Prince¬ 
 ton, the latter of which contains a theological 
 college, where young men are educated for the 
 church.—There is scarcely any pulpit eloquence 
 in America; for the character of the people is un¬ 
 favourable to its existence. 
 
 We passed the night at the town of Trenton, 
 and embarked in another steam-boat next morn¬ 
 ing. She went at the rate of ten knots an hour, 
 and we reached Philadelphia early in the fore¬ 
 noon. This town has at first sight a very im¬ 
 posing appearance, as it stretches, in magnificent 
 extent, along the side of the Delaware, and dis¬ 
 plays an unbroken aggregate of buildings, which 
 are remarkable for their neatness and regularity. 
 Ships of every description lie at anchor in the 
 river, and give the city a commercial and busy 
 aspect. At the time of our approach, the scene 
 was very animated. Seven steam-boats lay in 
 the harbour, some of which had just arrived, 
 while others were preparing to depart. The 
 hissing of the steam as it issued from the valves 
 
of the engines, the tolling of the bells to hasten 
 passengers on board, the bustle they made upon 
 the wharfs, and the thundering of the ship¬ 
 builders’ hammers, all occupied and confused the 
 ear ; while the passing and repassing of ferry¬ 
 boats, the public baths floating on the river, and 
 vessels bearing up under full sail, equally attract¬ 
 ed the eyes of the spectator. 
 
 No two cities, within a hundred miles of each 
 other, can differ more than New York and 
 Philadelphia. The latter has far less appearance 
 of bustle in it than the former; and the peo¬ 
 ple one sees in its streets are even more sedate 
 and respectable in their looks, than the same class 
 of persons in New York. Philadelphia contains 
 no street that equals Broadway in splendour and 
 variety; but it possesses some superior in regu¬ 
 larity and elegance. Chesnut Street, which is 
 the finest and most fashionable part of the city, 
 comprehends many divisions that will bear a com¬ 
 parison with the best parts of the New Town of 
 Edinburgh, and the interior of the houses is 
 proportionably tasteful and commodious. The 
 High Street is the great place of business; and in 
 it is a market, which, I suppose, for the quantity 
 and variety of articles it affords, is not exceeded 
 by any in the world: being about half a mile long, 
 and containing divisions for butcher meat, poul¬ 
 try, fish, vegetables, fruit, and country produce. 
 
336 
 
 The public buildings of Philadelphia are small, 
 and so plain in their architecture, that they seem 
 allied to Quakerism, and attract little attention 
 from strangers. I was shown the house which 
 the nation built for their illustrious Washington, 
 in which he declined residing, as it was too splen¬ 
 did for him. 
 
 In the evening I strolled to Chesnut Street, 
 which, in Philadelphia, is the place of fashionable 
 promenade during the summer. As I passed 
 through the adjoining part of the town, I every 
 where saw the Quakers, surrounded by their 
 families, sitting out of doors, and enjoying the 
 cool breeze. The old men, with their broad- 
 brimmed hats and large skirts, and their wives 
 dressed in plain bonnets, handkerchiefs, and white 
 muslin gowns, had such an aspect of conjugal 
 affection and domestic comfort, that I surveyed 
 them with the deepest pleasure, and could not 
 help reflecting upon the consistency of character 
 which this sect have at all times preserved. 
 
 When I reached Chesnut Street, I found it 
 crowded with people. The Philadelphia ladies 
 art prettier and more genteel than those of New 
 York; though the Quaker garb, which many of 
 them assume, is unfavourable for the display of 
 their attractions. Many of them have beautiful 
 complexions, and walk very gracefully. The 
 young men are altogether inferior to the New 
 
337 
 
 York dandies, both in their persons and style of 
 dress. 
 
 Next morning I went to see the celebrated 
 picture of Christ healing in the temple, which 
 Mr West painted, and sent as a donation to the 
 Pennsylvania hospital. It is impossible to sur¬ 
 vey this magnificent performance without a feel¬ 
 ing of awe, which the mere recollection of its 
 beauties and expression never fails to revive. 
 It is kept for public exhibition, in a small 
 building erected expressly for the purpose, ac¬ 
 cording to a plan given by Mr West, who seems 
 to have been fully aware of the value of his gift, 
 for which he several times refused 7000 guineas. 
 He gave instructions that no other picture should 
 be hung in the apartment, and that no visitor 
 should be allowed to take a sketch of his paint¬ 
 ing. Some time ago, the directors of the hospi¬ 
 tal engaged a Philadelphian artist to make’a draw¬ 
 ing of the picture, that they might be able to 
 publish a print, and promised him 400 dollars 
 for his trouble; but, after toiling three weeks, he 
 found that his work was not half completed, and 
 he accordingly abandoned the design, and lost both 
 his labour and the expected remuneration. The 
 painting contains fifty-four heads, twenty-one of 
 which have full-length and half-length figures 
 attached to them; and the variety of expression, 
 and intricacy of grouping, in the representation 
 
 Y 
 
t 
 
 338 
 
 of so many persons, sufficiently account for the 
 difficulty which the American artist experienced 
 in endeavouring to sketch them. The exhibition 
 of West’s painting yielded 8000 dollars the first 
 year, and 5000 the second; and it is supposed, 
 that it will hereafter afford to the hospital an 
 annual revenue of £500 sterling. 
 
 In the course of the day I visited the alms¬ 
 house and hospital of Philadelphia, in company 
 with one of the directors of these institutions. 
 —The former is an establishment for desti¬ 
 tute poor, and contains a considerable number 
 of infirm old women; as also many foundlings 
 and orphans, for whom there is a nursery. The 
 building has every convenience attached to it, 
 and its inmates appear to live well and to be 
 contented. The hospital is an elegant edifice, and 
 has a beautiful court-yard in front, where lemon 
 and orange trees, and the finest plants, grow in 
 tasteful profusion. In the middle of it is a statue 
 of William Penn, which I could not pass without 
 veneration. The hospital is capable of contain¬ 
 ing 900 patients, besides lunatics; all of whom 
 pay three dollars and a half per week when their 
 circumstances admit of it; for which sum they 
 receive every comfort that could be obtained in 
 a private house. Poor and destitute people are 
 admitted gratis, and most liberally treated. The 
 hospital has a delightful garden attached to it, 
 
339 
 
 besides a place of recreation for those who labour 
 under mental derangement; and twenty cows, 
 three horses, and a couple of gigs, for the use of 
 valetudinaries. 
 
 A splendid view of Philadelphia may be seen 
 from the top of the almshouse, which is much 
 elevated above the surrounding buildings. The 
 regularity of the city (in which there is only one 
 spire), is there particularly visible to the ob¬ 
 server ; all the streets lying at right angles with 
 each other, though the town is nearly circular 
 in its general form. The plan according to which 
 the streets of Philadelphia are laid out and nam¬ 
 ed is such, that a total stranger may enter the 
 city, and easily find the individual house want¬ 
 ed, without asking directions or information from 
 any one, if he has merely a card containing the 
 address of the person he is in search of. Phi¬ 
 ladelphia is justly celebrated for the quietness, 
 piety, and morality of its inhabitants. The 
 higher classes are better informed and more re¬ 
 fined in their manners than those of New York, 
 and entertain fewer national prejudices. The 
 lower ranks appear to have a remarkable respect 
 for religion and propriety of conduct; and 1 be¬ 
 lieve that crimes and violations of the law are 
 more rare in Philadelphia than in any other city 
 of equal population in the world. 
 
 THE END. 
 
Oliver cjf Boydy Printers , Edinburgh . 
 

 
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