good, and well adapted to pasturage. I observed some farms that are
occupied by Scotsmen, and cultivated in a neater style than any thing
of the kind that I have ever seen in America. Several iron ploughs
which were made at Uddingstone, on the Clyde, were lying by the side of
the road. The horses are small, but elegantly formed and hardy.
The language in most common use here is the French. People of every
possible shade of colour, between the French complexion and the copper
colour of the Indian, are to be heard conversing in that tongue.
The suburbs of Montreal are composed of narrow dirty streets. The
houses are of stone, plastered over with lime. A few private houses,
and the court-house and jail, are built of hewed stone. The roofs
of many of the houses are covered with small plates of tinned iron,
which preserves its metallic lustre well, and produces a disagreeable
glare during sunshine. In the end of the market place, is a monument
in memory of Lord Nelson. It is a Doric column, with a plaster bust
of the hero on the top, and some naval figures in relief upon the
pedestal. This compound substance is already yielding to the weather,
and probably will not long resist the effects of this rigorous climate.
To the north of the town, there is a hill covered with timber, which
contributes much toward giving the place a picturesque appearance.
In the neighbourhood there are a few neat villas, and many luxuriant
orchards. In the streets people are to be seen driving small carts
drawn by dogs; {301} they are usually loaded with sticks, ashes, and
other light articles. Montreal has a great trade, being the emporium
of the upper country, and the residence of the principal agents of the
North West Company. The port is accessible to large ships from the
ocean, but is not a tenable harbour in the winter, on account of its
being exposed to the breaking up of the ice. Montreal is the seat of
justice for the upper district of Lower Canada. The court is composed
of a chief justice, and three puisne judges. There is in the city, a
barrack occupied by a small body of troops. A square in the form of a
terrace, called the _Place d’Arms_, for the exercising of soldiers; a
college, and a convent, where a considerable number of nuns are kept.
The clergy of the Roman Catholic religion retain the tithes of the
island.
Early on the morning of the 25th I sailed in a steam-boat for Quebec.
There are now twelve large vessels of this kind which ply between
Montreal and that place, and one that crosses between La Prairie and
Montreal.
The steam-boats, on their passage between Montreal and Quebec, touch at
the town of Sorel, at the mouth of Sorel river. Sorel is a small town,
and its principal business is ship-building. It was formerly called
Fort William Henry, known as the place of the earliest settlement of
Europeans in North America, and as the scene of the cruel massacre
committed by the Indians under the French General Montcalm, in
1757.[168]
The Lake St. Peter’s is another expansion of the river, about twenty
miles long and fifteen broad. The great lakes in the upper country, and
the smaller ones in the course of the St. Lawrence, have the effect of
equalizing the stream, and prevent {302} inundations, which are very
injurious to the neighbourhood of most large rivers.
In the afternoon, the vessel was anchored in consequence of a contrary
wind, which was accompanied with a fall of snow, the first that had
occurred during the season. The town _Trois Rivieres_, (Three Rivers,)
then in our sight, is a large place, and is the seat of justice for one
of the three districts of Lower Canada. Most of the inhabitants here,
as in the other parts of the lower province, are Canadian French. The
houses are covered with tinned iron.
On both sides of the river, a row of farm houses, placed at very short
intervals, stretches along almost without interruption. These houses
are white-washed, and have throughout a degree of similarity in size
and appearance which I have not observed in any other part except the
banks of the St. Lawrence. These houses are white-washed, and have each
a barn and other inferior houses attached. As the grain is housed,
and the barns seem to be of no great dimensions, it is a proof that
the crops are certainly small. In viewing these ranges of farming
establishments obliquely, the whole has the aspect of a continued
village on both sides, with churches at very short distances from one
another. Were it not for seeing the uncleared woods, which are in most
parts only about a mile from the river, and for recollecting that the
number of white people in Lower Canada was, a few years ago, estimated
at only 200,000, I should have been induced to believe that this is a
populous country.
On the 26th we proceeded downwards with a fair wind. The tide reaches
to the distance of about sixty miles above Quebec. We descended the
Falls of Richlieu, by the joint action of wind, tide, steam, and the
stream, at the rate of fifteen {303} miles an hour. These falls are
furious rapids at low stages of the tide, but in times of high water
they are covered up and smooth. The banks are of a dark coloured
schistous substance, very steep, and about a hundred feet high, and the
soil inferior to that farther up the river.
On approaching Quebec, I was shown the steep recess of the rock through
which General Wolf conducted his army on the night previous to his
memorable victory.--This narrow defile retains the name of Wolfe’s Cove.
The first sight of Quebec that is obtained in descending the river,
is imposing; the shipping viewed in the direction of the line that it
forms along the wharfs, has something like the appearance of a thick
forest of deadened pine-trees, and the dark-coloured rock, which rises
almost from the water’s edge, towers high in air. An angle of the
fort that stands on the edge of the precipice, and a stone tower and
a signal-post that occupy a still higher summit in the rear, are the
most prominent objects. On advancing farther, it is discovered that
the low ground below widens to the westward, and is occupied by a part
of the lower town, and a considerable extent of the circumvallation
that occupies the top of the cleft, and incloses the castle of St.
Louis, and some other high buildings. The situation and aspect of the
castle of St. Louis, (the residence of the governor,) reminds me of
the barracks on the west side of the castle of Edinburgh. Indeed the
whole of the northern front of Quebec has a general resemblance to the
ancient Scottish fortress.
Quebec stands on a point of land formed by the junction of the rivers
St. Lawrence, and is divided by the cliffs into two parts, the Lower
and the Upper town. The Lower town, adjoining to the wharfs, is narrow
and dirty, and the wharfs are {304} disconnected from one another by
the intervention of houses. The Upper town is inclosed within the fort,
and is much better built and more clean than the lower division of
the city. The whole of the works occupy ground of the most commanding
description, and are well furnished with the apparatus necessary for
defence.
On the Heights of Abraham, the place is shown where Wolfe fell, and,
till lately, the granite block remained on which the hero expired.
There are some fragments still to be found, lying at a small wooden
house adjoining, which will probably be soon broken into smaller pieces
and carried off by strangers.
To the west of Quebec is Lorete, an Indian town, which is built of
stone; and the neighbouring fields seem to be well cultivated. At Point
Levi, on the opposite bank of the St. Lawrence, a tribe of Indians
encamp occasionally for the purpose of trading. It is curious that the
aborigines remain so long amongst the thickest settlements in Lower
Canada, while in other parts of the continent they disappear before
a very thin population of whites. This must have been occasioned by
the French, who have at all times ingratiated themselves with the
natives, and even intermarried with them, and by the Indians becoming
proselytes to the Roman Catholic religion.
The Canadian French are universally acknowledged to be true Roman
Catholics, strict in their observance of holidays, submissive to the
exactions of their priesthood, and the loyal subjects of Britain. They
seem to retain the depressed characters of a conquered people. Their
bow is low, and apparently obsequious, and they are usually ready to
make out of the way of any one who walks rapidly along the streets.
Many of {305} them are dirty and coarsely clothed, and instead of
buttoning their coats, they tie them with a sort of sash that is
wrapped round their middle. At meals each produces his pocket knife,
the same, perhaps, with which he cuts his tobacco, and spits on the
blade, and then rubs it on his clothes previous to eating. They are
slovenly agriculturists, and use the most wretched implements, and yoke
their oxen by the horns. A gentleman told me that he lately asked one
of them, why they did not yoke these animals by the shoulders as other
people do? The other replied--because the strength of the head would
be lost. It is not uncommon to see the Canadian coming into market
with only one or two bushels of wheat. Here, as at Montreal, the cruel
practice of causing dogs to draw carts, prevails. On seeing a young
man riding in one of these little vehicles, and whipping the docile
creature till it lay down and turned up its feet, I was much shocked
at the conduct of the wretch; and, though you may not altogether
approve of the principle, I felt considerable satisfaction from the
circumstance, that the profane imprecations which he with great fluency
uttered, were not pronounced in the English language.
Timber is the principal article exported here. The period for which
Canadian timber is exempted from paying duty in Britain, is about
to expire, and a fear is entertained that a tax may be imposed by
parliament at their next session. The subject excites much interest at
present, and in the event of a timber tax being enacted, it may operate
as a test for Canadian loyalty.
The government of the Canadas consists of a governor, a legislative
council, and a house of assembly in each province. This organization
is vested with the power of making such laws as are not {306} contrary
to the acts of the British Parliament. The legislative council is
summoned by the governor, under the authority of the king, and its
members are appointed for life. The assembly is elected by freeholders,
whose qualification is possessing landed property to the yearly value
of forty shillings or upwards; or possessing a dwelling house and lot
of ground in towns to the yearly value of five pounds, or paying for
one year, at least a rent of ten pounds. These assemblies continue for
four years at most, but can be dissolved before the termination of the
full period. Quebec is the seat of justice for the lower district of
the lower province. The court consists of a chief justice and three
puisne judges, and public business is conducted by a solicitor-general
and an attorney-general. The criminal laws are the same as those of
England, but in civil cases the old _coutume de Paris_ is retained.
The existence of French laws in the lower province is said to be
repulsive to people from Britain, and is probably one of the causes
that determines many of them on settling in Upper Canada.
The climate of Canada varies between extremes of heat and cold. A
temperature of 96° of Fahrenheit’s scale has been observed at this
place in summer, and it is believed that mercury has been frozen by
the cold in winter. I am not able to judge of the inconvenience which
attends wintering here, but the inhabitants look forward to that season
as the gayest of the year. Most of the labours without doors at this
season are suspended, and the people sally forth in their sledges on
excursions of pleasure, or in visiting their friends. The deep and
long continued snows in this country protect the crops of wheat from
being injured by the frosts, and enable the Canadians to drag the {307}
largest trees to the rivers, a work that would otherwise be difficult
in the woods, where there are no good roads. Just now the ground is
covered with snow, and the cold, which increases daily, shows that
winter is about to commence in earnest. At least three-fourths of the
ships that were here a week ago have sailed down the river, and the
seamen who remain in port are all in a bustle, preparing for going to
sea. Probably by a few days hence there will not be a ship left.
FOOTNOTES:
[159] For notes on the following persons and places mentioned in this
chapter, see Croghan’s _Journals_, volume i of our series: Presque
Isle, note 62. J. Long’s _Travels_, volume ii of our series: Fort
Niagara, note 19; Ogdensburg, note 15; Cedars, note 27; La Chine, note
34; Caughnawaga, note 9; Trois Rivieres, note 8; Lorette, note 92.--ED.
[160] Flint’s route from Ohio to Quebec was by way of Buffalo, Niagara
Falls, Kingston, and Montreal.--ED.
[161] This first steam-boat on Lake Erie was launched at Black Rock
(now Buffalo), May 28, 1818. It was named from a Wyandot chieftain, and
in 1821 was lost in a storm.--ED.
[162] The Erie Canal was begun at Rome, New York, July 4, 1817, being
completed in eight years.--ED.
[163] Morse has stated the _average_ depth at this place (the ferry) to
be twenty-five feet. According to him, its average rapidity from thence
to Chipeway is six miles an hour, and that at the ferry it is much
greater.--FLINT.
_Comment by Ed._ Jedidiah Morse, _American Gazetteer_ (Boston, 1797).
[164] The height of the division of the falls that lies between
the island and the south-east shore has been formerly estimated at
160 feet. I have been told that a measurement made last summer has
determined it to be 162 feet.--FLINT.
[165] Lake Ontario averages six hundred feet in depth.--ED.
[166] For an account of General Isaac Brock, see Buttrick’s _Voyages_,
volume viii of our series, note 6.--ED.
[167] Durham boats were heavy freight craft built along the lines of an
Indian canoe. Their designer (about 1750) was Robert Durham, manager
and engineer of the Durham furnace, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The
ordinary Durham boat was sixty feet long, eight feet wide, and two feet
deep. When laden with fifteen tons, it drew twenty inches of water.--ED.
[168] Flint seems here to have obtained his facts from a typical
guide-book. Fort William Henry, the scene of the massacre, stood at the
head of Lake George; Montcalm captured it in 1757, and spread terror to
Albany, and even as far as New York. Many of the prisoners of war were
massacred by Indians, over whom the French claimed to have had little
or no control.--ED.
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Transcriber’s note
Numbers in braces (i.e., {27}) are page references to the original
manuscripts.
Minor punctuation errors have been changed without notice. Spelling
of names, hyphenation, and italicized titles and dates have been
standardized.
Spelling has been retained as originally published except for the
spelling of names mentioned above and the corrections below.
Page 13: “alterations and addiions” “alterations and additions”
Page 23: “Billious and Intermitting” “Bilious and Intermittent”
Page 27: “is much to he regretted” “is much to be regretted”
Page 65: “those fo carrying goods” “those for carrying goods”
Page 106: “The Pittsburg navigator” “the Pittsburg navigator”
Page 310: “inclosed by worm fences” “inclosed by worn fences”
Page 332: “The assembly is elècted” “The assembly is elected”
Footnote Corrections:
Footnote 124: Footnote number was missing in original.
Footnote 125: Footnote number corrected from 25 to 125.