French from its resemblance to a white curtain, is seen on the left
immediately before the boat rounds the headland that conceals the
locks of the celebrated Rideau canal, which are suddenly presented to
the view, lying in a slope, between two lofty and precipitous banks,
nearly perpendicular towards the river. That on the right is 160 feet
in height, composed of limestone. On the area of the top, which may
be from 500 to 600 yards in circumference, are the barracks and the
hospital. It will probably be the site of an impregnable fortress,
which might be built for 60,000_l._; an expense which should not
be spared, when it is considered that the splendid works on the canal,
at present unfortified, might be destroyed in half-an-hour. The locks
themselves, eight in number, are magnificent in every respect, and
reflect the highest credit on the engineer, Colonel By. In length they
occupy a space of 1260 feet, and from the surface of the river to the
top of the bank there is a perpendicular rise of 84 feet. Each lock is
134 feet long, 33 wide, and 17 in depth. The canal, for several miles
above Bytown, is supplied by the Rideau river, and before it reaches
Kingston on Lake Ontario, a distance of 140 miles, a head of water is
obtained by means of thirteen dams of different dimensions, the largest
being 300 feet wide and 65 deep. The navigation is continued by means
of these dams, as there is not above seven or eight miles of excavation
throughout the whole distance.
On the supposition that military stores are to be sent from Montreal to
supply the troops in Upper Canada, or a fleet on Lake Ontario, it is
intended that they should pass through the channel behind the island of
Montreal, which is not yet rendered navigable; that they should proceed
up the Ottowa, ascending the rapids by means of the Grenville canal,
and upon arriving at Bytown, be forwarded to Kingston along the Rideau,
which thus affords a method of communication infinitely shorter than
any land conveyance,—an additional advantage arising from its great
distance from the American frontier, and proportionate security from
hostile incursion. Although the Rideau canal is principally a military
work, it will be of the greatest importance in a commercial point of
view, on account of its affording a direct means of conveyance by its
communication with a number of smaller streams that intersect it at
intervals, and which will enable the settlers who live many miles from
the banks to forward the produce of their farms, with certainty and
celerity. The difficulty and expense of conveyance was originally
a great drawback upon the use of British manufactures in the Upper
Province; they paid a freight from Quebec of 5_l._ a ton; but by
means of the Rideau canal, the freight has been reduced one-half. Land,
according to its situation on different parts of the canal, was selling
from two to five dollars the acre; crown lands at a fixed price of
1_l._ the acre. On application to any of the crown land agents,
a ticket may be obtained, containing a permission to cut timber on a
certain space of ground, on payment of a duty to government of one
penny the foot.
On the opposite side of the river stands the village of Hull. A winding
road about a mile in length conducted me to the bridges thrown over the
fall of the Ottowa, which according to the usual appellation bestowed
by the French upon any fall of magnitude in the Canadas, is termed the
“Chaudiere,” or “boiler.” The bed of the river is divided into five
channels formed in the solid rock, with more or less of a fall in
each of them. The largest may be about thirty feet in height, and from
its greater violence has worn away the precipice for a considerable
distance behind the others, which project and recede in a most singular
manner, whilst the river not contented with so many ways of escape,
rolls over the bare ledge of the rock that is extended between them, so
that its eager waters are tumbling in all directions. The whole width
of the stream immediately at the head of the fall, is more than half
a mile. It was not particularly full when I saw it, but was darting
through the bridges with extreme violence. In the spring, when the
river is swollen by the melted ice and snow, the whole of the rocks
are so deeply covered by the flood, that there is little or no fall to
be seen even at the Chaudiere, as the principal fall is called; and
I could easily conceive that the rush of water at that season of the
year must be tremendous. The whole scene was exceedingly curious;
and although rather disappointed at first sight, I felt myself amply
repaid for my excursion to Bytown. When it was first understood that
a bridge was to be thrown across from rock to rock, an old American
who had known the river in its fury, and firmly believed that such a
scheme was impracticable, was heard to predict with great emphasis, and
corresponding action, that some day or other “it would go right slit
to immortal smash.” Many of the poor Scotch emigrants answered to my
inquiry as to their destination, that they were “ganging to Perth;” a
thriving town, about fifty miles above Bytown, and situated between the
Ottowa and the Rideau canal. Thirty miles on the river above Bytown, is
the settlement on the Lake “des Chats.”
On the evening of the fatal field of Culloden, the unfortunate Prince
Charles Edward presented himself, wearied and alone, at the door
of a hut, and requested sustenance and momentary concealment; the
inmate, a poor tailor, who recognized his person, mounted guard at the
door whilst his illustrious guest was sleeping within, on a pallet
of heather. He was soon aroused by the tailor, who awakened him by
exclaiming in Gaelic, “My prince, core of my heart! save yourself, for
the enemy are upon you.” A party of cavalry were galloping towards
the hut, and the prince had just time to escape through a small back
window, and reach the Morven mountains. For his greater comfort in
repose he had deposited his sword upon a bench in a corner of the hut;
and in the precipitancy of his flight he had forgotten to take it with
him. The tailor had just time to conceal it, by removing the earth and
burying it under the heather. The cavalry demanded the prince, saying
that they had information that he had taken refuge in the hut, and
carried off the tailor as their prisoner, who was afterwards confined
in Edinburgh castle. In the mean time the sword still remained where
he had buried it, but the hut became a heap of ruins. Whilst the “Clan
and Disarming Act” (afterwards repealed by the exertions of the Duke
of Montrose) was in force, he dare say nothing about the sword, but
upon his death-bed in Breadalbane, the poor tailor informed his cousin,
Finlay Mc Nauton, where the sword was to be found. He searched and
found it, in the spot where it had lain from 1745 to 1784. The belt
and scabbard were rotted with moisture, and the blade of course nearly
covered with rust. It is the real old Highland basket-hilted claymore.
On the rust being removed, the burning heart of the Bruce surmounted
by the crown of Scotland became visible on the blade. Between them is
engraved “Le Chevalier.” On the reverse are the words, “Vive le Roi,”
extending the whole length of the blade. Finlay Mc Nauton joined the
veteran battalion, and died at Gibraltar, the sword being still in his
possession. Upon his death, it passed with the rest of his effects
into the hands of John Mc Nauton, his brother, who is still alive
at a very advanced age in Glengary, the oldest settlement in Upper
Canada. Who would expect to hear that this sword, positively the most
classical object in America, is now, as it were, lying in state on
the banks of the Lake “des Chats,” in the wild forests of the Ottowa,
not less than 150 miles from Montreal. Mc Nab of Mc Nab, the nephew
and representative of the late laird, founded the settlement with the
advice and under the auspices of his kinsman, the Earl of Dalhousie,
the late governor of Lower Canada. He has collected around him about
two hundred of his clan, whose forefathers followed his ancestors in
the hour of battle, and have now gone with him in the day of their
distress to clear and cultivate the wilderness of the Ottowa under his
superintendence. He has possession of the sword, and never shows it to
a stranger but in the presence of his piper, who is ordered to play
the whole time. It was given to him by John Mc Nauton, who added in
Gaelic, that “some damned long-legged fellow of a Sassanach had asked
him for the sword and offered him money for it, but that he would
never disgrace the clan of Mc Nauton by giving over that sword to an
Englishman.”
The boundary line between Upper and Lower Canada leaves the St.
Lawrence about 28 miles below Cornwall, and after running in nearly a
straight direction, comes in contact with the Ottowa river at Point
Fortune, opposite to Carillon. It pursues the course of the river for
many a league beyond the habitations of civilised society; and then
strikes off to Hudson’s bay. During the last session, an Act was passed
in the provincial Parliament for the appointment of Commissioners to
ascertain its exact direction, in order to satisfy the borderers,
who complained of being subjected to the laws of either province
alternately. The idea of an union of the two Canadas has apparently
been dropped for the present. Perhaps the majority of the British
inhabitants in both provinces would be in favour of such a project, or
at all events would not offer much opposition to it; but the French
population in Lower Canada would display a most violent aversion to any
change of the kind. The old French law would of course be superseded
by the laws of England subject to provincial alterations, and the
French Canadian influence in the government would decline in proportion
to the importance of the British interest in the House of Assembly,
which would be increased by the accession of delegates from the Upper
Province. Upper Canada would have no objection to a port of entry, by
which her share of the duties on imports would be exactly regulated
by the quantity she consumed. Every ship trading to the Canadas must
of course discharge her cargo either at Quebec or Montreal. By the
arrangement, solicited and obtained by Upper Canada in 1822, no duties
can be laid on goods imported or passing into Lower Canada without the
consent of both provinces, or by the British parliament; and the just
proportion of the duties due to each province settled by arbitration,
and its share paid over to the Upper Province. The proportion it now
receives by the existing regulation is 25 per cent.; but this it will
be seen must be increased, when it is considered that by far the
greater number of the settlers resort to the Upper Province, that the
French Canadian peasantry usually prefer the coarse cloth of their own
manufacture, and that therefore the bulk of the imports from Great
Britain must find their way to the northern shore of Lake Ontario.
It is probable that much confusion would ensue for a length of time
after an union should take place, and it is equally so, that the
Canadas themselves would eventually be gainers by the measure; but the
more serious question is, whether it is not better for the mother
country to have two parties there, instead of one; and whether it
would be politic in Great Britain to promote an arrangement that would
render the colonies far more independent than would be consistent
with their allegiance to their mother country. As it is, the French
Canadian interest is really on the decline, and the British population
is wonderfully increasing. Every thing considered, the Canadas are
improving with a rapidity not surpassed by any country upon earth; and
I humbly conceive, that experimental interference should be deprecated,
because it would lead to a certain interruption of their present career
of prosperity, for the sake of a distant and not certain advantage.
* * * * *
I returned to Montreal. When a traveller approaches Montreal he
naturally turns his eye to the mountain behind it, and feels surprised
that there is no fortification by which a city of so much importance,
and so near the American frontier could be commanded,—strictly
speaking, a fort should be built on the top of the mountain, and at
La Chine, and on Nun’s island, by which, together with the batteries
on St. Helen’s island in the river, immediately opposite to the
city, the passage of the St. Lawrence would be effectually defended.
But, when it is considered that the top of the hill, or mountain, is
three miles from the city; that it requires eleven pounds of powder
to throw a thirteen-inch shell to the distance of one mile; that all
the fortifications in the world would not preserve the Canadas to us,
if the natives were against us; that the Americans could never take
Montreal so long as the Canadians would fight on our side; that there
is a prospect of a lasting peace between Great Britain and the United
States; and finally, the probability that before another half century
has passed away, the Canadas will cease, by a bloodless negociation, to
be a British colony—an enormous expense may well be spared, by leaving
the city in its present state.
The picturesque island of St. Helen’s, contains a small garrison, and a
large quantity of military stores. On the angle of the saluting battery
on the south-west corner of the island, the French flag waved its last
in the Canadas.
I left Montreal, after having discovered that there was a pack
of fox-hounds kept close by, and that they hunted regularly, and
occasionally on by-days. They had not been long organised, but promised
very well. I was also present for one day during the races. The course
is two miles in length, and in excellent condition, being railed off
the whole distance. I saw one race, which was admirably contested;
but the ground was not well attended, and the others did not go off
with spirit. I was told, however, that there was a great prospect of
improvement, as the Canadians were beginning to be fond of the sport.
The excitement would have been much greater if it had lasted but two
days instead of four; and a public ball afterwards would not have been
amiss.
I then crossed the river in a steam-boat to La Prairie, distant nine
miles from Montreal. A miserably bad road conducted me to Blair Findie,
and subsequently to the very pretty village of Chamble, where orchards
and corn-fields were to be seen on all sides. Both these places,
particularly the former, are well known to the Canadian sportsmen as
the favourite haunt of the woodcock—perhaps the best in America. They
are found in great numbers in the low birch woods around Blair Findie,
where a good shot will sometimes kill above twenty couple in a morning,
and I heard that in one instance as many as eighty couple were killed
in two days by two guns.
The beginning of October is the best season for shooting all kinds of
game in the Canadas.
The American woodcock is considerably smaller than the European bird,
seldom or very rarely exceeding eight ounces in weight, and its plumage
is, I think, handsomer. The spots of brown on the back are larger and
deeper, and the breast, instead of being marked with dusky bars, is
of a fine almond colour. Their flavour is similar. The American bird
when flushed, rises very rapidly, with a small shrill quickly repeated
whistle, and seldom flies beyond a distance of one hundred yards.
Sportsmen who do not mind the heat, will find the shooting exceedingly
good in the month of July, when the woodcocks first return from their
southern haunts for the purpose of breeding. In the northern States
and the Canadas, they may be shot till the first fortnight in November
has elapsed, after which they retreat to a warmer climate for the
winter. No pheasant, partridge, or quail, is strictly speaking found
in North America. The partridge, so called in the States, is the quail
of the Canadas: but although on account of its size and general
appearance it might easily be mistaken for the latter bird, it is in
fact a species of the new genus, “ortyx.” The difference between the
real quail and the ortyx of America, like that between the long and
short-winged hawks, consists in the structure of the wing: in the
one, the second feather is longest; in the other, the fourth, which
evidently unfits it for taking a long flight. The “ortyx virginianus”
has become naturalized in Suffolk, and has been shot near Uxbridge. A
species of the genus coturnix, or real quail, has been found near the
Straits of Magellan. The pheasant of the States is the partridge of the
Canadas, and is in fact a very handsome species of grouse, feathered
down to the toes, and having in a great measure the habits of the
capercaily, living entirely in the woods, and treeing readily when put
up by a small dog. I have before noticed the grouse, or barren, or
prairie hen. In the Canadas there is also a darker coloured species,
called, the spruce partridge. A large grouse, nearly allied to the
capercaily in size and colour, is found near the Rocky Mountains; and
although five or six different kinds of grouse are to be found in North
America—including, I believe, the ptarmigan—yet the black and red game
of Scotland are not among them. A smaller species of red grouse is
plentiful in Newfoundland.
The same animal is called a hare in the States, and a rabbit in the
Canadas. It never burrows; its usual colour is that of the European
hare and rabbit mixed, and the meat is dark, like that of the European
hare. A larger species which turns white in the winter, and is termed
on that account, the varying hare, is more common in the Canadas than
in the States, but is no where plentiful. I would here remark that any
traveller who brings his gun with him, and has a decided wish to see
some American shooting, should bring his own dog with him; any that he
can depend on for general purposes, be it of what breed it may.
America offers a fine field to the ornithologist, and even a traveller
who is usually careless of the study of natural history, cannot fail to
be delighted with the variety of beautiful birds which he will see in
merely passing through the American forests, more particularly in those
of the States. Red birds, blue birds, and yellow or Baltimore birds (a
species of starling), will frequently fly across his path; turtle doves
are constantly alighting in the road before him; a large, magnificent
species of woodpecker, with a red crest, usually termed the woodcock,
will sometimes make his appearance; a great variety of the same
genus, particularly a small species with a marked plumage of black,
white, and crimson, are almost always in sight; he will be startled
and deceived by the mew of the catbird,—and his eye and ear will be
attracted by the brilliant plumage of the blue jay, the singing of the
mocking-bird, the melodious flute-like whistle of the wood-thrush,
or the instantaneous buz of the passing humming-bird. Considering the
wildness of the country, I was very much surprised at the scarcity of
the larger birds of prey; a small brown vulture, commonly misnamed the
turkey-buzzard, is however an exception. I never saw but one bald eagle
in America: he was beating for his prey over the mountain of Montreal;
his snow-white head and tail being discernible at a great distance.
They are more numerous on the sea coast, near the haunts of the
fish-hawk (osprey). When this latter bird has taken a fish, the bald
eagle who has been watching his movements from a neighbouring height,
will commence a most furious attack upon him, will force him to drop
his prey, and frequently seize it before it can disappear under water.
The bald eagle is the national emblem of the United States. It was well
remarked by Dr. Franklin, that the wild turkey would have answered
the purpose better, being exclusively indigenous to North America, and
having an innate and violent antipathy to red coats.
Chambli is a large, straggling village, containing perhaps 5000
inhabitants, of which 4000 are communicants at the Catholic church.
The Catholic doctrine, divested of the pomp and absurdity of ceremony,
being no where more strictly adhered to, than amongst the peasantry
of Lower Canada. The houses are scattered around what is called the
basin of Chambli—a lake about three miles in length and two in breadth,
formed in the Richelieu river. A canal is now forming, which in a few
years will contribute very much to the prosperity and importance of
the village of Chambli and the surrounding country. When finished,
the course of navigation between lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence,
at present impeded by the rapids at Chambli, will be safe from
interruption; so that the produce of “the townships,” as the lands
granted by the crown are termed, will be conveyed directly to Quebec
instead of passing through Montreal.
An old fort built by the French is standing at the foot of the rapids.
The situation is selected with their usual judgment, it being scarcely
assailable from the water. Chambli has also barracks for 1000 horse,
and 15,000 infantry, but at present they are unoccupied.
I would recommend every one who has time at his disposal, to ascend
the Belleisle mountain, distant eleven miles from Chambli. It is
principally composed of granite, and rises abruptly from the plain to
a height of more than 2000 feet. From the top may be seen the finest
view in the Canadas. The eye roams on every side, over a vast extent
of country, and the uniform direction of the “concessions” or lands
held in signorie, contributes not a little to the singularity of the
prospect. On the north, the St. Lawrence is visible on a clear day
as far as the “Three Rivers,” which is half-way to Quebec; on the
south and east, are the mountains of New York and Vermont. The city
of Montreal, at the distance of seventeen miles to the westward,
would appear like a white streak on the banks of the river; but that
the superior height of the towers of the cathedral are distinctly
relieved by the dark wooded sides of the hill, whose elevation is much
diminished by the distance. The Richelieu river appears to run at the
foot of the mountain, and the whole of its course is visible from lake
Champlain to the St. Lawrence. The mountain itself is exceedingly
picturesque; a small and very pretty lake being embosomed in its
well-wooded recesses, like that of Tarni near Tivoli. The ascent from
Chambli occupied a day; but I thought myself amply repaid for the time
I had expended, and the fatigue I had undergone. I proceeded to St.
John’s, and took the steam-boat for lake Champlain. In a few hours we
passed the old fort at Rouse’s point, which by the late decision of the
king of the Netherlands, on the boundary question, is now in possession
of the Americans, although it stands on the Canadian side of the river.
By the treaty of 1783, the boundary line between the United States and
Lower Canada was imperfectly defined as extending “from the north west
angle of Nova Scotia (now New Brunswick) to that angle which is formed
by a line drawn due north from the source of the St. Croix river to
the Highlands; along the said Highlands which divide those rivers that
empty themselves in the river St. Lawrence from those which fall into
the Atlantic ocean.” But as the land had never been surveyed, so that
the position of these Highlands might be ascertained, and it having
always been disputed which were the rivers referred to, commissioners
were appointed at the treaty of Ghent, to determine the true boundary,
and as they could not agree, the king of the Netherlands was proposed
as an arbitrator. Two lines were laid before him, on one of which
he was to decide; one drawn by the Americans on the north of the
Temisconata lake, and the other by the British 300 miles to the south
of it. His majesty, however, in his award followed neither of them; but
has drawn a line between them to the river St. John, transferring to
the United States about six millions of acres; and has brought the most
northerly point of the boundary for sixty miles within thirteen miles
of the St. Lawrence, whilst 200 miles below, it strikes off to the
south-east after having approached within fifty miles of Quebec. The
old French Canadian settlers on the St. John and Madawaska settlements,
and who, like the rest of their countrymen, have a mortal antipathy to
the Americans, are exceedingly annoyed at being thus transferred into
the dominion of the States; but as both Great Britain and the United
States are dissatisfied with the decision, it is probable that some
other arrangement will be made.
We then passed the isle Aux Noix, the British naval establishment on
lake Champlain, I observed several schooners on the stocks, remaining,
like the ships at Kingston, as they were at the close of the war, and
several old gun boats that appeared to have taken part in it. The
expenses of the fort, which effectually commands the passage from the
lake, are the same as those of a frigate; and, as such, are placed on
the naval establishment instead of the military.