and most commodious harbour on all Lake Ontario. The bay of Great Sodus,
on the south side of the lake, and that of Toronto, situated on the
north side of the lake, nearly in the same meridian with Niagara, are
said to be the next best to that of Kingston; but the entrance into each
of them is obstructed by sand banks, which in rough weather cannot be
crossed without imminent danger in vessels drawing more than five or six
feet water. On the borders of the bay at Kingston there is a King’s dock
yard, and another which is private property. Most of the British vessels
of burthen on Lake Ontario have been built at these yards. Belonging to
his Majesty there were on Lake Ontario, when we crossed it, three
vessels of about two hundred tons each, carrying from eight to twelve
guns, besides several gun boats; the last, however, were not in
commission, but laid up in Niagara River; and in consequence of the
ratification of the treaty of amity and commerce between the United
States and his Britannic Majesty, orders were issued, shortly after we
left Kingston, for laying up the other vessels of war, one alone
excepted[10]. For one King’s ship there would be ample employment on the
lake, in conveying to the upper country the presents for the Indians and
the stores for the troops, and in transporting the troops across the
lake when they changed quarters. Every military officer at the outposts
enjoys the privilege of having a certain bulk, according to his rank,
carried for him in the King’s vessels, free of all charges. The naval
officers, if their vessels be not otherwise engaged, are allowed to
carry a cargo of merchandize when they sail from one port to another,
the freight of which is their perquisite; they likewise have the
liberty, and are constantly in the practice, of carrying passengers
across the lake at an established price. The commodore of the King’s
vessels on Lake Ontario is a French Canadian, and so likewise are most
of the officers under him. Their uniform is blue and white, with large
yellow buttons, stamped with the figure of a beaver, over which is
inscribed the word, “Canada.” The naval officers are under the controul
of the military officer commandant, at every post where their vessels
happen to touch; and they cannot leave their vessels to go up into the
country at any time without his permission.
Footnote 10:
Subsequent orders, it was said, were issued, during the summer of
1797, to have one or more of these vessels put again in commission.
[Sidenote: MERCHANT VESSELS.]
Several decked merchant vessels, schooners, and sloops, of from fifty to
two hundred tons each, and also numberless large sailing bateaux, are
kept employed on Lake Ontario. No vessels are deemed proper for the
navigation of these lakes but complete sea boats, or else flat bottomed
vessels, such as canoes and bateaux, that can safely run ashore on an
emergency. At present the people of the United States have no other
vessels than bateaux on the lake, and whether they will deem it proper
to have larger vessels, as their harbours are all so indifferent,
remains yet to be determined. The large British vessels ply mostly
between Kingston and Niagara, and but very rarely touch at any other
place.
The expence of building, and equipping vessels on Lake Ontario, is very
considerable; and it is still greater on the more distant lakes, as the
larger part of the iron implements, and all the cordage wanted for that
purpose, are imported from Great Britain, through the medium of the
lower province. There can be no doubt, however, but that when the
country is become more populous, an ample supply of these necessary
articles will be readily procured on the spot; for the soil of the upper
province is well adapted to the growth of hemp, and iron ore has been
discovered in many parts of the country. Hemp already begins to be
cultivated in small quantities; but it has hitherto been the policy of
government to direct the attention of the people to agriculture, rather
than to any other pursuit, so that none of the iron mines, which,
together with all other mines that are, or that may hereafter be
discovered, are the exclusive property of the crown, have yet been
opened. The people of the United States, however, alive to every
prospect of gain, have already sent persons to look for iron ore in that
part of their territory situated conveniently to the lakes. These
persons have been very successful in their searches; and as works will
undoubtedly be established speedily by them in this quarter for the
manufacture of iron, and as they will be able to afford it on much
better terms than that which is brought all the way from Lower Canada,
it is probable that government will encourage the opening of mines in
our own dominions, rather than suffer the people of the States to enjoy
such a very lucrative branch of trade as they must necessarily have, if
the same policy is persisted in which has hitherto been pursued.
[Sidenote: COPPER ORES.]
Copper, in the more remote parts of Upper Canada, is found in much
greater abundance than iron, and as it may be extracted from the earth
with considerably less trouble than any of the iron ore that has yet
been discovered, there is reason to imagine, that at a future day it
will be much more used than iron for every purpose to which it can be
applied. On the borders of a river, which falls into the south-west side
of Lake Superior, virgin copper is found in the greatest abundance; and
on most of the islands on the eastern side it is also found. In the
possession of a gentleman at Niagara I saw a lump of virgin copper of
several ounces weight, apparently as pure as if it had passed through
fire, which I was informed had been struck off with a chisel from a
piece equally pure, growing on one of these islands, which must at least
have weighed forty pounds. Rich veins of copper are visible in almost
all the rocks on these islands towards the shore; and copper ore,
resembling copperas, is likewise found in deep beds near the water: in a
few hours bateaux might here be filled with ore, and in less than three
days conveyed to the Straits of St. Mary, after passing which the ore
might be laden on board large vessels, and conveyed by water without any
further interruption as far as Niagara River. The portage at the Straits
of St. Mary may be passed in a few hours, and with a fair wind large
vessels, proper for traversing Lakes Huron and Erie, may come down to
the eastern extremity of the latter lake in six days.
Not only the building and fitting out of vessels on the lakes is
attended with considerable expence, but the cost of keeping them up is
likewise found to be very great, for they wear out much sooner than
vessels employed commonly on the ocean; which circumstance, according to
the opinion of the naval gentlemen on the lakes, is owing to the
freshness of the water; added to this, no sailors are to be hired but at
very high wages, and it is found necessary to retain them at full pay
during the five months of the year that the vessels are laid up on
account of the ice, as men cannot be procured at a moment’s notice. The
sailors, with a few exceptions only, are procured from sea-ports, as it
is absolutely necessary on these lakes, the navigation of which is more
dangerous than that of the ocean, to have able and experienced seamen.
Lake Ontario itself is never frozen out of sight of land, but its rivers
and harbours are regularly blocked up by the ice.
The day after that on which we reached Kingston, we took our passage for
Niagara on board a schooner of one hundred and eighty tons burthen,
which was waiting at the merchant’s wharf for a fair wind. The
established price of the passage across the lake in the cabin is two
guineas, and in the steerage one guinea, for each person: this is by no
means dear, considering that the captain, for the money, keeps a table
for each respective set of passengers. The cabin table on board this
vessel was really well served, and there was abundance of port and
sherry wine, and of every sort of spirits, for the use of the cabin
passengers. The freight of goods across the lake is dearer in
proportion, being thirty-six shillings British per ton, which is nearly
as much as was paid for the transportation of a ton of goods across the
Atlantic previous to the present war; it cannot, however, be deemed
exorbitant, when the expence of building and keeping the vessels in
repair, and the high wages of the sailors, &c. are taken into
consideration.
[Sidenote: FREIGHTAGE.]
On the 7th of September, in the afternoon, the wind became favourable
for crossing the lake; notice was in consequence immediately sent round
to the passengers, who were dispersed in different parts of the town, to
get ready; all of them hurried on board; the vessel was unmoored, and in
a few minutes she was wafted out into the lake by a light breeze. For
the first mile and a half, in going from Kingston, the prospect is much
confined, on account of the many large islands on the left hand side;
but on weathering a point on one of the islands, at the end of that
distance, an extensive view of the lake suddenly opens, which on a still
clear evening, when the sun is sinking behind the lofty woods that adorn
the shores, is extremely grand and beautiful.
[Sidenote: LAKE ONTARIO.]
Lake Ontario is the most easterly of the four large lakes through which
the boundary line passes, that separates the United States from the
province of Upper Canada. It is two hundred and twenty miles in length,
from east to west, and seventy miles wide in the broadest part, and,
according to calculation, contains about 2,390,000 acres. This lake is
less subject to storms than any of the others, and its waters in
general, considering their great expanse, are wonderfully tranquil.
During the first evening of our voyage there was not the least curl even
on their surface, they were merely agitated by a gentle swell; and
during the subsequent part of the voyage, the waves were at no time so
high as to occasion the slightest sickness amongst any of the
passengers. The depth of the water in the lake is very great; in some
parts it is unfathomable. On looking over the side of a vessel, the
water, owing to its great depth, appears to be of a blackish colour, but
it is nevertheless very clear, and any white substance thrown overboard
may be discerned at the depth of several fathoms from the surface; it
is, however, by no means so clear and transparent as the water of some
of the other lakes. Mr. Carver, speaking of Lake Superior, says, “When
it was calm, and the sun shone bright, I could sit in my canoe, where
the depth was upwards of six fathoms, and plainly see huge piles of
stone at the bottom, of different shapes, some of which appeared as if
they had been hewn; the water was at this time as pure and transparent
as air, and my canoe seemed as if it hung suspended in that element. It
was impossible to look attentively through this limpid medium, at the
rocks below, without finding, before many minutes were elapsed, your
head swim, and your eyes no longer able to behold the dazzling scene.”
The water of Lake Ontario is very well tasted, and is that which is
constantly used on board the vessels that traverse it.
[Sidenote: RISING OF THE WATER.]
It is very confidently asserted, not only by the Indians, but also by
great numbers of the white people who live on the shores of Lake
Ontario, that the waters of this lake rise and fall alternately every
seventh year; others, on the contrary, deny that such a fluctuation does
take place; and indeed it differs so materially from any that has been
observed in large bodies of water in other parts of the globe, that for
my own part I am somewhat tempted to believe it is merely an imaginary
change; nevertheless, when it is considered, that according to the
belief of the older inhabitants of the country, such a periodical ebbing
and flowing of the waters of the lake takes place, and that it has never
been clearly proved to the contrary, we are bound to suspend our
opinions on the subject. A gentleman, whole habitation was situated
close upon the borders of the lake, not far from Kingston, and who, from
the nature of his profession, had more time to attend to such subjects
than the generality of the people of the country, told me, that he had
observed the state of the lake attentively for nearly fourteen years
that he had resided on the borders of it, and that he was of opinion the
waters did not ebb and flow periodically; yet he acknowledged this very
remarkable fact, that several of the oldest white inhabitants in his
neighbourhood declared, previously to the rising of the lake, that the
year 1795 would be the high year; and that in the summer of that year,
the lake actually did rise to a very uncommon height. He said, however,
that he had reason to think the rising of the lake on this occasion was
wholly owing to fortuitous circumstances, and not to any regular
established law of nature; and he conceived, that if the lake had not
risen as it had done, yet the people would have fancied, nevertheless,
that it was in reality higher than usual, as he supposed they had
fancied it to be on former occasions. He was induced to form this
opinion, he said, from the following circumstance: When the lake had
risen to such an unusual height in the year 1795, he examined several of
the oldest people on the subject, and questioned them particularly as to
the comparative height of the waters on this and former occasions. They
all declared that the waters were not higher than they usually were at
the time of their periodical rising; and they affirmed, that they had
themselves seen them equally high before. Now a grove of trees, which
stood adjoining to this gentleman’s garden, and must at least have been
of thirty years growth, was entirely destroyed this year by the waters
of the lake, that flowed amongst the trees; had the lake, therefore,
ever risen so high before, this grove would have been then destroyed.
This circumstance certainly militated strongly against the evidence
which the people gave as to the height of the waters; but it only proved
that the waters had risen on this occasion higher than they had done for
thirty years preceding; it did not prove that they had not, during that
term, risen periodically above their ordinary level.
What Mr. Carver relates concerning this subject, rather tends to confirm
the opinion that the waters of the lake do rise. “I had like,” he says,
“to have omitted a very extraordinary circumstance relative to these
straits;” the Straits of Michillimakinac, between lakes Michigan and
Huron. “According to observations made by the French, whilst they were
in possession of the fort there, although there is no diurnal flood or
ebb to be perceived in these waters, yet from an exact attention to
their state, a periodical alteration in them has been discovered. It was
observed, that they arose by gradual but almost imperceptible degrees,
till they had reached the height of three feet; this was accomplished in
seven years and a half; and in the same space of time they as gently
decreased, till they had reached their former situation; so that in
fifteen years they had completed this inexplicable revolution. At the
time I was there, the truth of these observations could not be confirmed
by the English, as they had then been only a few years in possession of
the fort; but they all agreed that some alterations in the limits of the
straits was apparent.” It is to be lamented that succeeding years have
not thrown more light on the subject; for since the fort has been in our
possession, persons competent to determine the truth of observations of
such a nature, have never staid a sufficient length of time there to
have had it in their power to do so.
[Sidenote: LAKE ONTARIO.]
A long series of minute observations are necessary to determine
positively whether the waters of the lake do or do not rise and fall
periodically. It is well known, for instance, that in wet seasons the
waters rise much above their ordinary level, and that in very dry
seasons they sink considerably below it; a close attention, therefore,
ought to be paid to the quantity of rain that falls, and to evaporation;
and it ought to be ascertained in what degree the height of the lake is
altered thereby; otherwise, if the lake happened to be higher or lower
than usual on the seventh year, it would be impossible to say with
accuracy whether it were owing to the state of the weather, or to
certain laws of nature that we are yet unacquainted with. At the same
time, great attention ought to be paid to the state of the winds, as
well in respect to their direction as to their velocity, for the height
of the waters of all the lakes is materially affected thereby. At Fort
Erie, situated at the eastern extremity of the lake of the same name, I
once observed the waters to fall full three feet in the course of a few
hours, upon a sudden change of the wind from the westward, in which
direction it had blown for many days, to the east-ward. Moreover, these
observations ought not only to be made at one place on the borders of
anyone of the lakes, but they ought to be made at several different
places at the same time; for the waters have encroached, owing to some
unknown causes, considerably and gradually upon the shores in some
places, and receded in others. Between the stone house, in the fort at
Niagara, and the lake, for instance, there is not at present a greater
space than ten yards, or thereabouts; though when first built there was
an extensive garden between them. A water battery also, erected since
the commencement of the present war, at the bottom of the bank, beyond
the walls of the fort, was sapped away by the water in the course of two
seasons, and now scarcely any vestige of it remains. At a future day,
when the country becomes more populous and more wealthy, persons will no
doubt be found who will have leisure for making the observations
necessary for determining whether the lakes do or do not undergo a
periodical change, but at present the inhabitants on the borders of them
are too much engaged in commercial and agricultural pursuits to attend
to matters of mere speculation, which, however they might amuse the
philosopher, could be productive of no solid advantages to the
generality of the inhabitants of the country.
[Sidenote: OBSERVATIONS.]
It is believed by many persons that the waters of Lake Ontario not only
rise and fall periodically every seventh year, but that they are
likewise influenced by a tide, which ebbs and flows frequently in the
course of twenty-four hours. On board the vessel in which I crossed the
lake there were several gentlemen of the country, who confidently
assured me, that a regular tide was observable at the Bay of Canti; that
in order to satisfy themselves on the subject, they had stood for
several hours together, on more than one occasion, at a mill at the head
of the bay, and that they had observed the waters to ebb and flow
regularly every four hours, rising to the height of fourteen inches.
There can be no doubt, however, but that the frequent ebbing and flowing
of the water at this place must be caused by the wind; for no such
regular fluctuation is observable at Niagara, at Kingston, or on the
open shores of the lake; and owing to the formation of the Bay of Canti,
the height of the water must necessarily vary there with, every slight
change of the wind. The Bay of Canti is a long crooked inlet, that grows
narrower at the upper end, like a funnel; not only, therefore, a change
of wind up or down the bay would make a difference in the height of the
water at the uppermost extremity of it; but owing to the waters being
concentrated there at one point, they would be seen to rise or fall, if
impelled even in the same direction, whether up or down the bay, more or
less forcibly at one time of the day than at another. Now it is very
seldom that the wind, at any part of the day or night, would be found to
blow precisely with the same force, for a given space of two hours, that
it had blown for the preceding space of two hours; an appearance like a
tide must therefore be seen almost constantly at the head of this bay
whenever there was a breeze. I could not learn that the fluctuation had
ever been observed during a perfect calm: were the waters, however,
influenced by a regular tide, during a calm the tide would be most
readily seen.
To return to the voyage. A few hours after we quitted Kingston, on the
7th of September, the wind died away, and during the whole night the
vessel made but little way; early on the morning of the 8th, however, a
fresh breeze sprang up, and before noon we lost sight of the land. Our
voyage now differed in no wise from one across the ocean; the vessel was
steered by the compass, the log regularly heaved, the way marked down in
the log book, and an exact account kept of the procedures on board. We
continued sailing, out of sight of land, until the evening of the 9th,
when we had a view of the blue hills in the neighbourhood of Toronto, on
the northern side of the lake, but they soon disappeared. Except at this
place, the shores of the lake are flat and sandy, owing to which
circumstance it is, that in traversing the lake you are generally
carried out of sight of land in a very few hours.
[Sidenote: NIAGARA.]
At day-break on the 10th the fort and town of Niagara appeared under the
lee bow, and the wind being favourable, we had every prospect before us
of getting up to the town in a few hours; but scarcely had we reached
the bar, at the mouth of Niagara River, when the wind suddenly shifted,
and after endeavouring in vain to cross it by means of tacking, we were
under the necessity of casting anchor at the distance of about two miles
from the fort. The fort is seen to great advantage from the water; but
the town being built parallel to the river, and no part of it visible to
a spectator on the lake, except the few shabby houses at the nearest
end, it makes but a very poor appearance. Having breakfasted, and
exchanged our _habits de voyage_, for such as it was proper to appear in
at the capital of Upper Canada, and at the center of the beau monde of
the province, the schooner’s yawl was launched, and we were landed,
together with such of the passengers as were disposed to go on shore, at
Mississaguis Point, from whence there is an agreeable walk of one mile,
partly through woods, to the town of Niagara.
[Sidenote: MISSISSAGUIS.]
This point takes its name from the Mississaguis Indians, great numbers
of whom are generally encamped upon it. The Mississaguis tribe inhabits
the shores of Lake Ontario, and it is one of the most numerous of this
part of the country. The men are in general very stout, and they are
esteemed most excellent hunters and fishers; but less warlike, it is
said, than any of the neighbouring nations. They are of a much darker
complexion than any other Indians I ever met with; some of them being
nearly as black as negroes. They are extremely dirty and slovenly in
their appearance, and the women are still more so than the men; such
indeed is the odour exhaled in a warm day from the rancid grease and
fish oil with which the latter daub their hair, necks, and faces
profusely, that it is offensive in the highest degree to approach within
some yards of them. On arriving at Niagara, we found great numbers of
these Indians dispersed in knots, in different parts of the town, in
great concern for the loss of a favourite and experienced chief. This
man, whose name was Wompakanon, had been killed, it appeared, by a white
man, in a fray which happened at Toronto, near to which place is the
principal village of the Mississaguis nation. The remaining chiefs
immediately assembled their warriors, and marched down to Niagara, to
make a formal complaint to the British government. To appease their
resentment, the commanding officer of the garrison distributed presents
amongst them to a large amount, and amongst other things they were
allowed no small portion of rum and provisions, upon which the tribe
feasted, according to custom, the day before we reached the town; but
the rum being all consumed, they seemed to feel severely for the loss of
poor Wompakanon. Fear of exciting the anger of the British government
would prevent them from taking revenge openly on this occasion; but I
was informed by a gentleman in the Indian department, intimately
acquainted with the dispositions of the Indians, that as nothing but
blood is deemed sufficient in their opinion to atone for the death of a
favourite chief, they would certainly kill some white man, perhaps one
perfectly innocent, when a favourable and secret opportunity offered for
so doing, though it should be twenty years afterwards.
The Mississaguis keep the inhabitants of Kingston, of Niagara, and of
the different towns on the lake, well supplied with fish and game, the
value of which is estimated by bottles of rum and loaves of bread. A
gentleman, with whom we dined at Kingston, entertained us with a most
excellent haunch of venison of a very large size, and a salmon weighing
at least fifteen pounds, which he had purchased from one of these
Indians for a bottle of rum and a loaf of bread[11], and upon enquiry I
found that the Indian thought himself extremely well paid, and was
highly pleased with having made such a good bargain.
Footnote 11:
Both together probably not worth more than half a dollar.