Interesting History of the Saint Lawrence River

Compiled by

Emily Stehr

emilystehr@hotmail.com

To my Aunt Marjorie, thanks for all the great memories on the St Lawrence

and for being a rock star aunt.

“St Lawrence: a river in southeast Canada, flowing northeast from Lake Ontario, forming part of the boundary between New York and Ontario, and emptying into the Gulf of St Lawrence. 760 miles (1225

km) long.

Gulf of, an arm of the Atlantic between southeast Canada and Newfoundland.”

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/st--lawrence-river

In the Shadows of the St Lawrence River

By Ann Ivy Male

I once sat on the banks of the St Lawrence River

I watched the flow of the water, wash away my thoughts

I once held your hand by the banks of the river

Your long white dress drifted towards a distant ocean

I once had a dark dream about the St Lawrence River

About the tiny villages along its shores

Tiny villages, now lost in the shadows

I once sang a song about the St Lawrence River

About its dirty banks and frozen water

And how I carried you down to river

Only to realize; that moment is now frozen in time

**TABLE OF CONTENTS**

[YEAR OF PUBLICATION LISTED IN ASCENDING ORDER; PRIMARY AUTHOR LISTED ALPHABETICALLY FOR EACH YEAR]

1708: Oldmixon, John

1727: Coxe (the Younger), Daniel

1738: Gee, Joshua

1740: Robinson, Sir John Beverley

1749: Douglass, William

1753: Green, John

1755: Colden, Cadwallader

1755: Evans, Lewis

1755: Huske, Ellis

1757: Smith, William

1758: Smith, William

1759: Martin, Benjamin

1760: Pichon, Thomas

1761: duc de Choiseul, Etienne-Francois

1763: Almon, John

1764: Almon, John

1766: Hopkinson, Francis

1766: Sale, George

1769: Cook (Lieutenant), James

1769: Knox, John

1770: Adams, Amos

1770: Rogers, Robert

1772: Mante, Thomas

1772: Young, Arthur

1774: Smethurst, Gamaliel

1776: Judd, Jacob

1779: Hewatt, Alexander

1780: von Troil (Archbishop of Uppsala), Uno

1783: Prenties, Samuel Waller

1784: Champion, Richard

1784: Knox, John

1784: Long, Edward

1789: Carey, Mathew

1790: Beatson, Robert

1792: Lee, Charles

1793: Cook, James

1795: Hutchinson, Thomas

1796: Carver, Jonathan

1797: Trumbull, Benjamin

1798: Minot, George Richards

1800: Weld, Isaac

1802: Windham, William

1804: Morse, Jedidiah

1804: Volney, Constantin-Francois

1805: Harris, Thaddeus Mason

1806: Alley (LLB, Rector of the Parishes of Beaulieu and Drumcarr), Jerome

1806: Furlong, Lawrence

1806: Wakefield, Priscilla

1806: Webster, Noah

1807: Pinkerton, John

1808: Atcheson, Nathaniel

1808: Harriott, John

1808: Holmes, Abiel

1808: Porteus (bp of London), Beilby

1809: Gray, Hugh

1809: Lamb, Roger

1809: Williams, Samuel

1811: Bozman, John Leeds

1812: Brady, John Henry

1812: Clinton, DeWitt

1812: Stoddard, Amos

1813: Heriot, George

1813: Smyth, Sir David William

1814: Dow, Lorenzo

1814: Morse, Jedidiah

1814: Smith, Michael

1815: Bouchette, Joseph

1815: Tuckey, James Kingston

1816: Knight, Ann Cuthbert

1816: Mann, James

1816: Thomson, John Lewis

1817: Brackenridge, Henry Marie

1817: Merrill, Eliphalet

1818: Barrow, Sir John

1818: Darby, William

1819: Darby, William

1819: Doige, Thomas

1820: Sansom, Joseph

1822: Sigourney, Lydia Howard

1822: Stansbury, Philip

1822: Watson, William

1822: Wilson, Charles Henry

1823: Worcester, Joseph Emerson

1824: Andrews, William Eusebius

1824: Morse, Jedidiah

1824: Talbot, Edward Allen

1826: Maude, John

1827: von Riedesel, Friederike Charlotte Luise (von Massow) freifrau

1828: Bernard (Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach), Karl

1829: Dwight, Theodore

1829: Haliburton, Thomas Chandler

1829: Mactaggart, John

1830: Kidd, Adam

1831: Biddle, Richard

1832: Ames, Nathaniel

1832: Drake, Samuel G

1833: Coke, Edward Thomas

1833: Drake, Samuel Gardner

1833: MacGregor, John

1834: Hawkins, Alfred

1834: Lyell, Sir Charles

1834: Mathison, John

1834: Whiton, John Milton

1835: Lyell, Sir Charles

1835: Macy, Obed

1836: Thom, Adam

1837: Dunlap, William

1839: Bosworth, Newton

1840: Gosse, Philip Henry

1841: Drake, Benjamin

1841: McLeod, Donald

1841: Stone, William Leete

1842: Bonnycastle, Richard-Henry

1843: Davenport, Bishop

1844: Martin, Robert Montgomery

1844: Stone, William Leete

1846: Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe

1847: Barham, William

1847: Gesner, Abraham

1847: Willson, Marcius

1848: Cusick, David

1849: Lyell, Sir Charles

1849: Rose, AWH

1850: Baird, Robert

1850: Drake, Daniel

1850: Keefer, Thomas C

1851: Poussin, Guillaume Tell

1851: Simms, Jeptha Root

1852: Bonnycastle, Sir Richard Henry

1853: Hough, Franklin Benjamin

1855: Hardy, Campbell

1855: Weld, Charles Richard

1856: Watson, Elkanah

1859: Kirby, William

1859: MacGregor, John

1861: Kohl, Johann Georg

1861: McLachlan, Alexander

1861: Spedon, Andrew Learmont

1861: Woods, Nicholas Augustus

1862: Spence (land surveyor), Thomas

1863: Hind, Henry Youle

1864: De Gaspe, Philippe Aubert

1865: Hunt, Thomas Sterry

1865: Murdoch, Beamish

1866: Garneau, Francois-Xavier

1866: Knight, Thomas F

1867: Drinkwater, DF

1868: Hind, Henry Youle

1869: Brown, Richard

1869: Parkman, Francis

1870: Holmes, George Frederick

1870: Quackenbos, George Payn

1870: Webster, Thomas

1870: Willson, Marcius

1871: Brigham, William T

1871: Philpot, Harvey John

1871: Shurtleff, Nathaniel Bradstreet

1872: Fitton, James

1872: Hatch, William Stanley

1872: Miles, Henry Hopper

1872: Nevin, Robert Peebles

1872: Shea, John Gilmary

1873: Audubon, John James

1873: Brown, Harvey Ellicott

1873: Thomson, John Lewis

1885: Marcou, Jules

1902: Weeks, Fred Boughton

1921: Murray, William Spencer

1708: Oldmixon, John

[AUTHOR(S); TITLE; PUBLISHER; YEAR OF PUBLICATION]

John Oldmixon, Herman Moll; The British Empire in America: Containing the History of the Discovery, Settlement, Progress and Present State of All the British Colonies on the Continent and Islands of America. With Curious Maps Done from the Newest Surveys; Vol 1; John Nicholson … Benjamin Tooke … and Richard Parker and Ralph Smith; 1708

John Oldmixon and Herman Moll write: “Under the Name of Newfoundland those Isles are comprehended which lie on the West Side of it in the Gulph of St Lawrence, and the River of Canada or New France to the North and West. These Isles are 15 in number, of which the most considerable are, the Isles of the Sand or Bank of Cape Breton, St John’s Isle about 30 Leagues long, 16 over, and 90 in Circuit; ‘tis properly nothing else but a great Forest of Fir-trees, and is surrounded with steep Rocks. Cape Breton Isle in the South of the Gulph of St Lawrence, is 60 Leagues long, 10 or 12 broad, and 149 in Circuit; ‘tis almost cut in two Parts by that Gulph. The Isle of Assumption is also call’d Anticosti, ‘tis about the bigness of Cape Breton Island, situated at the Mouth of the Great River of Canada; Bears Port is the best Haven in it. Between Anticosti and the flat Island, the old Writers tell us was the best Cod Fishing, and that ‘twas common to take 100 in an Hour there. ‘Tis certain so many have been caught in an hour; but ‘tis as far from being a common thing, as that Place from being the best on the Coast for Fishing, neither the English nor French ever fishing between those Islands.”

The British Empire in America: Containing the History of the Discovery, Settlement, Progress and Present State of All the British Colonies on the Continent and …

1727: Coxe (the Younger), Daniel

Daniel Coxe (the Younger); A Description of the English Province of Carolana … by the Spaniards call’d Florida, and by the French La Louisiane. As also of the great and famous river Meschacebe or Missisipi, the five vast navigable lakes of fresh water, and the parts adjacent, etc. With a map; Edward Symon; 1727

Daniel Coxe (the Younger) writes: “BUT should the French be permitted to establish their projected Communication, between Cape Breton the Gulf and River of St Lawrence, as far as the Meschacebe, and so downwards to the Bay of Mexico, which will be a mighty Addition and Increase of Territory, Strength and Power to them, It is much to be fear’d, They’ll carry their Point one Time or another, and thereby distress and Subject these our Allies, the Consequence of which will not only be very shocking, but of the utmost Concern to the Safety of our Northern Plantations: For if we now, in so great Measure, stand in need of, and depend on them as our Friends, for the Security of our Frontiers, what must we expect, when that Barrier is remov’d, and they become our Enemies; and not only they, but all the Rest of our Friendly Indians to the Southward, which we may of Course depend on.”

… English Province of Carolana... by the Spaniards call'd Florida, and by the French La Louisiane. As also of the great and famous   river   Meschacebe or Missisipi …

1738: Gee, Joshua

Joshua Gee; The trade and navigation of Great Britain; 4th edition; Bettesworth, Hitch & Birt; 1738

Joshua Gee writes: “SIR Josiah Child says, in his Discourse of the Trade of the Plantations, ‘That Virginia and Barbadoes were first peopled by a Sort of loose vagrant People, vicious and destitute of Means to live at home, and employ themselves about, or had so misbehaved themselves by Whoring, Thieving, or other Debaucheries, that none would set them to work. Those (he says) had it not been for our Plantations, must have come to be hang’d or starv’d, or died untimely of some miserable Diseases, or sold themselves for Soldiers, to have been knock’d on the Head, or starved in the Quarrels of our Neighbours, as many Thousand brave Englishmen were in the Low Countries; and yet we see several of those People behaved well, and arrived to great Estates, and help’d to enrich their ‘Mother Country’. And as an immense Wealth hath accrued to us by the Labour and Industry of those People that have settled in our Colonies, so a mighty Profit may be added by raising there, Silk, Hemp, Flax, Iron, Pot-ash, etc, of which I have treated in this Discourse. France has, as is already related, send over great Numbers of their vagrant People to their Settlements on the Missisippi, (upon the Back of ours of Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland) and down the River St Lawrence to Cape Breton, and also to Hispaniola, where they are put upon sundry Improvements. The Numbers reported to be sent thither are almost incredible; the King pays the Charge of Transporting them, and maintaining them a Year after their Arrival; skilful Persons direct them in the several Employments, and get as many of them as they can married, and then the ingenious and industrious as soon as they are qualified to undertake any Business, have their Liberty, and a Quantity of Land assigned them. This Industry of the French has greatly increased their Reexportation of Sugar, and very much lessened ours; and if once they can bring their Settlements to bear upon the Back of ours, along that most fertile Valley, which is watered with the River Overbachee, and the great River Ohio, navigable for about 300 Miles, even from the Fountain, we may expect they will gain great Part of the Tobacco Trade also. Now as the Crown is at the Charge of transporting the Convicts, Places might be appointed for all Persons to repair to, that cannot find Methods of Subsistance at home, in order to be transported to the aforesaid Colonies. We know the greatest Part of the Convicts are bold, daring, debauched People; but many of them, when they are transported into the Colonies, we are assured come to severe Repentance for their past Lives, and become very industrious; if Provision was made to allow each of them 100 Acres or more of Land free for some Time, and afterwards to pay, by way of Quit-Rent, One hundred Weight (being 112 Pounds) of well dress’d Hemp or Flax, for every 100 Acres so granted them, the Prospect of having Land of their own would induce them to continue their Industry; his Majesty would thereby receive sufficient Supplies of Hemp and Flax for the Royal Navy; a Revenue that would far exceed any Income that the Government receives from any of our Colonies; and being under no Difficulty to subsist, they would marry young, increase and multiply, and supply themselves with every Thing they want from us, but their Food; by which Means those vast Tracts of Land now waste, will be planted, and secured from the Danger we apprehend of the French over-running them, which was formerly taken Notice of in a Letter concerning Naval Stores, where Mention is made of their Encroachments upon us in Nova Scotia; their getting from us Cape Breton, and a Right of Fishery upon Newfoundland; their seizing and settling Part of Hispaniola. They have built the Forts of Mobile, Pensacola, Halbamas, Cusatees, Prudhome, Creve-coeur, La Salle, Deonville, Frontenac, Mont Real, and several others from the Missisippi, and so down the River St Lawrence, upon the Back of all our Settlements. If we have any Sense of the Value of that commodious

Tract of Land, it ought to put upon securing to ourselves such excellent Colonies, which may, if properly improved, bring this Nation a very great Treasure; and at least build some Forts upon the Apulachean Mountains, to secure us the Right of the Mines contained in them, to protect the Indian and Skin Trade, and to preserve the Navigation to ourselves of those great Rivers which have their Fountains in the said Hills, and empty themselves thro’ Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, etc, into the Virginian Sea. The Dutch, while they had New-York, fortified it, built Fort Albany, and some other Fortifications; and seeing the Methods the French take to fortify Places so near us, and the Care of other Nations to secure their Colonies abroad, a great many People admire it has not stirred us up to do the like. But I hope the Time is drawing near, when those Colonies will be more valued, and a greater Care taken to improve and preserve them.”

Joshua Gee continues: “WE are informed the very Land for planting of Mulberry-Trees in many Parts of Italy, is worth from Three to Five Pounds an Acre, and Gentlemen there, as well as in Sicily, fell their Mulberry Leaves to the Poor for Half the Silk they make, and the Money is equally divided between them upon Sale of the Silk; and that the Leaves of a Tree there hath yielded three or four Pounds. Now if the Manufacture of Silk, and the planting of Mulberry-Trees has raised the Land to be so valuable, and some Gentlemen receive such considerable Revenues from their Crops of Leaves, very great Things may be expecting by our encouraging and promoting the Manufacture of Silk in our Colonies, where as much Land may be had for Six-pence, as in Italy for Five Pounds. And if great Numbers of Mulberry-Trees were planted among the Indian Nations bordering on our Settlements, and some skilful good-temper’d Persons employ’d to instruct them in the proper Seasons for gathering Leaves, and feeding the Worms, and rewarding them bountifully for their Pains, those People might be brought to be very profitable Subjects to this Nation. The Spaniards, notwithstanding their Pride, have found Condescention enough to instruct the Indians under their Jurisdiction, to make them very serviceable in carrying on and improving the Manufactures of Indigo, Cocheneal, and several others, to the great Advantage of New Spain; and the French, in their Settlements about the River St Lawrence, the great Lakes, and even to the Missisippi, take a great deal of Pains to instruct them in every Thing they think may contribute towards enriching their Mother Country. They go with them on their long Travels in their Hunting-Seasons; and now they have got Cape Breton, I am informed, make those Indians inhabiting that Part of the Continent, very useful to them in their Fisheries. If the Spaniards and French can draw those People to be so serviceable to them, I do not see it is impossible, if Kindness, Justice, and good Nature was shewed them, but they may be brought to be very serviceable to us also.”

The trade and navigation of Great Britain

1740: Robinson, Sir John Beverley

Sir John Beverley Robinson; Canada, and the Canada bill; J Hatchard and son; 1740

Sir John Beverley Robinson writes: “This, too, has been reckoned a misfortune, as it was certainly a fault in those who made the extraordinary concession; but a little consideration, I think, will convince us that, after all, it is not to be regretted. A country of such boundless extent, of such variety of climate and production, to a great part of which the Mississippi, and not the St Lawrence, is the natural outlet – would hardly have been maintained for a long period in dependence on the British crown. Being divided from the United States by no natural boundary, the amalgamation of a people speaking the same

language would long before this time have proceeded to such an extent as to decide almost silently the question of country.”

Sir John Beverley Robinson continues: “There are in the Lower Province immense tracts on the south side of the St Lawrence, accessible to the emigrant, where the land is fertile and excellently watered, and the climate particularly healthful.

“The winters are indeed severe, as compared with this country and with most other parts of America; but on the other hand fuel is abundant and cheap, and the seasons undoubtedly admit of raising such crops as will support in plenty a dense population: in short, that part of Canada possesses such advantages as enable it to improve certainly, and beyond measure, the condition of the industrious poor, who languish for want of employment in many parts of the British islands. And to desire that those should be transferred thither would, to say the least, be no unpatriotic wish for an Englishman to entertain: for in a country like this, where trade and agriculture are pushed to the utmost, it is remarkable how speedily the vacum occasioned by emigration is filled up, to that point at least which admits of labour being furnished for all. There are, in that small treatise of the late Lord Selkirk on emigration which I have already cited, some remarkable and interesting proofs adduced of this from the Highlands of Scotland and the Hebrides, from whence there has been considerable emigration to America, from time to time, for more than sixty years past.

“Then, when we turn to Upper Canada, we find a country of large extent, with a soil unsurpassed in fertility, and a climate that admits of the cultivation of the very finest wheat; abounding in valuable timber, and in the most useful minerals, with the advantage of navigable waters running through it, and around it, in a manner that cannot be seen without admiring so beautiful an arrangement of nature.

“The chain of lakes and rivers, from Lake Superior downwards, composes the noblest inland channel of fresh waters on the globe; and it is, I think, no extravagant pretension to challenge for the St Lawrence the pre-eminence over every other river in the world. There are some which, passing through hotter and less healthy climates, are not abstructed for any part of the year by ice; and some perhaps, which, from their source of their outlet, flow over a longer line; though there are few that are navigable for ships of large burthens to so great a distance from the sea. But let it be considered that no marshes well defined; no crocodiles or alligators infest its shores; it abounds in what is valuable, but produces nothing that is noxious; no deadly fevers desolate the country through which it runs; it is subject to no inundations; and its clear and wholesome waters are fit for every domestic use. I may add, that, under a temporate climate, it pursues its majestic course through fertile lands, in which the state of slavery nowhere prevails, and lands which are distinguished by the language, the laws, the freedom, and the enterprize of the British race.

“Around the province, to the northward, flows the noble river Ottawa, which, by its connexion with Lake Huron, forms a chain of waters encircling that portion of the vast territory of Upper Canada which includes all its agricultural settlements, and, in fact, all its surveyed and organised districts.

“Beyond this line, it is doubtful whether civilization will ever be extended; and even within it there is an immense tract yet unexplored, of which the greater part is believed to be uninhabitable; not so much on account of the climate, for it all lies within the 47th degree of north latitude, but because, so far as it is known, it is in a great measure covered with lakes and rocks, and presents a most uninviting

appearance. It is reported, however, that within this region there are large tracts of fertile land, which will, of course, not be occupied till the more accessible parts of the country have been filled.

“Upper Canada, taking into consideration only that part of it which is bounded on the south and west by the St Lawrence and the lakes Ontario, Erie, and Huron, and on the north by a line drawn from Gloucester Bay, on Lake Huron, to the settlements on the River Ottawa, is indeed a magnificent territory, as regards its climate, its soil, timber, and other productions, the inland seas, by which it is almost encompassed, and the innumerable rivers and streams which everywhere intersect it. But still (and this fact has always appeared to me very important to be borne in mind) it is not that almost boundless territory which it is by many supposed to be; its area will be found not to be greater than that of several of the individual States of the American Union; not materially differing from the area of the single State of New York; and looking (as for practical purposes it is reasonable to do) upon that territory as composing Upper Canada, which lies within this line of demarkation, and is alone likely to be the seat of a resident agricultural population, it is a compact territory, happily situated, as regards its relative position to the United States, and to the other colonies, capable, from its extent, of supporting a people sufficiently numerous, with the aid of Great Britain, to defend their soil from invaders; but not large enough, considering the circumstance of its inland position, to maintain itself as a sovereign power on the American continent. When I say that it is happily situated, I mean for the purpose of perpetuating British dominion in North America. For let us consider for a moment, if Upper Canada, had been filled like the State of New York, with an American, instead of a British population, how could Lower Canada have been preserved a British colony? We need hardly pursue the inquiry further: the fate of the other British possessions in America would not be long uncertain, if the flag of England no longer waved on the citadel of Quebec, or over the waters of the St Lawrence.”

Sir John Beverley Robinson continues: “It is not my intention to enter in any degree into the history of recent political events in that colony. They have become pretty well known. I have already spoken of the climate and soil of this extensive and valuable province. It is fortunate that it still remains in the power of the government to provide largely for the reception in it of British emigrants; and in that very quarter, (on the south side of the St Lawrence,) where they would in every point of view be most eligibly situated.”

Sir John Beverley Robinson continues: “The Rideau canal was undertaken while the Duke of Wellington was in office, and with a view chiefly to the military defence of the province. Its value in that respect is apparent. It secures the defence of Canada, up to Kingston, by affording a passage for troops, and military and naval stores, independent of the St Lawrence; and it remedies the evil of that singular arrangement by which a small streamlet parting from the waters of the St Lawrence, and coursing round Barnhart’s Island, was accepted as the main channel of the river; though it is easily fordable by persons on horseback or on foot; and the effect is to bring us almost pistol shot of what has thus been made the territory of the United States.”

Sir John Beverley Robinson continues: “The division of Canada into two provinces was, on more accounts than one, a measure of absolute necessity. In the year 1791, when it took place, the agricultural settlements which had been formed in the upper part of the province by disbanded soldiers and American loyalists had become considerable. Some thousands of people had spread themselves over the district of Niagara, and over lands still more remote from Quebec, particularly in the western district. Between these new settlements and the country upon the St Lawrence there were large tracts

of wilderness intervening, which the Indians still held as hunting-grounds, and through which there was no road whatever in the year 1791, when the Act was passed, nor for some years afterwards.”

Sir John Beverley Robinson continues: “On the other hand, to have had two codes of law in one province or to have made a distinction in the administration of justice between suitors in the same court, would have been absurd and impracticable. It was to avoid these difficulties that Canada was divided into two provinces, in order that the French Canadians, who were settled in the one portion of it, might continue to live under their peculiar laws, which Parliament, whether wisely or not, had restored to them in 1774; while the British settlers, who were pouring themselves rapidly into the other portion, might enjoy a system better suited to their habits, and much more likely to promote their welfare. – The course was extremely natural and just, and was, in fact, the almost necessary consequence of the restoration of the French law, which had been the act of other ministers. It is nevertheless deeply to be regretted that, for the purpose of including in Lower Canada the whole of the French population, the line of division was carried up the river St Lawrence to that point where the old settlements terminated, and where the English settlements commenced, or about sixty miles above Montreal, to which town and no further the St Lawrence is navigable for ships; thus excluding Upper Canada from the free enjoyment of a sea-port.”

Canada, and the Canada bill

1749: Douglass, William

William Douglass; A Summary, Historical and Political, of the First Planting, Progressive Improvements, and Present State of the British Settlements in North America …; Vol 1; Rogers and Fowle in Queen-Street; 1749

William Douglass writes: “From Cape Rosiers at the Southern Side of the Mouth of the River St Laurence, in north latitude 50 degrees 30 minutes to La Riviere puant or the Indian Tribe, called the Mission of Besancourt, over against Les Trois Rivieres, are about 400 Miles: The Barrenness of the Soil, Impracticableness of the Mountains, which lie but a small Way South of the great River, the Rapidity of the short Rivers or Runs of Water from these Mountains; renders the Country unhospitable, especially there being no proper Water Carriage for Indian Canoes: Here are no Indian Tribe Settlements, and as if in a Defart, no humane Kind to the met with, only a very few Indian Travellers. In Massachusett’s New Charter, Anno 1661, the Claim is kept up in its Extent, by express Words, ‘To the Gulf of St Laurence and Canada Rivers.’ By our last Treaty with the French, which was that of Utrecht 1713, L’ Acadie or Nova Scotia was confirmed to us; the French Commission to their last Governor Subercasse, was from Cape Rosiers to Quenebec River; this River lies nearly in the same Meridian with Quebeck, and the Head of it not above fifty or sixty Miles distant from Quebec, the Metropolis of Canada, or New France. The Mouth of Sagadabock or Quenebec River, lies nearly in 44 degrees north latitude. Quebec, according to M de l’ Isle’s accurate Observations, lies in 46 degrees 55 minutes north latitude from the Entrance of Sagadohoc to Norridgwag, the Head Quarters on Quenebec River, of a considerable Tribe of the Abnequie Indian Nation our Subjects, or Dependents; are not exceeding 100 Miles, thence up Quenebec River, almost due North, so far as Indian Canoes with Paddles and setting Poles can proceed, about 70 Miles; these 170 Miles, allowing for the Meanders or crooked Turnings of the River may be computed at 2 Degrees of Latitude, remains about 60 Miles only, to Quebeck; hilly bad Travelling; the Norridgwag Indians Road to Canada, is up to the Head of Quenebec River, and thence by several Lakes and Carrying

Places, to the River La Chaudierie very rapid, which falls into St Laurence River about 4 or 5 Leagues about Quebeck: Their best but longest travelling Road is from Quenebec River to Connecticut River, up Connecticut River, and thence to the River St Francois, which falls into St Laurence River, about four or five Leagues above Les Trois Rivieres.”

William Douglass continues: “There is a River with the French Coureur des Bois, call St Lawrence coming from the Westward, falls into the Northern Parts of the upper Lake, nearly 100 degree west from London, and the same Latitude with the Bottom of Hudson’s Bay, and communicating with it by Water Canoe Carriage; the North Parts of Calefornia lie in about 130 degrees West from London (according to Dr Hally’s accurate laying of it) and in Latitude 42 degrees; thus the Difference of Longitude is only 30 degrees; which at the Medium Latitude of 45 degrees (14 Leagues to a Degree) makes only 420 Leagues; and if Calefornia is divided from the Continent by a Sinus or Straits, this will render the Distance to that Straits still shorter. By going up this River so far as Water Canoe Carriage will allow, and then perhaps only some short Land Carrying Place to some Rivulet or River running Westward towards the Seas of California or Western Ocean, if some Ridge or Chain of impracticable Mountains do not intervene. But cui bono all this Puzzle? only to ascertain the Geography of that Country; it can be of no Use in Navigation.”

A Summary, Historical and Political, of the First Planting, Progressive Improvements, and Present State of the British Settlements in North America...

1753: Green, John

John Green; Remarks, in Support of the New Chart of North and South-America in Six Sheets; Thomas Jefferys, London; 1753

John Green writes: “I have likewise rectified the Limits of New-Scotland or Acadia, which according to the above-mentioned Treaty, are the River St Lawrence on the North, Penobscot River on the West, and the Gulpf of St Lawrence on the East: Whereas Mr D’ Anville marks the Bounds, by a Line drawn through the Continent, from the Lake Ontario to the Gulph of St Lawrence, a little to the North of Bay-Verte, or Green-Bay in Acadia, by which Misrepresentation he transfers above one half of the Province to his own Nation.”

Remarks, in Support of the New Chart of North and South-America in Six Sheets.-London, Thomas Jefferys 1753

1755: Colden, Cadwallader

Cadwallader Colden; The History of the Five Indian Nations of Canada; Vol 1; 3rd edition; 1755

Cadwallader Colden writes: “The Nipeceriniens, who then lived on the Banks of the St Lawrence River, fled upon this to the Northward, believing that the extreme Coldness of the Climate, and a barren Soil, would be the securest Defence against the Ambition of the Five Nations. The Remainder of the Quatoghies fled with the Utawawas Southwestward; and for the greater Security, settled in an Island,

which being further than the Name of the Five Nations had then reached, they trusted to the Distance of the Place, and the Advantage of its Situation.”

Cadwallader Colden continues: “And Goods are daily carried from this Province to the Sennekas, as well as to those Nations that lie nearer by Water all the Way, except three Miles (or in the dry Seasons, five Miles) where the Traders carry over Land between the Mohawks-River and the Wood Creek, which runs into the Oneida-Lake, without going near either St Lawrence-River, or any of the Lakes upon which the French pass, which are entirely out of their Way.

“The nearest French Forts or Settlements to Albany, are Chambly and Montreal, both of them lying about North and by East from Albany, and are near two hundred Miles distant from it. Quebeck lies about three hundred and eighty Miles North-East from Albany. So far it is from being true, and the Five Nations are situated upon the Banks of the River St Lawrence, opposite to Quebeck, that Albany lies almost directly between Quebeck and the Five Nations. And to say that these Indians cannot come to trade at Albany, but by going down the River St Lawrence, and then into a Lake eighteen Leagues from Albany (we suppose they mean Lake Champlain) passing by the French Forts, is to the same Purpose as if they should say, that one cannot go from London to Bristol, but by the Way of Edinburg.”

Cadwallader Colden continues: “This is easily answered, by informing your Excellency, that the principal of the Goods proper for the Indian Market are only of the Manufactures of Great-Britain, or of the British Plantations, viz Strouds, or Stroud-Waters, and other Woollens, and Rum. The French must be obliged to buy all their Woollens (the Strouds especially) in England, and thence carry them to France, in order to their Transportation to Canada. The Voyage to Quebeck through the Bay of St Lawrence, is well known to be the most dangerous of any in the World, and only practicable in the Summer Months. The French have no Commodities in Canada, by reason of the Cold and Barrenness of the Soil, proper for the West-India Markets, and therefore have no Rum but by Vessels from France, that touch at their Islands in the West-Indies. New-York has by Reason of its Situation, both as to the Sea and the Indians, every Way the Advantage of Canada. The New-York Vessels make always two Voyages in the Year from England, one in Summer and another in Winter, and several Voyages in a Year to the West-Indies. It is manifest therefore, that it is not in the Power for the French to import any Goods near so cheap to Canada, as they are imported to New-York.”

Cadwallader Colden continues: “The Method of carrying Goods upon the Rivers of North-America, into all the small Branches, and over Land, from the Branches of one River to the Branches of another, was learned from the Indians, and is the only Method practicable through such large Forests and Deserts as the Traders pass thro’, in carrying from one Nation to another, it is this; the Indians make a long narrow Boat, made of the Bark of the Birch-tree, the Parts of which they join very neatly. One of these Canoes that can carry a Dozen Men, can itself be easily carried upon two Mens Shoulders; so that when they have gone as far by Water as they can (which is further than is easily to be imagined, because their loaded Canoes don’t sink six Inches into the Water) they unload their Canoes, and carry both Goods and Canoes upon their Shoulders over Land, into the nearest Branch of the River they intend to follow. Thus the French have an easy Communication with all the Countries bordering upon the River of St Lawrence, and its Branches, with all the Countries bordering upon these Inland-Seas, and the Rivers which empty themselves into these Seas, and can thereby carry their Burdens of Merchandize thro’ all these large Countries, which could not by any other Means than Water-carriage be carried thro’ so vast a Tract of Land.”

The History of the Five Indian Nations of Canada

1755: Evans, Lewis

Lewis Evans; Geographical, historical, political, philosophical and mechanical essays. The first, containing An analysis of a general map of the middle British colonies in America; 2nd edition; B Franklin and D Hall, MDCCLV. And sold by R&J Dodsley, London; 1755

Lewis Evans writes: “ST LAURENCE is navigable with Shipping, by a very difficult Channel, and much Fog, to Quebec. The Navigation thence to Montreal is in Shallops; and through there is Depth of Water, and a good Flood to assist as far as Trois Rivieres, which is half Way; the Passage is commonly five or six Days with a fair Wind, by Reason of sunken Rocks in the Tide Way, and the Shallowness of Lake St Pierre, compelling them to lie by a Nights; and the Rapidity of the Current thence to Montreal. From this to the Anise of la Galette, the River is full of Falls and Rifts for forty Leagues, where the Canoe Men are often obliged to carry over Land, and to wade in several Places. The River thence to Fort Frontenac, is very gentle and easily passed with Boats or Canoes. Though it bears the Name of St Laurence no further, I shall proceed with the Water that supplies it.”

Lewis Evans continues: “THE River Sorel, falls into St Lawrence, at the upper End of Lake St Pierre, and drains the Lake Champlain. The Stream is pretty moderate from the Mouth to the Bason at Chamle; from thence to St Jean are three Falls, impassable for any Craft, and for that Reason they make a Portage of six Miles. But this is little frequented. The Communication between the French and English Colonies is extreamly difficult by any other Way than this to Hudson’s River; which makes Lake Champlain and its Branches one of the most important Waters in North-America; insomuch, that whether the French or English remain Masters of it, the Colonies of the other must lie at their Mercy.”

Geographical, historical, political, philosophical and mechanical essays. The first, containing An analysis of a general map of the middle British colonies in …

1755: Huske, Ellis

Ellis Huske; The Present State of North America, etc; Vol 2; printed for, and sold by R&J Dodsley; 1755

Ellis Huske writes: “ACADIE, extending from the River of St Lawrence to the River Pantagoit or Penlbscot, was not only first discovered, but first settled by the English; for in 1602 we had, both by the Accounts of English and French Historians, a Settlement in that Country, which is two Years before ever a French Family settled in any Part of it, as appears from the same Authority. In 1620 all that Part of Acadie as far as the 48 degrees of north Latitude, was granted by the Crown to the Council of Plymouth or New-England, which Company I shall have further occasion to speak of. In 1621 the Council of New-England resigned to the Crown all Parts of their Grant to the Northward of the River St Croix, when it was then granted with the rest of Acadie to Sir William Alexander, Secretary of State for Scotland, and called Nova-Scotia. In 1623 King Charles the 1st, marrying a Daughter of the French King, gave all Acadie or Nova-Scotia to France. In 1627 it was taken from the French by Sir David Kirk. In 1632 it was again ceded to France by the Treaty of St Germain. In 1654 Cromwell sent and reduced it. In 1662 it was again

delivered up the French King by Charles II and confirmed to France at the Treaty of Breda in 1667, notwithstanding a Remonstrance against it from the Parliament of England and the People of New-England. In 1690 it was taken by 700 New-England Men, at the Expence of that Country, which was never reimbursed them. In 1697 it was again ceded to France. In 1710 it was reduced again by Forces from Great-Britain and New-England, and confirmed by the Treaties of Utrecht and Aix La Chapelle to the Crown of Great-Britain, ‘With its antient Boundaries, as also the City of Port-Royal, as fully as ever France possessed them by Treaty or other Means.’”

Ellis Huske continues: “The first Year the Dutch begun to settle in this Country, they entered into an Alliance with, and by Treaty did acquire the Protection and Sovereignty of, the Five Nations of Indians then living on the South Side of St Lawrence River, opposite to Montreal; who are known to the English under the Names of Mohawks, Oneydoes, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senekas; and to the French by the general Name of Iroquois. This Alliance and Subjection continued without a Breach on either Side till 1664, when the English upon the taken of New-Netherlands, which from this time was called New-York, immediately entered into a strict Friendship with those Five Nations, which has held without the least Breach to this Day. The Five Nations by this Treaty acknowledged to the Governor of New-York at Albany, ‘That they had given their Lands and submitted themselves to the King of England.’ And in a few Years after they desired and had the Duke of York’s Arms put up at each of their Castles, as Tokens of their being Subjects and under his Protection. The above Treaty was made three Years preceding the first the French ever made with them, for they were constantly at War with the Five Nations, as appears by their own, as well as our, Historians, from 1603, when they first settled at Canada, to 1667, when they entered into a Treaty of Friendship only, which continued till 1683, when the French most perfidiously broke it. The above Right of Sovereignty and Property, conveyed to us, the Five Nations recognized by a Treaty in 1684, and by another at Albany in 1687. And at this last Treaty, when Col Dungan, Governor of New-York, could not support them openly, having positive Orders from King James II to procure Peace for the French, they expressed themselves to the Governor and Commissioners of New-York in these Words, ‘Brethren, you tell us the King of England is a very great King, and why should not you join with us in a very just Cause, when the French join with our Enemies in an unjust Cause? O Brethren, we see the Reason of this; for the French would fain kill us all, and when that is done they would carry all the Beaver Trade to Canada, and the King of England would lose the Land likewise; and therefore, O great Sachem, beyond the great Lake, awake and suffer not those poor Indians that have given themselves and their Lands under your Protection, to be destroyed by the French without a Cause.’ All which Grants they further confirmed by several subsequent Treaties, and a Deed of Sale of all their hereditary and conquered Country, for a valuable Consideration, in 1701. Which was also renewed 1726; and again, very particularly so, at a Treaty held at Lancaster in the Province of Pennsylvania in 1744. But as Treaties with the Natives of America by European Powers may not be though sufficient, or be admitted, in support of a Claim to Property and Jurisdiction, in a European national Discussion, unless confirmed by a European Treaty between contending Nations for American Rights, I have not quoted any, or shall I, (though there are many subsisting in almost every part of his Majesty’s North-American Dominions, as much as the Purpose of Property and Jurisdiction as those of the Five Nations) but those that relate to the Iroquois, because they are fully and amply confirmed by France to Great-Britain in the Treaties of Utrecht and Aix La Chapelle. They are there acknowledged to be Subjects of, and the Dominion over them is ceded to, the Crown of Great-Britain; and it is stipulated that neither they, nor any other Indians, who were friends to the English, should be molested by the French, but that the Subjects of both Crowns should enjoy free Liberty of going and coming to the Colonies of either, for the

Promotion of Trade as a common Benefit. But as the Treaties of Utrecht and Aix La Chapelle refer the Dominion of each Crown over all the Indians in North-America, except the Iroquois, to be settled by Commissaries after the Ratifications were exchanged, the Treaties that have from time to time been made by his Majesty’s Governments in North-America with the Indians, will be of great Service if ever this Affair should come upon the Tapis. And if our Governors had known the Importance of such Treaties, they might have improved the Opportunities they have had with more Clearness and Precision than they have done in some Instances, both as to Dominion and Property.”

Ellis Huske continues: “From the Account I have thus collected of the Discoveries, Rights and Possession of the Crown of Great-Britain in North-America, it is clear that France cannot have any just Pretensions to any Part thereof from the North Pole to the twenty-ninth Degree of North Latitude on the Atlantic Ocean, and from thence due West of the South Seas; except to fish and cure Fish at Newfoundland, to the Isles in the Gulf of St Lawrence, and to Canada or New-France. And these they could never have had any Pretensions to if North-America had from the original Discovery of the Cabots been properly attended to by England.

“By the above State of his Majesty’s Rights, Canada is pared down to very narrow Limits, compared with what the French Historians and Map-makers (under the Authority of Government) delineate it to be. But there is no Foundation for any Pretence to extend this Province to the Northward beyond the South Bounds of Hudson’s-Bay Company’s Territories and New-Britain or Labradore; to the Westward beyond Lake Abitibis and the Course of the Utawawas River that disembogues directly opposite to Montreal; to the Southward beyond the North Side of the River of St Lawrence; and to the Eastward beyond the Limits of New-Britain or Labradore. I say this is Canada or New-France, and no Authority can be produced for its Extention any way. And this is the only Footing the French are entitled to upon the Continent of North-America. And I do repeat that they never would have had even this if the Court of England had but attended to its Interests in North-America. For the Cabots first explored the Gulf of St Lawrence, and two English Ships went up the River in 1527. Secretary Walsingham being informed of an Opening South of Newfoundland, fitted out Sir Humphry Gilbert, who sailed up St Lawrence River and took Possession for the Crown of England in 1583. And it was 1603 before the French begun to settle any where within the Gulf of St Lawrence, according to their own Historians. In 1629 Canada was taken the French by Sir David Kirk, but it was given by the Treaty of St Germain in 1632 without any Specification of Limits, which gives them all the Right they have to any Part of it. And Queen Anne in 1711, when she purposed the Reduction of it, dispersed a Manifesto in the Country, setting forth, ‘That Canada belonged to the English by Priority of Discovery, and what the French possessed there was by Grants from the English, and consequently held it only as a Fief, therefore where the Possessors turn Enemy, it reverts.’ I am not Lawyer enough to determine the Validity of such a Claim, but we may be assured nothing but the longest Sword will ever settle the Limits of this Province.”

Ellis Huske continues: “THE first French that ever appeared in North-America, according to their own Historians, were some Fishermen from Normandy, who fished on the Banks of Newfoundland in 1504. In 1506 the Sieur Denis discovered the Entrance into St Lawrence River. In 1508 Thomas Aubart entered the River St Lawrence, and brought some Savages from thence to Frence. In 1523 Verazani, a Florentine in the French King’s Service, coasted along the East Side of North-America, going ashore in several Places, and taking Possession for France, according to the Forms used in those Times, from 37 degrees to 50 degrees north Latitude. He also sailed up the River St Lawrence, and then returned to France without making any Settlement. In 1534 Cartier discovered Newfoundland, Baye Chaleur in the Gulf of

St Lawrence, cruized along the Coast of Acadie, and went up the River St Lawrence as high as Montreal, taking Possession for France, but made no Settlement. In 1540 Roberval built a Fort at Cape Breton, but soon abandoned it. He made no new Discoveries, and returned to France. In 1598 the Marquis De La Roche disembarked at the Islle of Sable in Acadie, but made no Establishment any where. In 1602 Chauvin sailed up the River St Lawrence as high as Trois Rivieres. In 1603 Monts entered Port-Mutton in Acadie, visited the Isle of St Croix, sailed as far as Kennebec River in New-England, then went to Port-Royal in Acadie, and returned to France in 1606 with all his People. In 1603 the French first began to settle on the River St Lawrence, on the North Side near Trois Rivieres, and in 1608 at Quebeck. They went on settling on the North Side of the River only, between Quebeck and Montreal, till 1629, when Sir David Kirk reduced Quebeck and its Dependences, called Canada or New-France, to the Obedience of the Crown of Great-Britain, which was restored to France by Treaty in 1632, and they have remained in Possession of it ever since. But certainly they derive no Right by this Cession to any further Extent of Territory than what was taken from them, which was only the District and Settlements between Quebeck and Montreal on the North Side of the River. This is the way France acquired Canada, the Limits of which I have stated in Page 39.

“By the Treaty of Utrecht, so far confirmed by that of Aix La Chapelle, the Islands of Cape-Breton, St John’s Anticosta, and all other Islands in the Gulf of St Lawrence, were ceded to France; notwithstanding they were again ours by the Conquest of Acadie or Nova-Scotia in 1710, which was surrendered to her Britannic Majesty with all its Dependences expressed in the Governor’s Commission, and all the Islands in the Gulf of St Lawrence were actually specified in his Commission, and the Limits of Acadie or Nova-Scotia were therein delineated to be what I have stated them in Page 10. But yet our iniquitous Managers of the Treaty of Utrecht had so far thrown the Power of stipulating the Terms of Peace into the Hands of the French, that when the Queen of Great-Britain condescended to share, what she had a Right to the whole of, Cape-Breton with them, and insisted neither Side should fortify, but the whole remain open for the Conveniency of each Nation’s Fishery, the French had so far got the Ascendancy as to exclude her from any part of this Island, and to obtain the pernicious Liberty to fortify it. Mr Moore, one of the Lords for Trade and Plantations, was so barefacedly corrupt upon the Discussion of this Point as to say, to those who urged the Necessity and Utility of excluding the French from this Island, ‘Must the French then have nothing?’”

Ellis Huske continues: “The French have also re-built a Fort in this Province since the Peace of Aix La Chapelle, at the Entrance into the River of St John’s, on the Western Side of the Bay of Fundy opposite to, and distant ten Leagues from, Annapolis-Royal; by which they have the Command of the River St John’s Indians, being about an hundred and fifty fighting Men, whom they occasionally issue upon the People of the North-East Parts of New-England. At the Entrance into this River there is a capacious Road for Ships of any Burthen, and on the North Side of the Road is a Streight, not Pistol Shot over, through which there is no passing but at the Top of the Tide when the Water is upon a Level, for at other times the Fall is so considerable, especially at low Water, as to make a Descent of thirty Feet. This Entrance on which the French Fort stands, is lined on both Sides by a solid Rock, and has more than forty Fathom of Water in its Middle. When you have passed this Streight the River spreads itself half a Mile in Width, and with a gentle Current towards its Outlet admits a delightful Navigation for large Ships, sixty Miles into the Country, and much further for smaller Vessels; taking its Source from three parts of St Lawrence River, one of which is directly opposite to Quebeck. The French have often conveyed Succours and Merchandize from Old France to Quebeck, both in Peace and War, up this River, to avoid the Difficulty

and Risque of the Navigation of St Lawrence River. By this River also they, as Occasion requires, convey Troops and Stores from Quebeck to the Neutral French, the Indians, and their other Forces in Nova-Scotia. And if they are suffered to remain in Possession of this River they may always have a Communication between France and Canada in Winter, which they cannot have only from May to October by St Lawrence River, and they will at all times have a much more safe and easy Conveyance to and from Canada than by St Lawrence. But what is more material they will be furnished with a Harbour, more commodiously situated for annoying the British Colonies, by Men of War and Privateers in Time of War, than that American Dunkirk Louisbourg itself; and at all times a convenient Port near the Ocean for furnishing Naval Stores to Old France, and their Sugar Colonies with Lumber of all sorts for the Construction of Dwelling Houses, Sugar Mills, and Cask to contain their Islands produce, which is what they have long aimed at, but never could secure before. In short there is not one Advantage we derive from the four Provinces of New-England, that they will not reap from this River when the Country comes to be fully settled by them. And they are bent upon securing a Footing upon or near the Atlantic Ocean, as they have not one Port, or any Territory in their own North-American Colonies near it, but the Islands in the Gulf of St Lawrence, which yield them nothing but a Security for their Fishery, and a Situation to distress and annoy our Colonies, and their Trade and Navigation, in Time of War. The French also deny our Right to navigate or visit any part of Nova-Scotia in the Gut of Canso and Gulf of St Lawrence, or to visit and settle Canso, which we settled soon after the Peace of Utrecht as part of Nova-Scotia, and carried on our principal Fishery at, till the late War when they took if from us; but Sir William Pepperell recovered it in his way to the Siege of Louisbourg. And every Year since the Peace of Aix La Chapelle the Governor of Louisbourg, and the Commanders in Chief on the Men of War that have been stationed there, have given public Notice that they will seize and confiscate all English Vessels they find at Canso, the Gut of Canso, or in the Gulf of St Lawrence.

“But those three Forts they have availed themselves of all the Province of Nova-Scotia, except the South-Eastern Peninsula. And although they do not dispute our Right to this, except Canso and the Harbours in the Gulf of St Lawrence, they have not suffered us to enjoy it since the Peace of Aix La Chapelle, but by their Encroachments and Depredations have so annoyed and distressed us, that we have not have able to do any more towards settling, even the Peninsula, than to establish four small Towns, and build four small Forts, which has been accomplished with vast Expence of Blood and Treasure. I think the Parliament of Great-Britain have granted since the late War 450,000 pounds for settling and securing Nova-Scotia, and all we have to shew for this immense Sum is the above four Towns or Villages, and four Forts.

“Since the Peace of Utrecht the French have settled seven Villages in the Province of the Massachusets-Bay on the South Banks of St Lawrence River between the Isle of Orleans and the Mouth of Iroquois, or Sorrel River. Some of these Villages are picketed in, but none of them have any Forts, or other Defence.”

Ellis Huske continues: “The French have in this Province also, several other Towns and Villages between the Mouth of Iroquois River and Montreal on the South Side of St Lawrence River; in which, with the seven Villages they have in the Massachusets Province, there are twenty-eight Parish Churches. And they have besides the Forts already mentioned, many Stockade Forts, or Block-houses, for Trading Lodges, in this Province.”

Ellis Huske continues: “From this Deduction of French Encroachments it appears that they have drawn a Line, and have a Chain of Forts and Settlements, all along the Back of our Settlements from the Gulf of St Lawrence to the Mouths of the Mississipi in the Gulf of Mexico, whereby they have accomplished their ancient Design of surrounding the British Northern Colonies Settlements, of fortifying themselves on the Back thereof, of taking Possession of the most important Passes of the great Rivers and Lakes, and of drawing off the Indians to their Interest, who they have more or less constantly, both in Peace and War, issued from their Forts on our Frontier Settlements, some of which they have destroyed, others they have impeded the Progress of, and in most of our Provinces prevented the projecting or making new Establishments. For there is nothing more terrible than Indian Wars, and wherever they have the Inhabitants eat their Bread in continual Fear and Trembling; no Man is sure when out of his House of ever returning to it again; while they labour in the Fields they are under terrible Apprehensions of being killed and scalped, or of being seized and carried to the Indian Country, there to end their Days in cruel Torments, or be turned over to the French to be redeemed at the Price of Black Slaves. They are many times obliged to neglect both their Seed Time and Harvest. The Landlord often sees all his Land plundered, his Houses burnt, and the whole Country ruined, while they can’t think their Persons safe in their Fortifications. In short, all Trade, Business, and Commerce is at an entire Stand, while Fear, Despair, and Misery appears in the Faces of the poor Inhabitants.”

The Present State of North America: &c

1757: Smith, William

William Smith; This history of the province of New-York, from the first discovery to the year M.DCC.XXXII; Jeffersonian Americana, from the University of Virginia Library; Thomas Wilcox; 1757

William Smith writes: “‘The French, says he, being in Possession of Fort Frontenac, at the Peace of Ryswick, which they attained during their War with the Confederates, gives them an undoubted Title to the Acquisition of the North-West Side of St Lawrence River, from thence to their Settlement at Montreal.’ The Writer adds; ‘It was upon the Faith and Honour of King William’s Promise (by the fourth Article of the Treaty of Ryswick) of not disturbing the French King in the free Possession of the Kingdoms, Counties, Lands, or Dominions he then injoyed, that I said the French had an undoubted Title to their Acquisition of the North-West Side of St Lawrence River, from Frontenac to Montreal.’”

The history of the province of New-York, from the first discovery to the year M. DCC. XXXII.

1758: Smith, William

William Smith, John Morin Scott, William Livingston; A Review of the Military Operations in North-America: From the Commencement of the French Hostilities on the Frontiers of Virginia in 1753, to the Surrender of Oswego, on the 14th of August, 1756. Interspersed with Various Observations, Characters, and Anecdotes; Necessary to Give Light Into the Conduct of American Transactions in General; and More Especially Into the Political Management of Affairs in New York In a Letter to a Nobleman; London: printed for R&J Dodsley in Pall-Mall, MDCCLVII. New-England, re-printed [by James Parker?]; 1758

William Smith, John Morin Scott, and William Livingston write: “After adjusting several points of rank, the members took their seats in the order mentioned; and the general opened the conference, by laying before the council the King’s instructions to General Braddock. He then delivered his sentiments to the board, to the following purpose: ‘That our only entrance into Lake Ontario was thro’ the Onondaga River to Oswego. No other harbour had his Majesty upon that lake, capable of receiving vessels of fore: That Oswego was situate in the country of the Onondagas, the centre canton of the Six Nations, and famous for the furr trade: no other mart could we boast, for commerce or correspondence with those numerous tribes of savages inhabiting the western country, on the banks of the great lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, and the many rivers which roll into them: That the Lake Ontario was only accessible to the Canadians, thro’ the river Cadaracqui, formerly called by the French Fleuve Iroquois – but in their late maps, calculated to countenance their exorbitant claims, distinguished by the name of St Lawrence. At the head of that river was their entrance into that lake; and near Fort Frontenac, situated on its north-eastern edge, about 50 miles from, and nearly opposite to, our fort at Oswego: That while the enemy possession of Frontenac, with the harbour at Fronte, and a free passage thro’ the Iroquois River, they would always be able to build and maintain vessels of force upon the lake: That his Majesty would therefore be necessitated to support a naval armament there, at least equal to that of the French. Without this, they might annoy any forts we could erect at the north east end of the pass at Niagara; and Oswego itself be lost. The inevitable consequence of which would be, the defection of the Six Nations, the loss of the whole country for near 300 miles from Oswego to Schenectady, and perhaps the reduction of Albany itself.’ The general added, ‘That all the French forts at Niagara, upon the lake Erie, and river Ohio, those also upon lake Huron, at the Streights of Missilimakinac, and the Lake Michigan still more westerly, received all their supplies by water-carriage from Montreal, thro’ the River Iroquois, and the Lake Ontario: That the French settlements at the mouth of the Mississippi furnished there northern garrisons neither with provisions nor stores; being not only at 2000 miles distance from any of them, but embarrassed with insuperable difficulties, by a laborious navigation against a rapid stream.’ Hence his excellency concluded, That could the French be dislodged from Frontenac and the little fort at Fronte, and their entrance into Lake Ontario obstructed, all their other forts and settlements on the Ohio, and the western lakes, was deprived of their support from Canada, and must ere long be evacuated.’

“IMPRESSED, my Lord, with these views, the general proposed, as a plan of operations for the next year ___ That 5000 men should be very early assembled at Oswego, and 4000 of them sent to attack Frontenac and La Gallette; which being reduced, an attempt should be made upon the forts at Niagara, Presque Isle, Riviere au Beuf, Detroit, and Missilimakinac: and that in the mean time, 3000 provincial troops should march from Will’s Creek, for the reduction of Fort Du Quesne: That a body of 10000 should proceed to Crown Point, build a fort there, and launch one or more vessels into Lake Champlain: And that the force of Canada might be farther divided, he proposed, that 2000 men should carry fire and sword up Kennebec River, fall upon the settlements adjoining to the River Chandiere, and proceed to its mouth, three miles distant from Quebec; and by dividing themselves in small parties along the banks of the river St Lawrence, and destroying the scattered settlements there, keep that part of Canada in continual alarms.”

A Review of the Military Operations in North-America: From the Commencement of the French Hostilities on the Frontiers of Virginia in 1753, to the Surrender …

1759: Martin, Benjamin

Benjamin Martin; Miscellaneous Correspondence, Containing a Variety of Subjects, Relative to Natural and Civil History, Geography, Mathematics, Poetry, Memoirs of Monthly Occurrences, Catalogues of New Books, etc; W Owen, and by the author; 1759

Benjamin Martin writes: “23. A French Ship Homeward-bound from Cape-Breton has been taken by the Torbay Man of War; and though the Frenchman threw all his Papers over-board, yet the Captain of the Torbay has learned from the French Officers, that on the 22d of June M de Beaufremont was cruising off Louisbourg with seven Sail of Men of War; and that M Dubois de la Mothe, and M du Revest, were going into the Mouth of the River St Lawrence, in order to send the Land Forces they had on board up the River in Shallops to Quebec; after which they proposed to return and join M de Beaufremont at Louisbourg.”

Miscellaneous Correspondence, Containing a Variety of Subjects, Relative to Natural and Civil History, Geography, Mathematics, Poetry, Memoirs of Monthly …

1760: Pichon, Thomas

Thomas Pichon; Genuine Letters and Memoirs relating to the natural, civil and commercial history of the Islands of Cape Breton, Saint John, from the first settlement there, to the taking of Louisburg by the English, in 1758 … By an impartial Frenchman [viz T Pichon]. Translated from the author’s original …; J Nourse; 1760

Thomas Pichon writes: “This island is situated in the Atlantic ocean and gulph of St Lawrence, about two hundred leagues from Quebec, the capital of Canada, to whose jurisdiction it belongs. It lies between the island of Newfoundland, from which it is only about fifteen leagues distant; Acadia, now called Nova Scotia; and the island of St John. From Nova Scotia it is parted by a very narrow channel, called by the French the strait of Fronsac. It is in length about thirty six leagues from north-east to south-west, twenty two in its greatest breadth, and about a hundred and five in circumference. The shore is very steep, consequently of dangerous access to mariners; and it is every where covered with small wood, of the spruce or fir kind, and with brambles. There are several harbours and bays round the island.”

Thomas Pichon continues: “Cape Breton protects the whole French trade of North America, and is of equal consequence in regard to their commerce in the West-Indies. If they had no settlement in this part of the north, their vessels returning from St Domingo or Martinico, would no longer be safe on the great bank of Newfoundland, particularly in time of war. Lastly, as it is situated at the entrance of the gulph of St Lawrence, it absolutely commands the river of that name.”

Thomas Pichon continues: “St John’s is the largest of all the islands in the gulph of St Lawrence, and has even the advantage of Cape Breton in point of fertility. Its length is twenty leagues, and circumference about fifty. It has a fate commodious harbour, with plenty of wood, and as great a conveniency for fishing as any place on the coast. It had been altogether neglected as well as Cape Breton; when

necessity having shewn the French the utility of the latter, their eyes were also opened in regard to the former. They have since been at great pains to plant this island, though not at enough, considering its advantageous situation. Having made a voyage upon this coast, I shall from thence, and not from second hand relations, which are frequently defective, give you a description of this country.”

Genuine Letters and Memoirs relating to the natural, civil and commercial history of the Islands of Cape Breton,   Saint   John, from the first settlement there, to …

1761: duc de Choiseul, Etienne-Francois

Etienne-Francois duc de Choiseul; An Historical Memorial of the Negotiation of France and England: From the 26th of March, 1761, to the 20th of September of the Same Year, with the Vouchers; D Wilson and T Becket and PA Dehondt; 1761

Etienne-Francois duc de Choiseul writes: “Before a Memorial of propositions was sent in form to the court of London, his Majesty’s Minister, entrusted to confer with M Stanley, gave him previous assurances of the sacrifices which his Majesty had resolved to make. He authorized him to write word, that France would guaranty the possession of Canada to England, provided that England would restore to the King the island of Cape Breton, and confirm the right of the French to fish, and dry their fish, in the gulf of St Lawrence, upon the coast, and in the island, of Newfoundland. As the island of Cape Breton, if fortified, might afford England matter of jealousy, the French Minister told M Stanley, that the King engaged to destroy all the fortifications which might remain in that island, and not to erect any new ones upon any pretence whatever. The port of Louisbourg being to be considered only as a shelter for the fisherman in the gulf of St Laurence, and on the coast of Newfoundland, France offered to restore the island of Minorca to England, provided they would give up the islands of Guadaloupe and Marigalante in return.”

An Historical Memorial of the Negotiation of France and England: From the 26th of March, 1761, to the 20th of September of the Same Year, with the Vouchers

1763: Almon, John

John Almon; A Review of Mr Pitt’s Administration; Vol 3; G Kearsly; 1763

John Almon writes: “The other plans of operation in America were: brigadier general Forbes was to go with about 8000 men to attack Fort Du Quesne near the Ohio, and seize the lands which the French had usurped: and general Abercrombie, the commander in chief, with about 16000 men, was to reduce Crown Point, in order to open a road to the frontiers of Canada. The latter of these plans did not succeed. The vanguard of the army, in its rout to Ticonderoga, a place which the general intended first to reduce before he attempted Crown Point, fell in with a party of the enemy’s Indians, upon which a skirmish of bush-fighting ensued, in which the gallant and admired lord Howe was slain. Notwithstanding this little disaster the army marched up to Ticonderoga (July 9) before which they

found the enemy had felled a great number of trees, and placed other things, to prevent the British troops approaching in regular order; the enemy had likewise thrown up intrenchments, and raised a breast-work eight feet high: however, the troops advanced in the best manner possible, and with an undaunted resolution mounted the works, sword in hand, unsupported by their artillery (which was not brought up) or any thing that could give them the least hopes of success, except what they could derive by their own personal prowess. In this naked manner they for four hours maintained a most bloody and unequal conflict. The enemy’s fire was terrible, as it was both from musquetry and cannon, and discharged in such vollies, the weight of which it was impossible to sustain. The enemy being securely covered by their works, which had been vainly attempted to be stormed, and there being no prospect of any thing but an increase of slaughter, the general ordered the troops to be drawn off, and to retreat, after a loss of about 2000 men; which was accordingly done without any molestation from the enemy. More fortunate, however, was an enterprize, which general Abercrombie detached lieutenant colonel Bradstreet to undertake. This officer, with 3000 men, was ordered to attack Fort Frontenac, situated on the river St Lawrence, which, when he approached, surrendered at discretion (Aug 27) notwithstanding there were in it 60 pieces of cannon and 16 mortars: he likewise took all the enemies armed vessels on Lake Ontario. Brigadier Forbes in the mean time marched towards Fort Du Quesne; but when his vanguard, under the command of major Grant, who designed to take the place by surprise, had approached within a few miles of the fort, he was surrounded by a greatly superior party of the enemy’s troops and Indians; on which an obstinate and cruel engagement began, which the English with their usual courage maintained near three hours, when being almost all cut to pieces, and major Grant, with 19 other officers, and a body of troops, made prisoners, they retreated and joined the main army. Notwithstanding the loss of this skirmish, brigadier Forbes advanced; but the enemy reflecting that their works could not withstand regular approaches, prudently abandoned the fort in time, and retired to their settlements on the Missisippi. Next day (Nov 25) the English troops, without opposition, took possession of the fort; the contention for which, with the lands contiguous to it, had kindled up the flames of war. The troops and officers emulated by their success, and glorying in the minister who directed their operations in so wise and effectual a manner, instantly changed the name of the fort, and, with a propriety and compliment which need not be pointed out, gave it the name of PITTSBURG. – Thus ended the first campaign in America under the auspices of Mr Pitt.”

John Almon continues: “As the enemies power in America had received a considerable blow by the reduction of Louisbourg, great expectations were formed from a continuance of the war in that quarter. An expedition was planned against the capital of Canada, and the command of the land forces was given to an Englishman, whose genius was modelled by nature for ardour and enterprize; whose active spirit and enterprising soul promised advantage to the public. The late success in America had been in a great measure owing to the well timing of the operations, in being early in making attempts on the enemy before they could possibly receive any assistance from Europe. The same steps were again pursued. In the month of February a fleet was dispatched from England commanded by the Admirals Saunders and Holmes. It was concerned, that while this fleet, with a number of troops on board, commanded by general Wolf, who was appointed to that eminence by the minister, should proceed up the river St Lawrence, general Amherst, with another considerable body, should proceed over land, in America, and join general Wolfe, in order to jointly attack Quebec, the capital of Canada; and that while these operations were performing, a third body of troops, commanded by the generals Prideaux and Johnson, should advance by Niagara to Montreal, the second principal place in Canada. Such was the plan for reducing that great province. The fleet arrived at Halifax, where having taken on board the troops, in

number about 8000, destined for the expedition, sailed up the river St Lawrence, and in the month of June general Wolfe landed on the isle of Orleans (not so high up as Quebec) of which he took possession, and also of a point of the continent, which lay opposite, called Point Levi. Quebec at this time was tolerably well fortified, the garrison reinforced, and the town covered by an army of 10,000 men, commanded by the marquis de Montcalm. As the defence of Quebec was thus so well provided for, the general did not hope to reduce it, therefore he resolved to attack some intrenchments which the enemy had thrown up to Montmorenci. For this purpose the grenadiers were landed on the beach, with orders to form upon it, and wait till they were reinforced; but such was their ardour, that as soon as they were landed they unsupported rushed on the enemy, who being greatly superior they were repulsed and thrown into disorder. The loss was considerable; but to prevent its being greater, the general ordered them to retreat. This miscarriage was a very discouraging circumstance. There appeared on every side such a number of difficulties to be surmounted, that the general’s only hope seemed to be in the success of this attempt. The failure made a great impression on his mind. His aggravation threw him into a dangerous illness, his mind was too great to brook with any misfortune that might expose him to reproach or censure. In the transports of his chagrin and affliction he was heard to say, he would never return unless he was victorious. The hope, however, of still being able, through some resource, to execute his orders revived his spirits, and he began to recover; upon which he transmitted an account of his operations to the minister. Then he ordered some of the ships up the river, being determined to make his efforts on that side of the town: Admiral Holmes, who commanded these ships, on board of which was general Wolfe with about 5000 troops, was ordered to go further up than the place he intended to land at, in order to draw the enemy’s attention what way; and so far it answered, that Montcalm sent 1500 men to watch this fleet: while admiral Saunders made a feint, as if he intended to attack the enemy’s intrenchments below the town. On the 13th of September, at one o’clock in the morning, the troops were put into the boats, and under cover of the ships glided softly down the stream to the place of landing; where with admirable courage, but great difficulty, they landed, and ascended, after the example of the general, one by one, the woody precipices; and at length gained the summit, which is called the Heights of Abraham. Here they were formed, and drawn up in regular order before day light. This situation commanded the town. Montcalm now saw that he must hazard a battle: he instantly put his troops in motion, and advanced up to the English. General Wolfe placed himself in the front line of the center, in order to animate the troops by his example. The right and left wings were commanded by the generals Monckton, Murray, and Townsend. He ordered his men to reserve their fire, till the enemy were very close; which being done, was then discharged, and it made terrible havock among them: the bayonet was immediately made use of, which greatly increased the slaughter. The English had only fired twice, when the enemy began to fall into disorder and give ground. At this critical minute general Wolfe was killed by a shot in the breast. The French general was slain likewise, upon which the enemy into utter confusion, and abandoned the field of battle. The English lost about 500 men, and the French about 1500; but the death of general Wolfe was to the English the greatest misfortune: it was an event particularly grievous to his country, though to himself the happiest that can be imagined. Officers may be formed by experience; but a genius in war, a soul like his, can never be repaired. Five days after the battle, the city of Quebec surrendered to general Townshend, on whom the command had devolved. It is particularly worthy observation, that the conquest of Canada was owing to the singular ardour and intrepidity of general Wolfe: it was he, and he only, which formed the desperate resolution of landing, and climbing the Heights of Abraham. This brought on the battle; and thus was Quebec conquered. Had a commander of an ordinary capacity been

employed in this enterprise (such as Britain has frequently seen entrenching themselves in excuses and punctilios) he would have been staggered by the difficulties, discouraged by the repulse at Montmorenci, and judged the landing impracticable. Thus would the great scheme have been defeated, a whole season lost, and the national treasure thrown away in equipping a fruitless expedition. What praises, what honours, what rewards, therefore are due to him, who by his single opinion prevented all this, and added to the British crown one of the brightest gems it ever wore? In the mean time general Amherst advanced to Crown Point, which, as well as Ticonderoga, the enemy abandoned on his approach; then he prepared to cross lake Champlain, and dislodge a numerous body of French troops, which lay intrenched at the bottom of the lake, in order to open a communication with general Wolfe: but by the time he had made his preparations, the stormy season was set in; and when he embarked, hoping to effect his designs, the weather was so cold and tempestuous, he was obliged to turn back, and postpone the remainder of his operations till the next campaign. Thus the great end of assisting general Wolfe was not accomplished; and that general was, as we have seen, left to the exertion of his single strength. The third part of the plan was more successful. General Prideaux advanced to fort Niagara, which by its excellent situation commands that extensive territory inhabited by the Iroquois Indians: he laid siege to it; but while the operations were carrying on, he was killed before the place by the bursting of a cohorn; upon which the command devolved upon general Johnson. The French, well knowing the importance of the fort, notwithstanding their distressed and distracted condition, collected a body of troops and Indians, and advanced to its relief; but general Johnson, who is extremely well acquainted with all the Indian methods of making war, and taking advantages of the ground, bushes, etc, gave them a warm reception, and in less than an hour totally defeated them: then he summoned the fort, and obliged the garrison, amounting to 600 men, to surrender prisoners of war that evening. Such was the second campaign in America, by which the English gained possession of Quebec, the capital of Canada; drove the French from their strong hold at Crown Point and Ticonderoga; and took fort Niagara, which opened the road to Montreal, the second principal place in Canada, and the only one which the French now held in that great province.”

John Almon continues: “In America the entire reduction of Canada was achieved. It is true, indeed, the French force which remained at Montreal, under the command of the marquis de Vaudreuil, the governor, made some efforts to regain Quebec. They, early in the season, while the river St Lawrence was unnavigable by the ice, marched to attack Quebec; and general Murray, who was appointed governor of that city, marched out and gave them battle: he had the misfortune to be defeated, and the French began to besiege the city; but lord Colville, who, by the prudence of the minister, was stationed at Halifax with a squadron, in order to act as exigencies might require, as soon as he heard of these transactions, forced his way up the river St Lawrence; upon which the French instantly abandoned their enterprize, and fled to Montreal with the greatest precipitation. General Amherst, who conducted his operations over land, advanced to Montreal in the month of September, M Vaudreuil having no resource, nor any hope of assistance, instantly surrendered to him the whole province of Canada.”

A review of Mr. Pitt's administration

1764: Almon, John

John Almon; An history of the Parliament of Great Britain, from the death of Queen Anne, to the death of King George II; G Kearsly; 1764

John Almon writes: “ARTICLE XVII.

“That whereas in or about the month of January, in the year 1710-11, a dangerous and destructive expedition had been projected and set on foot, under pretence of making a conquest on the possessions of the French king in North America, but with a real design to promote his interests, by weakening the confederate army in Flanders, and dissipating the naval force of this kingdom, as well as for the sake of the private interests and corrupt gain of the promoters of the said expedition; he the said Robert earl of Oxford and earl Mortimer, being then one of her late majesty’s privy council, and one of the commissioners of her majesty’s treasury, was not only wanting in his duty to her late majesty, by wilfully and industriously absenting the meetings of other persons, then in high trust under her majesty, wherein the said expedition was concerted, and by not advising her majesty against, and doing what in him lay, to have prevented the putting the same in execution, but did, contrary to his oath, and the high trust then reposed in him, advise her majesty to consent to the making an expedition for the conquering of Canada, and the city of Quebeck, on the river of St Lawrence, in North America; and in execution of his said evil counsels, he did further advise her majesty to give orders for detaching several battalions of the forces then in the service of her majesty, in conjunction with her allies in Flanders, and to send the same, with a large squadron of men of war, on the said enterprize; altho’ the said Robert earl of Oxford and earl Mortimer well knew, that the said project or expedition having been frequently deliberated on and maturely considered, a short time before, in a committee of council, was then laid aside as dangerous and impracticable. And a demand being made at the treasury, on or about the months of May or June, 1711, for the sum of 28000 pounds or thereabouts, on pretence of arms and merchandise said to be sent in the said expedition to Canada, he the said Robert earl of Oxford and earl Mortimer, being then lord high treasurer of Great Britain, and one of her majesty’s privy council, tho’ he well knew, or had reason to suspect, that the same was an unjust and exorbitant demand, and a great abuse on her majesty and the publick, and such as ought not to have been complied with, was not only wanting in his duty to her majesty, in not giving his humble advice against the said demand, or at least in not representing to her majesty the grounds of such his suspicion, but did, contrary to his oath and his duty, advise her majesty that the said sums should be issued and paid, and did accordingly countersign a warrant to the paymaster of her majesty’s forces, for the payment of the same, pursuant to which the same was afterwards issued and received. And in further violation of his oath, his duty and trust, and with the most corrupt design to prevent the justice due to her majesty, and the nation, he the said Robert earl of Oxford and earl Mortimer, being then lord high treasurer of Great Britain, and exercising a most unexampled arbitrary power, not only in her majesty’s private councils, but extending his evil influences to the great council of the nation: after the said expedition had proved unsuccessful, and it had been discovered to him the said Robert earl of Oxford and earl Mortimer, that the nation had been cheated of above twenty thousand pounds on that account, did most ungratefully and corruptly employ his wicked arts, and the credit which he had gained by this false and crafty insinuations and practices, to keep the house of commons from examining that affair. And in or about the month of August, 1714, in a letter or memorial, under his own hand, to her late majesty, he did presume, not only to insinuate the ill opinion he therein pretended always to have had of the said expedition, but did declare the suspicions he had of the great injury and abuse done to her majesty and the publick, in the demand of the said 28,000 pounds even at that time, when the same was made, and that the publick had been cheated of

above 20,000 pounds on that account; and in the said memorial did presume further to declare to her majesty, ‘That he was forced to use all his skill and credit to keep the house of commons from examining that affair the last parliament’: thereby vainly, but most wickedly, recommending himself to the continuance of her majesty’s favour, by the success of his most profligate measures. By all which unparalleled corruptions, and most dangerous counsels and practices of him the said Robert earl of Oxford and earl Mortimer, the good and faithful allies of her majesty were deprived of the aid of her majesty’s troops, to which they were intitled by their conventions, and the confederate army in Flanders was greatly diminished, to the apparant advantage of the common enemy. The publick money, granted by parliament for reducing the power of France, and which was expressly appropriated for other special services, was arbitrarily and illegally misapplied and embezzelled, and an heavy debt incurred on the nation, not only fitting the parliament, but even in contempt and defiance of a representation made by the house of commons to the throne, even whilst the said expedition was concerting, and whereby the highest injustice was done, in suppressing an enquiry, so just to her majesty and her people, and a lasting reproach and scandal brought on that house of commons of which he boasted, as having been wrought on by his corrupt influence, not to examine into so high and so scandalous an abuse.”

An history of the Parliament of Great Britain, from the death of Queen Anne, to the death of King George II.

1766: Hopkinson, Francis

Francis Hopkinson, Joseph Reed, Stephen Watts, John Morgan, William Smith (College, Academy, and Charitable Schools of Philadelphia); Four Dissertations, on the Reciprocal Advantages of a Perpetual Union Between Great-Britain and Her American Colonies: Written by Mr Sargent’s Prize-medal. To which (by Desire) is Prefixed, an Eulogium, Spoken on the Delivery of the Medal at the Public Commencement in the College of …; Vol 3; William and Thomas Bradford, at the London Coffee-House; 1766

Francis Hopkinson, Joseph Reed, Stephen Watts, John Morgan, and William Smith write: “Canada borders to the Northward upon the provinces of Nova-Scotia, New-England and New-York. It is the oldest of all the French establishments, and prior to the settlement of New-England. Quebec is the capital of this province. It is built on the river St Lawrence, upon which are the principal settlements of this Colony. A vast trade already is, and a much greater may in time be carried on with the Indians, on the prodigious fresh water Lakes, on which there are five in number, in extent to be considered as so many seas. They communicate with one another, and the last of them with the River St Lawrence, which effectually commands the trade of the Lakes, and has an influence upon all the nations of Indians which confine upon them.”

Francis Hopkinson, Joseph Reed, Stephen Watts, John Morgan, and William Smith continue: “Great-Britain has been the bulwark of the Protestant interest, ever since its existence; and by her the attacks of its enemies have been repelled. The British Colonies, established on principles of Civil and Religious Liberty, have hitherto been protected therein by their own noble efforts, and her kind assistance; and while they remain united, the enjoyment of their liberties of both kinds, will, no doubt, be continued in its full extent. What would be the consequence of a disunion, none can tell; but there is more than a probability, that these particulars would be deeply affected. France, our ever-watchful enemy, will be

ready to seize any advantage that may offer. She would have her armaments prepared to enter by St Lawrence and the Missisippi, and might possibly over-run all the Colonies. Should this be the case, the candle of Science would be seen extinguished, and Ignorance introduced, in order to keep up a blind devotion and implicit obedience. The Genius of Liberty would be driven from British America, where she hath hitherto delighted to reside; and whether the mother country would be more fortunate, I leave to the consideration of her Patriot Sons.”

Four Dissertations, on the Reciprocal Advantages of a Perpetual Union Between Great-Britain and Her American Colonies: Written for Mr. Sargent's Prize- …

1766: Sale, George

George Sale, George Psalmanazar, Archibald Bower, George Shelvocke, John Campbell, John Swinton; An University History, from the Earliest Account of Time; Vol 65; T Osborne; 1766

George Sale, George Psalmanazar, Archibald Bower, George Shelvocke, John Campbell, and John Swinton write: “WE are now to return southwards to give an account of Canada and Louisiana, the former of which the British arms made an intire conquest of in the late war; and the same was ceded and guarantied in full right to the crown of Great Britain, by the fourth article of the definitive treaty of peace. Geographers are not agreed in fixing the limits of Canada, so that it will be sufficient here to say, that as its extent is very considerable, both in length and breadth, its temperature, climate, soil, etc, cannot but vary accordingly: all that part which was inhabited by the French, and which is mostly along the banks of the great river St Lawrence, is, generally speaking, excessive cold in winter, though hot in summer, as most of those American tracts commonly are, which do not lie too far to the northward. The rest of the country, as far as it is known, is intersected with large woods, lakes, and rivers, which render it still colder. It has, however, no inconsiderable quantity of good fertile lands, which by experience are found capable of producing wheat, barley, rye, and other grain, grapes and fruit, and indeed almost every thing that grows in France; but its chief product is tobacco, which it yields in large quantities. There is likewise plenty of stags, elks, bears, foxes, mattens, wildcats, and other wild creatures in the woods, besides wildfowl and other game. The southern parts, in particular, breed great numbers of wild bulls, deer of a small size, divers sorts of roe-bucks, goats, wolves, etc. The meadow grounds, which are all well watered, yield excellent grass, and breed great quantities of large and small cattle; and where the arable land is well manured, it produces large and rich crops, the mountains abound with coal mines, and some, we are told, of silver and other metals, though we have not learned that any great advantage has been made of them. The marshy ground, which are likewise very extensive, swarm with otters, beavers, etc.”

George Sale, George Psalmanazar, Archibald Bower, George Shelvocke, John Campbell, and John Swinton continue: “TROIS RIVIERES, or the Three Rivers, so called from the three rivers which join their currents about a quarter of a mile below it, and fall into the great one of St Lawrence, was the capital of the French government, and much resorted to by several nations, which come down these rivers to it, and trade with it in various kinds of furs. The town here is surrounded with pallisades, and advantageously situated in the center of the country, and consequently free from the incursions of the savage Iroquois. It was the residence of the governor, who kept a major under him, and it has a

monastery of Recollects, who act as curates. It was formerly the common empory, where the wild natives brought their furs, and other commodities, for sale, before the English seized it in the reign of king Charles I and their settlement at Montreal. The colony was again restored in 1635, and the monks who had settled a mission there, returned to it in 1673. The country about it is pleasant, and fertile in corn, fruits, etc, and has a good number of lordships and handsome seats. On each side of the river stand a great number of genteel houses, scarce above a gun-shot from each other, and the river is full of pleasure and fishing boats, which serve for catching vast quantities of fish.

“MONTREAL is situated on an island of the same name, in the river of St Lawrence, and about fourteen leagues long, and four wide where broadest, and is very fertile in corn, fruits, etc. This town carried on a prodigious trade with the natives, whose chiefs went first to pay their duty to the governor, and make him some presents, in order to prevent the prices of goods, which they came for, being raised to an exorbitant height. This concourse began about June, and some of them came hither from places distant above 500 leagues; the fair was kept along the banks of the river, where they exchanged their commodities with the French; and centinels were placed at proper distances, to prevent the disorders, which might otherwise happen from such vast crouds of different nations. This concourse lasted for near three months. The Indians brought thither all sorts of furs, which they bartered for guns, powder, ball, great-coats, and other garments of the French manufacture; iron and brass work, and trinkets of all sorts.

“SANGUENAY, a province in the eastern Canada, is divided on the west, from that properly so called, by the river of its name. It has on the north-east the nation called Crestinaux; on the north-west that of the Esquimaux; on the south-east it is bounded by the river St Lawrence, and on the south-west by that of Sanguenay, at the mouth of which is the town of Three Rivers, above mentioned. Its extent is computed from this town, which is the frontiers of Canada-Proper, quite to the farther end of the bay called the Seven Isles.

“THE territory and lands on each side of the river were found so indifferent, that the colony which settled at Tadoussac suffered so much there, that it quite discouraged the French, for a long time, from settling; but at length, upon their sailing up as high as Quebec, they sound such encouragement as was sufficiently productive of their prosperity there.

“THE river of Sanguenay springs from the lake of St John, and falls into that of St Lawrence, at the town of Tadoussac. The haven is capable of containing twenty-five men of war, and has good anchorage and shelter from storms, it being of a round figure and deep, and surrounded at a distance with very high rocks. This province is much the same, as to its soil, climate, and inhabitants, with that of Canada-Proper. It is remarkable, indeed, for an extraordinary plenty of marble of several kinds, insomuch that not only the principal towns, forts, churches, and palaces, but even the houses of private men, are built of it.

“QUEBEC is the capital of this province; and the other principal places are, Sillery, Tadoussac, Port-Neuf, Beau-Port, St Anne, Chicheque de Port, St Nicholas, Port Cartier, and Necouba.

“QUEBEC, the metropolis of all Canada, and an equicopal see, in latitude of 46, 53, and west longitude 70, 40, is situated on the confluence of the rivers St Lawrence and St Charles, or the Little River, and on the north side of the former, and about 140 leagues from the sea. The haven is large, and capable of containing at least 100 ships of the line; and the great river whereon it stands, though about four

leagues wide, here contracts itself at once to the breadth of about a mile; and it is on that account that the name of Quebec was given it, which in the Algonkine Indian language signifies a shrinking, or growing narrower.

“THE Iroquois are the most considerable, and best known, of all the Indian nations in these parts; they are seated along the north side of the lake Ontario, Frontenac, and along the river of their name, which is that which carries the waters of the lake into the river of St Lawrence. They are bounded on the north by the nations called Algonkins and Outavais, and the settlements at and about Montreal; on the east and south-east by New England, New York, Jersey, etc, on the south part of Canada-Proper and the lake Erie; and on the west by that of the Hurons, and the canal between these two lakes. Their soil is rich and high; their water-melons, pompions, etc, are very large, sweet, and of a fine colour and flavour; but they are too proud and lazy to give themselves much trouble about cultivating their lands, which is perhaps the cause of their producing so little.”

An Universal history, from the earliest account of time

1769: Cook (Lieutenant), James

James Cook (Lieutenant), Muriel Fannye Haas; Remarks on a Passage from the River Balise: In the Bay of Honduras, to Merida: the Capital of the Province of Jucatan in the Spanish West Indies; Midameres Press; 1769

James Cook (Lieutenant) and Muriel Fannye Haas write: “In November, 1764, Captain Cook was on his way to England, after having been employed in making charts, etc, off the Newfoundland coast. On his arrival in England, abroad his ship the Grenville, Cook suggested that she be sent up to Deptford yard. This was done, and while there the ship was overhauled. On March 25, 1765, Cook again left for Newfoundland, arriving at St Lawrence Harbour on June 2, to recommence his work. Cook, in command of the Grenville, was still engaged at this time in making scientific studies to advance nautical knowledge.”

Remarks on a Passage from the   River   Balise: In the Bay of Honduras, to Merida: the Capital of the Province of Jucatan in the Spanish West Indies

1769: Knox, John

John Knox; An Historical Journal Of The Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760: Containing The Most Remarkable Occurences of that Period; Particularly The Two Sieges of Quebec, etc, etc. The Orders of the Admirals and General Officers ... And A Regular Diary of the Weather. As Also Several Manifesto’s, a Mandate of the Late Biship of Canada; The French Orders and Disposition for the Defence of the Colony, etc, etc, etc; Vol 2; 1769

John Knox writes: “The communications between the low and high town, from their prodigious natural steepness, are difficult at all times to be ascended, and were respectively defended, when the place surrendered, by traverses, batteries, and flank fires, thrown up everywhere, that scoured all those passages, so as to render them intirely inaccessible, in case of descent had been made below: if the

General had executed that plan, we should certainly have been cut to pieces; for, in that case, the enemy would have thrown in some thousands of musketry from their camp, and lined all the defences above, insomuch that I think it would have been impracticable for a single man to have escaped unhurt; and it is to be observed, that our batteries must have remained totally silent, in an undertaking of this kind; it was for these reasons that Major McKellar diverted the General from making the experiment. I would not be understood to derogate from his Excellency’s merit, by his entertaining thoughts of putting so arduous and desperate an enterprise into execution; it was natural in the Commander of the expedition, and quite uniform with his inherent intrepidity; but he was unacquainted with the interior parts of the city, and therefore displayed his equally innate wisdom in submitting to the opinion of the Engineer, who was no stranger to the insurmountable difficulties I have pointed out. Besides the occasional flanks fires before-mentioned, to scour the avenues throughout the city, its defences consisted of twelve batteries, designed for an hundred and fifty pieces of cannon, but did not mount more than one hundred and six, whereof some were of small account; the greatest number of them, particularly that called Le Clerge en Barbette, pointed to the bason and the south shore, to defend the anchoring-ground and the channel to the upper river: these were mostly thirty-six pounders; the rest, except a few of eighteens, were composed of twelves, and from that downward to fours and three-pounders; - besides several mortars of different calibres, bedded in various places for the annoyance of shipping. The ramparts, or line of fortification to the country side, consists of an intire wall of masonry of a modern construction, and seems to be part of a design intended to be cannon-proof; there are no batteries on it, except a few flank fires about the ports of St Louis, St Jean, Palais, and one or two other places; this line of stone-work extends, from the south-southward corner behind the citadel of Cape Diamond, to the north corner near the lower road leading from the country to St Rocque, where, by the assistance of nature, it forms a strong angle, and runs away in a long curtain eastward, excluding the whole suburb, to Port Palais, and a little beyond it: whence it terminates to the low town with the dicing slope of the rock, and with no other defence than a regular piquet-work on its summit, with loop-holes for musketry, and two worm-eaten nine-pounders, pointed to the strand, at the entrance of the little river; at the east end of the upper town is a wall of masonry, which joins to the piquet work before-mentioned on the north-east, and runs south, seemingly intended to cover a steep bye-way leading to the sally-port from the lower town, and may be effectually protected by musketry, as it is of a good height, with a foot-bank, supported by scaffolding, which gives small arms a great command over that quarter, the men being well covered above. On the flank opposite to the south shore, from the southwest angle, all round Cape Diamond, is another stockade work, running with great symmetry down to the dock-yard in the low town, with loop-holes for musketry. But this seems to me to be the most assailable part of the whole. There is no ditch round the town, nor any kind of outworks; and, though it would be an undertaking of immense labour and great expence, I think it very practicable to surround the town, on the land-side, by a moat communicating with the rivers St Lawrence and St Charles, which, together with natural springs in the rocks, would keep it for ever sufficiently supplied with water, and would render that part of the town impenetrable. Perhaps some may think I talk of impossibilities; but, when we take a view of the stupendous works of this nature carried on in other countries even through rocks, of much greater depth and extent, they may, with me, be confirmed in the veracity of the old adage, Nibil mortalibus arduum est.”

John Knox continues: “A Lieutenant of the French Rousillon, who has been our prisoner since last September, and was every day hospitably entertained at the Governor’s table, is put in arrest for some mal-practices. Two Ensigns are ordered for interment, who died of the malignant disorders which have

raged this winter among our men, and still continue to diminish our numbers. A detachment of two hundred privates, with three Subalterns, etc, are sent down to the isle of Orleans to make fascines, and are to remain there till farther Orders. A deserter from one of the battalions of the sixtieth regiment, who left us last campaign, arrived late at night on the 27th, being intrusted with a letter to the Governor, from a Captain of Rangers, who is a prisoner at Montreal; he set out from thence two days before the French army were to move off, who are at length coming down to execute their long projected undertaking for the recovery of this garrison; their forces are said to consist of three thousands regulars, eight thousand select Canadians, and three hundred savages, with a respectable train of artillery. Our intelligencer has also sent off an express to General Amherst with these particulars, and likewise to inform him, that two hundred men only are to be left at Montreal. Through the same channel we learn, that a small squadron sailed from New-York, for the river St Lawrence, near six weeks ago; this, however, does not gain credit, the navigation being intirely shut up with ice, a circumstance of which our friends to the southward cannot possibly be ignorant. The light infantry are reserved from duty, being under orders of readiness to take a hunt, as we now phrase it, at a moment’s warning. A flag of truce came to the church of Lorette on the 28th at night, with proposals for an exchange of prisoners; a complimentary letter was also sent to the Governor, with others on business to merchants of this city, inclosed in the same packet, for his Excellency’s inspection. The French army are arrived at Jacques Cartier; it is pretended that Monsieur de Levis will form his forces into three divisions, and make a rapid attack on our detached posts, tout d’un coup, which is to be executed by a signal of three rockets; and, after cutting off such a number of healthy and effective men, they flatter themselves, from the weakness of our garrison by sickness and mortality, we shall be reduced to the necessity of surrendering to their superior army. Captain McDonald, of the seventy-eighth regiment, was sent out with an answer to the French General; and, as the enemy expected it, they detached a Serjeant’s party to a certain distance from their most advanced post to meet our flag, that we might not gain any intelligence of their strength or situation; but McDonald, instead of delivering his dispatches to the Serjeant, told him he was a Captain, and spiritedly ordered him back to his Commander, with this message, ‘that, if he would not send out an Officer of equal rank, by a certain time limited, he would return to Quebec, without imparting the purport of his errand’; Monsieur was too polite to be refractory on this occasion, a Captain and Drummer being immediately sent out to receive his express. I am credibly informed, that the proposal, on the part of the enemy, for an exchange of prisoners, was only finesse, to procure an opportunity of reconnoitring our post at Lorette; for which, and other reasons, our Governor acquainted M de Levis, ‘if he will return the Serjeant who was taken the 21st instant, he will release to him the Ensign whom we took at Point Levi on the 13th preceding’. A Field-Officer is ordered, for the future, to visit our out-posts twice in every eight days. The duty of this garrison is now so severe, by reason of our immense numbers of sick and weak men, that the General has been pleased to ease the corps of their regimental guards; in this case, all prisoners are to be sent to the guards most contiguous to each regiment’s district, together with their crimes specified in writing, signed by an Officer; and must be immediately reported to the Commander of that battalion to which such delinquents may belong. Ginger being esteemed a most specific corrective in scorbutic cases, a quantity of that spice is issued out to the troops, for which, as it mentioned in the orders, ‘they will pay the Government’s price’.”

John Knox continues: “A fort is marked out to be constructed here, in which we are well seconded by the provincial troops, who furnish us with artificers of all prosessions; gallies are likewise building to proceed with the army; they are to mount cannon, and to be worked with oars. Our two snows made their appearance this evening; they were equipped with every thing that could be wanted without loss

of time, and ordered to proceed to the river St Lawrence, to intercept and fight the two vessels of the enemy.”

John Knox continues: “The multifarious kinds of fish, wherewith the lakes and rivers abound, have been already mentioned, which, if the reader has forgot, he will find between the dates of the 16th and 20th of January last; besides these, and innumerable other benefits, they have variety of all sorts of game, bipeds as well as quadrupeds, in the greatest plenty; and finer poultry, with tame and wild pigeons, no other country can boast of: moreover, the Canadians have an excellent breed of black cattle, sheep, pigs, and horses, with when the farms in general are plenteously stocked. In fine, - this province, though mostly an inland country, has, by means of the River St Lawrence, the advantages of an extensive sea-coast, thereby affording as well as a commodious exportation of its own produce, as a reasonable importation of foreign commodities, and an easy conveyance from one part to another, even to the most remote corners of the colony. To conclude, Canada is a fruitful, pleasant, most valuable territory, and its warlike inhabitants, together with the national troops of France, were justly sensible thereof, and of its great importance, having, from first to last, persevered, though deserted and destitute as they have been, in exerting the utmost activity, vigilance.”

An Historical Journal Of The Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1860: Containing The Most Remarkable Occurences of that …

1770: Adams, Amos

Amos Adams; Edward Dilly, Charles Dilly, contributors; A Concise, Historical View of the Difficulties, Hardships, and Perils which Attended the Planting and Progressive Improvements of New-England: With a Particular Account of Its Long and Destructive Expeditions, etc; Vol 1; Boston printed. London reprinted for Edward and Charles Dilly, in the Poultry; 1770

Amos Adams writes: “Nothing farther could be expected from an exhausted people, yet, perhaps encouraged by the success of the preceding year, and well knowing that they were never to expect any lasting peace and safety, so long as Canada was in the hands of the French; upon advice of an expedition forming against Quebec, this Colony, with almost unparalleled readiness and dispatch, furnished two regiments, their quota of troops, together with provisions, and joined the king’s troops which arrived at Boston, on the projected expedition. The whole armament, consisting of fifteen sail of men of war, forty transports, and seven thousand troops, sailed from Boston July 30, 1711. Soon after they arrived in the river St Lawrence, eight or nine ships were wrecked in the night upon the rocks, and a thousand of the troops perished in the wave. This dreadful blow, at once, put an end to the expedition. The navy, and regular troops returned to England, and the New-England forces returned ashamed and confounded. The disappointment and vexation was very great. The public debt was increased, and became now almost insupportable. The country was still left to the merciless ravages of French and Indians. Some pious minds gave over all hopes of ever reducing Canada. ‘So many attempts blasted, plainly indicated, as they conceived, that Providence never designed the whole northern continent of America for one European power.’ And, to add still to the misfortune, it soon appeared, that every method was taken to misrepresent and abuse this loyal Colony, and cast all the blame of the failing of the expedition on us. Proper measures were taken to clear the Colony from this undeserved abuse. A journal of all the

proceedings was sent home, in which, it was truly asserted, that one first part of the inhabitants of the province, fit to bear arms, were in pay this summer. And farther, to complete their misfortunes, this year, the middle and best inhabited part of the town of Boston, was laid in ashes.”

A Concise, Historical View of the Difficulties, Hardships, and Perils which Attended the Planting and Progressive Improvements of New-England: With a …

1770: Rogers, Robert

Robert Rogers; A Concise Account of North America, etc; J Potts; 1770

Robert Rogers writes: “The French, while they had possession of this province, very industriously represented the navigation of the river St Lawrence to be difficult and dangerous; but we have since found the contrary to be the case, ships of the line meeting with no difficulty in going to Quebec. The land in general, on both sides of the river, is low and level; indeed opposite to Quebec are two considerable mountains, called the Lady Mountains, which from this place run south-west through the continent to the country of the Creek Indians, at the north-part of the Two Florida’s in one continual ridge; and wherever rivers have forced their way through them, they rise on each side very steep to their common heighth. This ridge of mountains is called the Apalachian Hills; and again at Montreal some hills appear to the north-west of it.

“The climate here is cold, the winters long and tedious, especially in the north-easterly parts of the province; notwithstanding which the soil is none of the worst, being in some parts both pleasant and fertile, productive of most kinds of English grain and vegetables, common to the climate, in great abundance; especially the island of Orleans already mentioned, and the islands and lands near it, which are remarkable for their rich and easy soil.

“The summers in this country are exceeding pleasant, and so prolific that the farmer expects to reap his crop in sixteen weeks from the sowing of his feed. There is in some parts of this province very excellent timber, such as white pines, oak of different kinds, and spruce in great abundance. And as the lakes and rivers are well-stored with salmon, eels, and all kinds of fish common to such waters, so its forests abound with deer, moose, bears, etc. There are also beavers, otters, martins, etc, in great plenty. In short, notwithstanding its northwardly situation, it may be justly denominated a healthy, fruitful, and pleasant country, affording most of the necessaries and conveniences of life; having (tho’ mostly situate within land) all the advantages of an extended sea-coast, by means of the river St Lawrence, which affords an easy conveyance from one part of the province to another, and a cheap importation of foreign commodities, even to the remotest parts of it.”

Robert Rogers continues: “Below Detroit, on the same side of the river, near where it enters Lake Erie, is an Indian town of the Pottawatamies, and below that the River Rouge, or the Red River, enters it opposite the west-end of an island, which divides the River St Lawrence into two branches as it flows into the lake; there are also a little above this, two or three smaller islands, which are very beautiful; the river is here about two miles wide.”

A Concise Account of North America, etc

1772: Mante, Thomas

Thomas Mante; The History of the Late War in North-America, and the Islands of the West-Indies: Including the Campaigns of MDCCLXIII and MDCCLXIV Against His Majesty’s Indian Enemies; Research Reprints; 1772

Thomas Mante writes: “About the middle of February, a considerable squadron sailed from England to Louisbourg, where the fleet and the troops designed for the expedition up the river St Lawrence were to rendezvous; and arrived off that place on the 21st of April. But the harbour was still so blocked up with ice, that there was no entering it. The squadron, therefore, of which Admiral Saunders was commander in chief, assisted by Admirals Durell and Holmes, steered for Halifax in Nova-Scotia; where being arrived, the whole fleet at that place consisted of the following ships of the line:

“Names Guns Commanders

“The Neptune 90 Admiral Saunders

“The Princess Amelia 80 Admiral Durell

“The Dublin 74 Admiral Holmes

“The Royal William 84 Captain Pigot

“The Shrewsbury 74 Captain Pallifer

“The Northumberland 70 Captain Lord Colville

“The Orford 64 Captain Spry

“The Somerset 68 Captain Hughes

“The Vanguard 74 Captain Swanton

“The Terrible 64 Captain Collins

“The Trident 64 Captain Legge

“The Alcide 64 Captain Douglass

“The Devonshire 74 Captain Gordon

“The Captain 70 Captain Amherst

“The Stirling-castle 64 Captain Everet

“The Prince of Orange 60 Captain Wallis

“The Medway 60 Captain Proby

“The Pembroke 60 Captain Wheelock

“The Bedford 68 Captain Fowkes

“The Centurion 60 Captain Mantle

“The Sutherland 50 Captain Rouse

“Prince Frederick 64 Captain Booth”

Thomas Mante continues: “The navigation of the River St Lawrence is, in this place, perhaps, the most intricate and dangerous of any actually used in North America, without the assistance of pilots accustomed to the force and direction of its various eddies. Though the French had been constantly going up and down this river ever since their possession of Canada, General Amherst’s attempt to navigate it in the manner he did, was judged impracticable. No doubt, the route by Lake-George and Lake-Champlain might have been the easiest to penetrate by into Canada; but this by the Mohawk-River, Oswego, and the River St Lawrence, opened a passage, which had as yet been unexplored by the English, and effectually deprived the French of the opportunity of carrying on the war another campaign, by retreating to their unconquered posts at Detroit, and elsewhere to the south. Those who declared the river impracticable to the English, grounded their opinion on the unsuccessfulness of the attempt made on La Galette the preceding year by General Gage; not considering the difference between a feeble irresolute effort, and a strong determined stroke. The pilots taken at Fort-Levi contributed much to the safety of the army in this navigation; or, if it could have been equally safe without their assistance, it would have been much more tedious. The chief art in getting through these rapids with a number of boats, consists in the making them keep a proper distance. Without the greatest attention to this precaution, the lives of those who pass the Cedar-Falls especially, must be in the utmost danger.”

The History of the Late War in North-America, and the Islands of the West-Indies: Including the Campaigns of MDCCLXIII and MDCCLXIV Against His …

1772: Young, Arthur

Arthur Young; Political Essays Concerning the Present State of the British Empire: Particularly Respecting: I. Natural Advantages and Disadvantages. II. Constitution. III. Agriculture. IV. Manufactures. V. The Colonies, and VI. Commerce; W Strahan and T Cadell; 1772

Arthur Young writes: “Canada comes next; but it is here necessary to make a distinction between what is commonly called by that name and what is marked by the government by proclamation to be the bounds of the colony; at present I speak only of what are colonies, and leave the countries prohibited from settlers by proclamation to be described in another place. Canada therefore, which is at present a colony, is a strip of land about two hundred miles broad, on the north coast of the river St Lawrence, and above six hundred miles longs; likewise another very narrow strip to the south of the river: The whole extending no further south than about half way between Montreal and Lake Ontario.”

Political Essays Concerning the Present State of the British Empire: Particularly Respecting: I. Natural Advantages and Disadvantages. II. Constitution. III. …

1774: Smethurst, Gamaliel

Gamaliel Smethurst, William Francis Ganong; A narrative of an extraordinary escape: out of the hands of the Indians, in the Gulph of St Lawrence; New Brunswick Historical Society; 1774

Gamaliel Smethurst and William Francis Ganong write: “This bay is situated on the west side the gulph, before you enter the great river St Lawrence – The north side of this bay is formed by the islands Bonaventure and Pierce; the south side by the island and Point Miscou – This is low flat land, and continues so all the way up the bay – Some vessels have mistaken the Bay of Chaleurs for the river St Lawrence; but the difference is very great – This bay is only seven leagues over, and the land on the south side exceeding low, and shoal water – A league or more from the shore, you have not above five fathoms water – On the contrary, the river St Lawrence is fifteen leagues over, the south side exceeding high land and very deep water.

“To this great river St Lawrence, I ascribe the forming of those vast banks off Newfoundland – The current is so strong in the river and gulph, that the sand cannot settle, but to the leeward of islands; or where there is an eddy, which prevents it from stopping in any quantities, till the water has passed the [VII] streights of Bellisle, one way, and island of Briton and gut of Canso, on the other. If one considers the vast extent of shore the lakes of this river washes, it must bring down more sand than any other river in the world, which causes the lips of the mouths of this surprising river to be proportionately large.* So the Bahama banks, I apprehend, are formed by the sand brought with the gulph stream, lodging in the eddies back of the island of Cuba.

“*This theory, though showing good observation and reflection by its author, is erroneous, the great banks are now believed to have a glacial origin, supplemented, in the case of the Newfoundland Banks, by materials continually brought to them by icebergs from the Greenland glaciers. The currents of the St Lawrence are by no means so strong as he implies.”

A Narrative of an Extraordinary Escape: Out of the Hands of the Indians, in the Gulph of St .   Lawrence

1776: Judd, Jacob

Jacob Judd; The Van Cortlandt Family Papers; Vol 1; Sleepy Hollow Restorations; 1776

Jacob Judd writes: “Even before the British army evacuated Boston in March 1776, the locale of the as yet undeclared war shifted to the Province of New York, both to the city of New York and to the northern frontier. Fort Ticonderoga at the head of Lake George had been captured by an American force on May 10, 1775, and this opened the path for an American invasion of Canada by way of Lake Champlain, to the Richelieu River, and then to the St Lawrence. The command of the Northern Army was placed in the hands of Philip Schuyler of Albany, while the New York City theater of operations came under the direct control of George Washington. The invasion of Canada began in a desultory fashion in September 1775 and the British invasion of New York City and harbor during the first week of July 1776.”

The Van Cortlandt Family Papers

1779: Hewatt, Alexander

Alexander Hewatt, John Locke; An Historical Account of the Rise and Progress of the Colonies of South Carolina and Georgia; Vol 1; Alexander Donaldson; 1779

Alexander Hewatt and John Locke write: “HITHERTO the extensive territory of North America had been divided into two districts, which were called South and North Virginia. All lands lying towards the river St Lawrence, from the northern boundaries of the province now called Virginia, belonged to the northern, and all those to the southward, as far as the Gulf of Florida, to the southern district. And though the first European settlement in America was attempted in Florida by the French, yet they were compelled to relinquish that place; and the English, preferring what they esteemed a more favourable climate, had hitherto neglected it.”

An Historical Account of the Rise and Progress of the Colonies of South Carolina and Georgia

1780: von Troil (Archbishop of Uppsala), Uno

Uno von Troil (Archbishop of Uppsala), Sir Joseph Banks, Abraham Back, Johan Ihre, Torbern Bergman; Susanna Dorothy Forster Dixon, translator; Letters on Iceland: Containing Observations on the Civil, Literary, Ecclesiastical, and Natural History; Antiquities, Volcanoes, Basaltes, Hot Springs; Customs, Dress, Manners of the Inhabitants, etc, etc; W Richardson; 1780

Uno von Troil (Archbishop of Uppsala), Sir Joseph Banks, Abraham Back, Johan Ihre, and Torbern Bergman write: “The immense quantity of wood floating down the Mississippi, the St Lawrence, and other Rivers of North America, are probably those which are carried to the northern regions. From the gulph of Mexico a strong current sets across the Atlantic in a south-west to north-east direction, or nearly, and carries many tropical fruits on the coast of Norway, the Ferois, and Iceland; which remarkable circumstance has been noticed by that curious observer and delineator of nature George Edwards. But the wood coming down the Mississippi is remarked by Bossu, in his Travels through North America, vol 1 pag 19. The coast of Greenland is benefited by drift-wood, in the same manner as Iceland. See Crantz’s Hist of Greenland, vol 1 pag 37. The northern coast of Siberia is often covered with wood in a most astonishing manner. See John George Emelin’s Travels through Siberia, vol ii pag 415. Nor is the coast of Kamschatka destitute of floating-wood. See JF Miller’s collection of Russian Transactions, vol iii pag 67. The great rivers of Siberia, such as the Lena, Kolyma, Yenisea, and others, carry chiefly in spring many wood trees along with their waters into the ocean, where it is often floating in various directions, set by winds and currents, and checked by the immense masses of ice, till, after many months and years, it is thrown up and left on the coast, for the benefit of the inhabitants of these frigid regions, which are too cold for the growth of trees. Iceland receives its drift-wood by strong westerly and northwesterly gales, varying with southerly winds, which seems to confirm the opinion, that the drift-wood comes from North America: it consists chiefly of pinus abies, picea, limbra, and larix, tilia curopea, betula alba, and salix caprea, and some unknown kinds of wood: and according to

Catesby’s Nat Hist of Carolina, great quantities of these enumerated woods are floating down the rivers of Virginia and Carolina; and another part seems to come round the North of Europe from the Siberian rivers.”

Letters on Iceland: containing observations on the civil, literary, ecclesiastical, and natural history; antiquities, volcanos, basaltes, hot springs; customs, dress, …

1783: Prenties, Samuel Waller

Samuel Waller Prenties; Narrative of a Shipwreck on the Island of Cape Breton, in a voyage from Quebec 1780; 1783

Samuel Waller Prenties writes: “ON the 17th of November 1780, I embarked on board the St Lawrence brigantine, then lying in the bason of Quebec, and bound to New York, being charged with dispatches from General Haldimand, commander in chief in that province, to Sir Henry Clinton. The same day, on receiving our sailing orders, we weighed anchor, and dropped down to the harbour called Patrick’s Hole, in the island of Orleans, in company with a schooner bound to the same port, on board of which was an Ensign Drummond, of the 44th regiment, with duplicates of General Haldimand’s dispatches. In this place we were detained six days by a contrary wind; at the expiration of which time the front had set in with prodigious severity, and the ice was forming fast in all parts of the river. Had the wind continued unfair for a few days longer, we should have been entirely blocked up by it, and had happily escaped the calamities which afterwards befell us.

“On the 24th, the wind being fair, we got under weight, and proceeded down the river St Lawrence, as far as the Brandy Pots, islands so called, about forty leagues from Quebec. At this place the wind veered about to the north-east, which obliged us again to anchor. The weather continued intensely cold; and the vessel, being leaky, made so much water as to render it necessary to keep one pump continually going. A change of wind soon after enabled us to proceed on our voyage, and to make the island of Anticosti, which is at the mouth of the river St Lawrence; when the wind coming round again to the eastward, we were obliged to beat off and on between this island and Cape Roziere for four days; our vessel at the same time increasing her leaks to such a degree, that we were under the necessity of rigging the other pump, and of keeping them both constantly at work. Being now in a higher latitude, the severity of the cold had increased in proportion, and the ice began to form so fast about the ship as to alarm us exceedingly, lest we should entirely surrounded by it; which we only prevented by cutting and breaking vast quantities from her sides. To this task, with that of keeping the pumps at work, the crew, together with the passengers, were scarcely equal, only nineteen person being on board, of whom six were passengers, and the remainder very indifferent seamen. As for the master, from whom in the present emergency we might have expected some degree of exertion, instead of attending to his duty and the preservation of his ship, he remained continually in a state of intoxication in his cabin.

“On the 29th the wind came round to the north-west, and we proceeded down the gulf of St Lawrence, with two feet water in the ship’s hold. The wind kept gradually increasing till the 1st of December, when it blew a perfect gale from the north-west quarter; and the ship’s crew being now almost overcome with cold and fatigue, seeing no prospect of gaining upon the leak, the water having already increased to four

feet in the hold, nor a possibility of making any port, they came to the resolution of working no longer at the pumps; which was unanimously agreed to by all the foremast men. They accordingly left off working, and declared themselves quite indifferent about their fate, preferring the alternative of going to the bottom together with the vessel, to that of suffering such severe and incessant labour in so desperate a situation. Their fatigues, it must be confessed, from the 17th of November had been excessive; and though hope might still remain, yet our present circumstances were such as to exclude all probability at least of saving the vessel. However, by the force of persuasion and promises, together with the timely distribution of a pint of wine per man, which I had fortunately brought on board, they were diverted from this desperate resolution, but with great reluctance, saying, with some truth, as we afterwards experienced, and with more than they themselves were aware of, that whether the vessel filled or not was a matter of no consequence. This delay, though not exceeding a quarter of an hour, had increased the depth of water another foot; but the men added to their exertions, being encouraged by the wine, which was issued to them every half-hour, succeeded so far as to reduce the water in the space of two hours to less than three feet. The captain still remained in his cabin.”

Samuel Waller Prenties continues: “Finding no place to land during the night, we continued rowing as close as we could to the rocks, till about five in the morning; when hearing the sea run on the shore very long and heavy, we imagined that we must be off a sandy beach. We accordingly rowed toward; the land, and at the distance of fifty yards, for it was yet dark, were able to discern a beach at least four miles in length. It was not however a convenient place for us to put in, on account of the surf, and a long and heavy sea that rolled on it; yet being so much fatigued with rowing, that we were incapable of proceeding any farther, we were obliged to attempt a landing. This we effected with more ease than we looked for, and suffered no other inconvenience but that of having our boat nearly filled with water on the beach. Having landed, our first care was to haul up the boat, that she might meet with no further damage from the sea. We then got into the woods, which lay close to the shore; and as I had taken the precaution to put our tinder-box in my bosom, before we landed, to preserve if from the water, we contrived to kindle a fire; a refreshment we had much occasion for, having got wet in landing, and being in so weak and reduced a condition, that it was with the greatest difficulty we could keep ourselves awake for a few minutes when before the fire; so that we were under the necessity of watching in turn; lest, all being asleep together, the fire should go out, and we should be frozen to death. Having now time to consider every circumstance, and finding, as soon as daylight appeared, that the land still continued to have an opposite bearing to that on the other side of the point, we had no doubt remaining, but that we were upon the North Cape of the island of Breton, which, together with Cape Roy on the island of Newfoundland, marks the entrance of the Gulf of St Lawrence.”

Narrative of a Shipwreck on the Island of Cape Breton, in a Voyage from Quebec 1780

1784: Champion, Richard

Richard Champion; Considerations on the Present Situation of Great Britain and the United States of America: With a View to Their Future Commercial Connexions. Containing Remarks Upon the Pamphlet Published by Lord Sheffield, Entitled “Observations on the Commerce of the American States”; and Also on the Act of …; 2nd edition; J Stockdale; 1784

Richard Champion writes: “‘WITH the same endeavours to prevent the useful connexion between us, are we made to wander through the Lakes of America, to discover that ‘there is but one mile portage between Cayahoga River, that empties itself into Lake Erie, which finally runs into the River St Lawrence, and the River Muskinghum, which runs into the Ohio, and communicates with the Gulph of Mexico. Notwithstanding the navigation of the Rivers St Lawrence and Mississippi is obstructed in Winter and Spring, in the first by ice, and in the last by the rapidity of the waters, and notwithstanding the distance is not above sixty miles between the navigable part of the Potowmack, which runs into the Chesapeak, and a navigable branch of the Ohio, yet the River St Lawrence, (the exclusive trade of which belongs to Great Britain) the Lakes, the Ohio, and the Mississippi, will be the principal communications of the vast country beyond the mountains.’ The mistakes of the portage, and the badness of navigation in America, which are mentioned, are not necessary here to be adverted to. We are led to hope that ‘our Islands, especially Jamaica, might receive supplies from the Mississippi, whilst a cargo might at the proper season go up the River, if it is open to us, and bring lumber, cattle, mules, and supplies of every kind, except fish.’ - A system of trade which, it must be acknowledged, would be most perfectly adapted to the wants of our West India Colonies; provided – That the Cayahoga and the Muskinghum Rivers belonged to us – That the navigation to the St Lawrence was not very expensive and full of obstructions – That the St Lawrence itself was not shut up six months in the year, and that we had any property at all in the Mississippi; or, in the mode of expression used by the noble Author, if it was open to us. That unfortunately monosyllable if, could it be got the better of, would make all the difference which is stated in our situation.”

Considerations on the Present Situation of Great Britain and the United States of America: With a View to Their Future Commercial Connexions. Containing …

1784: Knox, John

John Knox; A View of the British Empire, More Especially Scotland: With Some Proposals for the Improvement of that Country, the Extension of Its Fisheries, and the Relief of the People; J Walter; 1784

John Knox writes: “This division was retained, by Great Britain, at the late peace. The habitable part joins the American States, and was originally in the possession of the French, to whom it proved an expensive, unprofitable burden. It hath been no less so to Great Britain, but it is supposed to be very improveable. It is formed into two governments; those of Canada, and Nova Scotia. Canada is properly the native country of furs, peltry, and other articles which enter largely into the British manufactures. It also furnishes grain, timber, pot-ash, and hath valuable iron mines. This province, bounded on the north by frozen deserts, on the west by unknown countries, is only accessible to European shipping by the river St Lawrence, whereon stand Quebec, Trois Rivieres, and Montreal.”

A view of the British Empire, more especially Scotland: with some proposals for the improvement of that country, the extension of its fisheries, and the relief of …

1784: Long, Edward

Edward Long; A free and candid review of a tract, entitled “Observations on the commerce to the American states”: shewing the pernicious consequences, both to Great Britain, and to the British sugar islands, of the systems recommended in that tract; T&W Lowndes; 1784

Edward Long writes: “The distance of Quebec from the sea is computed at about 360 miles; and not only in this, but in the upper range of the river St Lawrence, the navigation is one of the most arduous and dangerous in the whole world. For to begin with it at Lake Ontario: - Between this lake and Montreal, the Indian traders meet with no less than six cataracts, which oblige them to unload their canoes, and convey both these and their cargoes a considerable way over land. From Montreal to Quebec the depth of water is barely practicable for vessels of 300 tons burthen; but these are frequently impeded by terrible winds, which detain them a fortnight or three weeks in this short passage. From Quebec to the sea, the dangers are multiplied by the quantities of ice which shut it up during six or eight months in the year, by the rapidity and strength of its currents, by thick fogs and exhalations which brood over it during the remainder, and by a vast number of shoals, moveable sand-banks, and concealed rocks, which render it impassable in the night time, and even extremely hazardous by day-light. In short, from the month of September or October to June, the whole channel, from Quebec to Cape Canso, in Nova Scotia, becomes a kind of mare clausum, more or less obstructed with ice, and consequently either unnavigable, or exceedingly perilous.”

Edward Long continues: “‘The river St Lawrence is only a large arm of the sea, which runs up between these mountains, as Hudson’s and Baffin’s bays do in the north, in order to carry off the snow waters. All the tracts which lie within the verge of these mountains, or north of New England, are perpetually involved in frosts, snows, or thick fogs; and the colds which are felt in the south proceed from these frozen regions by violent north-west winds: these are the peculiar winds of that continent, and blow with a fury which none other exceeds. The great lakes of Canada, which are rather so many inland seas, extending north-west for 12 or 1300 miles, give force and direction to these storms, which come from regions still more northern, and bring the climate of Hudson’s Bay to the most southern parts of that continent whenever they blow for any length of time.’”

A free and candid review of a tract, entitled" Observations on the commerce to the American states": shewing the pernicious consequences, both to Great …

1789: Carey, Mathew

Mathew Carey; The American Museum, Or Universal Magazine: Containing Essays on Agriculture, Commerce, Manufactures, Politics, Morals and Manners: Sketches of National Characters, Natural and Civil History, and Biography: Law Information, Public Papers, Intelligence: Moral Tales, Ancient and Modern; Vol 5; 1789

Mathew Carey writes: “There is so remarkable a difference in the language of the Six Nations from all others, as affords ground for enquiring into their distinct origin. The nations north of the St Lawrence, those west of the great lakes, with the few who inhabit the sea-coasts of New-England, and those again

who live about the Ohio, notwithstanding the respective distances between them, speak a language radically the same, and can in general communicate their wants to one another: while the Six Nations, who live in the midst of them, are incapable of conveying a single idea to their neighbours, nor can they pronounce a word of their language with correctness. The letters M and P, which occur frequently in the other languages, are not in theirs; nor can they pronounce them but with the utmost difficulty. There is indeed some difference of dialect among the Six Nations themselves; but this is little more than what is found in all the European states. 1772”

Mathew Carey continues: “After every preparatory stratagem had been used to intimidate our wretched garrison, as mr Montgomery was pleased to call it – an assault was given the thirty-first of December, between four and five in the morning, during a snow storm from the north east. The alarm was general: from the side of the river St Lawrence, along the fortified front, round to the bason, every part seemed equally threatened. Two real attacks took place upon the lower town: one under cape Diamond, led by mr Montgomery, the other by mr Arnold upon the part called the Saut a Matelot. This at first met with some success, but in the end was stopped. A sally from the upper town under captain Laws, attacked their rear, and sent in many prisoners; captain McDougal afterwards reinforced this party, and followed the rebels into the post they had taken. Thus mr Arnold’s corps, himself and a few others excepted, who were wounded and carried off early, were completely ruined. They were caught as it were in a trap; we brought in their five mortars and one cannon. The other attack was soon repulsed with slaughter. Mr Montgomery was left among the dead.”

The American Museum, Or Universal Magazine: Containing Essays on Agriculture, Commerce, Manufactures, Politics, Morals and Manners: Sketches of …

1790: Beatson, Robert

Robert Beatson; Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain: From the Year 1727, to the Present Time; Vol 2; J Strachan; 1790

Robert Beatson writes: “The following anecdote was related about this time, and averred to be a fact. On the 12th of February, a person, accompanied by a messenger from the Admiralty, arrived express at Portsmouth, and was immediately introduced to Admiral Boscawen; concerning whom, the following particular transpired. He had for some time been master of an English vessel, trading from port to port in North America, particularly in the river St Lawrence; but being taken prisoner by the enemy, he was detained near three years, by order of M de Montcalm, who, on account of his extensive knowledge of the coast, and more particularly of the strength and soundings of Quebec and Louisburg, would not permit him to be exchanged. A resolution was taken, to send him to Old France in the first paquet-boat, there to be confined till the end of the war. He was accordingly embarked, and the only English subject on board the paquet of dispatches. During the voyage, he was admitted into their cabin, where he one day took notice, that they bundled up the paquet, and put it into a canvas bag, that it might be ready to be thrown over-board upon any appearance of danger. Being constrained to put into Vigo to get some provisions, as also, to gain intelligence of the British in these seas, they here found one or more of our men of war. The prisoner thought this a proper time for putting the following scheme in execution. One night seizing the opportunity of all, except the watch on deck, being sound asleep, he took the paquet

out of the bag; and having fixed it in his mouth, he silently let himself down into the bay, and, to prevent nose by swimming, floated on his back into the wake of the British men of war; where, laying hold of a hawser, he called for assistance, and was immediately taken on board with the paquet. The Captain examined him; treated him with the greatest civility; gave him a suit of his own clothes; transcribed the paquet, which was said to be of the greatest importance in regard to our success in North America; and then sent him post over-land to Lisbon with a copy of the French dispatches, from whence he was brought to Falmouth in a sloop of war, and immediately set out for London. Upon his arrival in town, he was examined by the proper persons in Administration, and suitably rewarded. By his own desire, he was immediately sent to Portsmouth, to go on board the Admiral’s own ship upon the expedition to North America.”

Robert Beatson continues: “The ships of war having been constantly employed throughout the whole of the summer in attending on this grand expedition, was the reason why they made so few captures from the enemy. The Trident, took a large Spanish ship of twenty guns, from Martinico for Bourdeaux, laden with sugar, coffee, cocoa, indigo, and cotton; and the Success took, in the month of July, in the gulph of St Lawrence, two large Dutch ships, from the Island of St Eustatius, laden with beef, pork, and biscuit, two hundred barrels of gun-powder, and a great quantity of cannon-shot, and bomb-shells.”

Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain: From the Year 1727, to the Present Time

1792: Lee, Charles

Charles Lee, Edward Langworthy; Memoirs of the life of the late Charles Lee, esq, second in command in the service of the United States of America during the revolution: to which are added his political and military essays. Also, letters to, and from many distinguished characters, both in Europe and America; printed for JS Jordan; 1792

Charles Lee and Edward Langworthy write: “It had long been supposed that the island of St John’s, in the gulph of St Lawrence, would have been a profitable possession. A set of officers of the land of sea service, laid out a plan for the settlement of it. They presented it to Government, and petitioned a grant of it. The grant was promised. The officers dangled from day to day for the fulfilling of this promise. They were shuffled from the Admiralty to the Board of Trade, from the Board of Trade to the Admiralty, from an Egmont to an Hilsborough, from an Hilsborough to an Egmont, for the space, I believe, of three years. Egmont accuses Hilsborough as the cause of this delay; Hilsborough accuses Egmont; his Majesty stands neuter betwixt these two righteous personages.

“The officers danced attendance until they found themselves on the threshold of a jail; but at length it is decided: The officers who were the original petitioners, got half a lot. Mr Touchit, or Touchat, (for I have not the honour of knowing how he spells his name), some court surgeons, and every kind of court retainer who thinks it worth his while to hint that he has no objection to an American possession, is gratified with a whole lot.

“Another society of officers had solicited a grant of lands on the river St Lawrence, which they undertook to settle; this was flatly refused.”

Memoirs of the life of the late Charles Lee, esq. second in command in the service of the United States of America during the revolution: to which are added …

1793: Cook, James

James Cook, James King; A voyage to the Pacific Ocean: undertaken by command of His Majesty, for making discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere: performed under the direction of Captains Cook, Clerke, and Gore: in the years 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, and 1780: being a copious, comprehensive, and satisfactory abridgement of the voyage; printed for Champante and Whitrow … and M Watson; 1793

James Cook and James King write: “They did not appear to us to be so dangerous as some authors have represented them, not even when they were attacked. They are, indeed, more so, in appearance, than in reality. Vast multitudes of them would follow, and come close up to the boats; but the flash of a musket in the pan, or even the mere pointing of one at them, would send them down in a moment. The female will defend her young one to the very last, and at the expense of her own life, whether upon the ice or in the water. Nor will the young one quit the dam, though she should have been killed; so that, if you destroy one, you are sure of the other. The dam, when in the water, holds her young one between her fore fins. Mr Pennant, in his Synopsis of Quadrupeds, has given a very good description of this animal under the name of the Arctic Walrus. Why it should be called a sea-horse, is difficult to determine, unless the word be a corruption of the Russian name Morse; for they do not in the least resemble a horse. It is, doubtless, the same animal that is found in the Gulph of St Lawrence, and there called a sea cow. It is certainly more like a cow than a horse; but this resemblance consists in nothing but the snout. In short, it is an animal not unlike a seal, but incomparably larger. The length of one of them, which was none of the largest, was nine feet four inches from the snout to the tail; the circumference of its body at the shoulder, was seven feet ten inches: its circumference near the hinder fins was five feet six inches, and the weight of the carcase, without the head, skin, or entrails, was eight hundred and fifty-four pounds. The head weighed forty-one pounds and a half, and the skin two hundred and five pounds.”

James Cook and James King continue: “In 1758, we find him master of the Northumberland, Lord Colville’s flag ship, who then commanded the squadron, stationed on the coast of America. Here, as he has frequently declared, he first read Euclid, and closely applied himself to the study of the mathematics, with the assistance of only a few books, and his own industry. While he thus found means to cultivate his understanding, and supply, in some degree, the deficiencies of an early education, he was engaged in most of the active scenes of war in America. At the siege of Quebec, he was intrusted by Sir Charles Saunders with the execution of important services, in the naval department. He was the pilot who conducted the boats to the attack of Montmorency; managed the embarkation of the heights of Abraham; and pointed out, by buoys, how the large ships might proceed with security up the river. The manner in which he acquitted himself in these important services, procured him the esteem and friendship of Sir Charles Saunders and Lord Colville, who continued his zealous patrons during the remainder of their lives. At the conclusion of the war, he was appointed, through the interest of Lord Colville and Sir Hugh Palliser, to make a survey of the Gulf of St Lawrence, and the coasts of Newfoundland. He was thus employed till the year 1767, when Sir Edward Hawke appointed him to the

command of an expedition to the South Seas; in order to make an observation of the transit of Venus, and to prosecute discoveries in that part of the globe.”

A voyage to the Pacific Ocean: undertaken by command of His Majesty, for making discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere: performed under the direction of …

1795: Hutchinson, Thomas

Thomas Hutchinson; The History of Massachusetts: From the First Settlement Thereof in 1628, Until the Year 1750; Vol 1; 3rd edition; by Thomas C Cushing, for Thomas and Andrews … Boston; 1795

Thomas Hutchinson writes: “In 1603, De Monts obtained a patent from Henry the Fourth of France, for all the country from the 40th to the 46th degree, by the name of Cadie, or Acadie. In 1604, De Monts ranged along the seacoast from St Lawrence to Cape Cod, and to the south of it. He went far up Kennebeck river, and into divers other rivers, bays and harbours.”

The History of Massachusetts: From the First Settlement Thereof in 1628, Until the Year 1750

1796: Carver, Jonathan

Jonathan Carver; Three Years Travels Through the Interior Parts of North-America, for More Than Five Thousand Miles: Containing an Account of the Great Lakes, and All the Lakes, Islands, and Rivers, Cataracts, Mountains, Minerals, Soil and Vegetable Productions of the Northwest Regions of that Vast Continent; Key & Simpson; 1796

Jonathan Carver writes: “Lake St John, which is about eighty miles round, and of a circular form, lies on the Saguenay River, directly north of Quebec, and falls into the St Lawrence, somewhat north-east of that city. Lake Manikouagone lies near the head of the Black River, which empties itself into the St Lawrence to the eastward of the last mentioned river, near the coast of Labrador, and is about sixty miles in circumference, Lake Pertibi, Lake Wincktagan, Lake Etchelaugon, and Lake Papenouagane, with a number of other small lakes, lie near the heads of the Bustard River to the north of the St Lawrence.”

… History of the Genius, Manners and Customs of the Indians Inhabiting the Lands that Lie Adjacent to the Heads and to the Westward of the Great   River   …

1797: Trumbull, Benjamin

Benjamin Trumbull; A Complete History of Connecticut, civil and ecclesiastical, from the emigration of its first planters from England in 1630 to 1713; Vol 1; Hudson & Goodwin; 1797

Benjamin Trumbull writes: “CONNECTICUT river has its source in that grand ridge of mountains which divides the waters of New-England and Canada, and extends north-easterly to the gulph of St Lawrence. The source of its highest branch is in about 45 degrees and a half, or 46 degrees of north latitude. Where it enters New-England, in 45 degrees of north latitude, it is ten rods in breadth, and in running sixty miles further, it becomes twenty-four rods wide. It forms the boundary line between New-Hampshire and Vermont about two hundred miles. Thence running through the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut, it disembogues its waters into Long-Island sound, between Saybrook and Lime. It runs with a gentle flow, as its course is, between three and four hundred miles. Its breadth through Connecticut, at a medium is between a hundred rods and half a mile. In the high spring floods it overflows its banks, and in some places in nearly two miles in breadth. As its banks are generally low, it forms and fertilizes a vast tract of the finest meadow; feasible, fertile, and in which a stone is scarcely to be found. The general course of this beautiful river, above, and between the states of New-Hampshire and Vermont, its nearly south west; thence it turns and runs but a few degrees west of south to its mouth. At a small distance from its mouth is a bar of sand, apparently formed by the conflux of the river and tide. Upon this there is but ten feet of water, at full tide. The bar is at such a distance from the mouth of the river, that the greatest floods do not increase the depth of the water. This is some obstruction to navigation, but any vessel, which can pass the bar, may proceed, without obstruction as far as Middletown, thirty miles from the sound; and vessels of eighty, and a hundred tons go up to Hartford, fifty miles from the river’s mouth. By means of locks and cuts, at the falls it is now navigable, for boats, more than three hundred miles.”

Benjamin Trumbull continues: “THE proposed meeting of commissioners was holden at New-York, instead of Rhode-Island, on the 1st of May, 1690. The commissioners from Connecticut were Nathan Gould and William Pitkin, Esquires. It appears, that, at this meeting, the commissioners conceived the plan of an expedition against Canada. They ordered, that eight hundred and fifty men should be raised for that purpose. The quotas of the several colonies were fixed, and general rules adopted, for the management of the army. A small vessel was sent express to England, the beginning of April, carrying a representation of the exposed state of the colonies and of the necessity of the reduction of Canada. A prayer was also sent to his majesty, for a supply of arms, ammunition, and a number of frigates to attack the enemy by water, while the colonial troops made an invasion by land. But the affairs of the nation were such, at that time, that no assistance could be given to the colonies. New-York and the New-England colonies, however, determined to prosecute their original plan of attacking Canada. It was proposed, with about eight or nine hundred Englishmen, and five or six hundred Indians, to make an attack upon Montreal, while a fleet and army, of eighteen hundred or two thousand men, were to proceed up St Lawrence, and, at the same time, make an attack upon Quebec. It was hoped, by this means, so to distract and divide the enemy, that the whole country might be reduced to his majesty’s government. It was expected, that a powerful assistance would be given by the Five nations, who had, but a few years before, so exceedingly harassed and distressed the whole French colony. Jacob Milborn, son in law to Liesler, was commissary, and it was expected, that New-York would furnish provisions, and make preparations for the army to pass the waters to Montreal.

“JOHN WINTHROP, Esquire, was appointed major general and commander in chief of the land army. He arrived, with the troops under his command, near them falls at the head of Wood Creek, early in the mouth of August. About the same time, the fleet [left] from Nantasket for Quebec. It consisted of between thirty and forty vessels great and small. The largest carried 44 guns and two hundred men. Sir

William Phips, governor of Massachusetts, had the chief command. The fleet had a long passage, and did not arrive before Quebec, until the 5th of October.

“WHEN the land army arrived at the place appointed for the rendezvous of the Indians, from the Five nations, instead of finding that powerful body, which they expected, and which the Indians had promised, there were no more than seventy warriors, from the Mohawks and Oneydas. A messenger was sent to the other nations to know what they designed; whether they would join the army and go forward or not. The messenger returned and reported, that they wished for some delay; and they never came on to join the army. When the general had advanced about an hundred miles, he found that there were not canoes provided sufficient to transport one half of the English soldiers across the lake. Upon representing to the Indians, that the army could not pass into Canada, without a much greater number of canoes, they replied, that it was then too late in the season to make canoes, as the bark would not peel. In short, they artfully evaded every proposal, which the council of war made for the service; and finally told the general and his officers, that they looked too high, and advised them only to attack Chambly and the out settlements on this side of St Lawrence. There was another insuperable difficulty arose. Milborn, commissary of the army, had not made a sufficient provision for the carrying on and supplying of provisions for the army, so that it was necessitated to retreat to Albany for subsistence. This was determined by a council of war. At the same time, about a hundred and forty of the sprightliest young men, English and Indians, were dispatched into Canada, to make all the diversion possible in favor of the fleet. However the retreat of the army and the late arrival of the armament before Quebec defeated the expedition.”

A Complete History of Connecticut, civil and ecclesiastical, from the emigration of its first planters from England in 1630 to 1713

1798: Minot, George Richards

George Richards Minot; Continuation of the History of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, from the Year 1748. With an Introductory Sketch of Events from Its Original Settlement; Vol 1; Manning & Loring; 1798

George Richards Minot writes: “The forces employed by Massachusetts to reduce the island of Cape Breton consisted of upwards of 3,200 of their own men, who were aided by 500 from Connecticut and 300 from New-Hampshire. In addition to these, 300 arrived from Rhode-Island, but not until the enemy had surrendered. Ten vessels, of which the two largest carried only twenty guns each, with the armed sloops of Connecticut and Rhode-Island as cruisers, constituted the whole naval force, until the arrival of the forces of Canso, where they were joined by a squadron of the King’s ships under Admiral Warren. The men embarked on the 24th day of March, 1745, and being landed on the island of Cape Breton the 30th of April, the operations were continued against Louisbourg until the 18th of June following, when it was surrendered. The New-England men lost only 101 men, killed by the enemy and accidental causes, and about 30 who died of sickness; whilst the French were supposed to have lost 300, who were killed within their walls. The strength of Louisbourg, which was regularly fortified, and garrisoned by 650 veteran troops and 1,300 effective men of the inhabitants, and the relative consequence of the island as affecting the other settlements of the contending powers, places this voluntary enterprize of New-England in an important point of view. Cape Breton was useful to France in various respects. Its local connexion with the fisheries, whence her naval power began to draw a degree of respectability that

threatened to rival that of her enemy, made it a commodious station for their encouragement. Its dividing the principal stations of the English fisheries at Newfoundland and Canso gave a check to them. Louisbourg, the chief port in the island, was the French Dunkirk in America, whence privateers were fitted out to infest the coast of the British plantations, and where prizes were conveyed in safety: The French East and West-India fleets found a secure harbour here, and the supplies of fish and lumber could be carried with convenience from this port to their sugar colonies. Besides which, Cape Breton had the command of the entrance into the gulph of St Lawrence, which led to Canada, the increasing and favourite colony of France. If all these local advantages did not accrue positively to Great-Britain upon the capture of this island, yet wresting them from the hands of her enemy, was almost equal to it; and there was one of great consequence arising to her from the existing state of Nova-Scotia at this time. An expedition was projected by the French to re-conquer that province. The taking of Cape Breton frustrated the execution of the plan, and gave the English an additional bridle over this half-revolting country.

“The exertions of New-England in this conquest drew the military preparations of the contending powers the ensuing year into America. On the one hand, Great Britain considered it as an important preparatory operation to the conquest of Canada; and France received an alarm from it, which led her to seek the re-conquest of Acadia. The English plan was to send eight battalions of regular forces, with those of New-England, up the river St Lawrence to Quebec; and the troops to be raised in New-York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, after assembling at Albany, were to proceed across the country by land to Montreal. The whole number required of the British Colonies was five thousand fighting men, of which Massachusetts voted to raise three thousand five hundred, with an adequate sum of money for defraying the expenses of their transports and provisions.”

George Richards Minot continues: “It was also alleged, that the northern Colonists supplied the French with lumber necessary for their sugar works, and which they could not procure in any other way, especially as the navigation of the River St Lawrence was too hazardous to be relied on by them for this purpose; that they could find no vent for their rum and molasses, if the English did not take them, which they were under no necessity of doing; as their own sugar Colonies could make sufficient to answer the demand of those on the continent; and but for their affording this vent, the French might be distressed in their sugar trade, and finally beaten out of all the foreign markets in Europe. In answer to this it was said, that the whole of the French supplies for mill-works, etc, being already had at the islands, or brought from Old France, it would by no means be impracticable to furnish themselves with boards and shingles for their buildings from the same quarter, if Canada could not do it: but it was absurd to suppose, when the French had built large ships of war in that province, and used a number of trading vessels annually up and down the river, that they could not avail themselves of the lumber known to be growing there; that the English carried about 2000 hogsheads of rum, distilled from French and Dutch molasses, yearly to the coast of Guinea, which the French would supply if the English did not; and perhaps would introduce it by various channels into the English Colonies; that the sugar islands of the English would not find it for their interest to increase the quantity of their sugar, as the price would diminish in proportion, nor could they make rum and molasses enough to supply the northern Colonies, which was evident from those articles having rising fifty per cent within twenty years; and this also proved that the former did not want encouragement, seeing they were supplied with necessaries for their slaves, buildings and sugar works, at as cheap, or a cheaper rate, than formerly; that as to beating the French out of foreign markets, it could never be done whilst the English sold their sugar at the place

of produce, thirty per cent dearer than the French sold theirs; for if the latter were to add the value of all the molasses which they sell the English to the price of their sugar, they would still be able to keep them far out of sight at foreign markets. When the English West-India subjects should be content with as moderate profits in their business as those of the northern Colonies were, what they had to say upon this head might deserve attention; but their present views could be nothing more than to raise their price of their commodities upon their countrymen.”

George Richards Minot continues: “Assuming this title as a good one, about twenty forts which the French had erected, besides block houses or stockade trading places, were unwarrantable encroachments. Such as those at the north side of the east entrance of Lake Ontario in 1672, at Michilimackinac in the year following; one at Niagara Fall in 1684, and another at the same streight in 1720; one between the lakes Erie and Huron in 1683; one on one side of the lake Michigan; another at the west side of the river Toronto, and three forts, with a fortified town and citadel, called St Frederick or Crown-Point, at the lake and river of Iroquois, or Champlain Lake, and Richlieu or Sorrel River; together with many settlements between the mouth of Iroquois River and Montreal, on the side of the St Lawrence, which, with seven villages within the disputed bounds of Massachusetts, might have contained about thirty parish churches.”

Continuation of the History of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, from the Year 1748. With an Introductory Sketch of Events from Its Original Settlement

1800: Weld, Isaac

Isaac Weld; Travels Through the States of North America: And the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, During the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797; 4th edition; CIHM/ICMH Microfiche series; J Stockdale; 1800

Isaac Weld writes: “The company principally carries on its trade by means of the Utawas or Grand River, that falls into the St Lawrence about thirty miles above Montreal, and which forms by its confluence with that river, ‘Le Lac de Deux Montagnes et le Lac St Louis’, - the Lake of the Two Mountains and the Lake of St Louis, wherein are several large islands. To convey the furs down this river, they make use of canoes, formed of the bark of the birch tree, some of which are upon such a large scale that they are capable of containing two tons, but they seldom put so much in them, especially on this river, it being in many places shallow, rapid, and full of rocks, and contains no less than thirty-two portages.”

Travels Through the States of North America: And the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, During the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797

1802: Windham, William

William Windham; Substance of the Speech of the Right Honourable William Windham, Delivered in the House of Commons, Wednesday, Nov 4, 1801, on the Report of an Address to the Throne, Approving of the Preliminaries of Peace with the Republick of France, Second Edition with Notes; Morgan; 1802

William Windham writes: “The consequence of this acquisition in one of the two hemispheres (North America) are well detailed, in different parts of the work above referred to. (See p 44, 199, 253, and 265.) France planted now in the same continent with the United States, cutting them off from some of their richest districts, extending her settlements behind them, gradually but not slowly, till the mouths of the Mississippi shall be united with the sources of the St Lawrence, will soon make them feel the want of that security which they have hitherto derived from an intervening ocean: and against a new and unconsolidated mass of states will finally effect that, which it required only ten years to accomplish against the old and well-compacted governments of Europe. In the mean-while we may employ ourselves in considering, what is likely to be her controul over the conduct of America as respecting this country; what the danger to Canada, and to that portion of our trade, which is carried on with those countries; what the effect of a French establishment in Louisiana and the Floridas, joined to what France will have in St Domingo, Martinique, and Guadaloupe, upon the whole of our West-Indian interests and possessions.”

Substance of the Speech of the Right Honourable William Windham, Delivered in the House of Commons, Wednesday, Nov. 4. 1801, on the Report of an …

1804: Morse, Jedidiah

Jedidiah Morse; The American Gazetteer: Exhibiting a Full Account of the Civil Divisions, Rivers, Harbours, Indian Tribes, etc, of the American Continent, Also of the West India and Other Appendant Islands: with a Particular Description of Louisiana; 2nd edition; Samuel Etheridge, and for Thomas and Andrews, Boston; 1804

Jedidiah Morse writes: “Lawrence River and Gulf, St. St Lawrence is one of the largest rivers in North America. It issues from Lake Ontario, forming the outlet of the long chain of great lakes, which separate Upper Canada from the United States. From Lake Ontario to Montreal it has the name of Iroquois, and taking a northeast course embosoms the island of Montreal; just above which it receives Ottawa or Grand River from the west, and forms many fertile islands. From Montreal it assumes the name of St Lawrence, and continuing the same course passes by Quebec, and meets the tide upwards of 400 miles from the sea, and is so far navigable for large vessels. Having received in its course beside Ottawa, St John’s Seguina, Despraires, Trois Rivieres, and innumerable other smaller streams, it falls into the ocean at Cape Rosieras, by a mouth about 90 miles broad, in which is the island of Anticosti. In its course it forms a great variety of bays, harbours, and islands, many of them fruitful and extremely pleasant. The St Lawrence may be classed with the most noble rivers in the world; its waters 2000 miles before they reach the ocean: the commercial advantages from such a situation increase in proportion to the population of its banks. The Indian trade, in a great measure, takes its current down the St Lawrence, particularly since vessels of a considerable size are constantly building for the navigation of the lakes. Smyth.”

The American Gazetteer: Exhibiting a Full Account of the Civil Divisions, Rivers, Harbours, Indian Tribes,[et] c. of the American Continent, Also of the West …

1804: Volney, Constantin-Francois

Constantin-Francois Volney; View of the Climate and Soil of the United States of America: To which are Annexed Some Accounts of Florida, the French Colony on the Scioto, Certain Canadian Colonies and the Savages Or Natives; J Johnson; 1804

Constantin-Francois Volney writes: “In the country about Pittsburg on the Ohio, the county of Green Briar on the Kanhaway, and throughout Kentucky, this fundamental stratum is found on boring; and I have seen it bare in the beds of all the rivers and brooks of Kentucky, from the Kanhaway to the falls or rapids of the Ohio near Louisville. On the road from Cincinnati to Lake Erie, I found it serving as a floor to all the bed of the river aux Glaises and the Miami of the Lakes; it appears, that the lake itself has a bottom of blackish schist, but among its specimens we find a great deal of limestone, and it is likewise a stratum of limestone that runs under the St Lawrence at the Fall of Niagara, and extending thence into the Genessee country, appears to accompany the bed of the St Lawrence as far as Quebec. It is true, however, that throughout this part of the north the limestone is of the kind called primitive and crystallized, as I have found by the specimens brought up by the settlers in Genessee when sinking wells.”

Constantin-Francois Volney continues: “It is possible, that veins or mines of coal not adapted to this theory may be mentioned or discovered on the Atlantic coast. But one or more such instances will not be sufficient to subvert it, for the whole of this coast, or all the land between the ocean and the Alleghanies from the St Lawrence to the West Indies, has been deranged by earthquakes, the traces of which are every where to be seen; and these earthquakes have altered and nearly destroyed the regular horizontal arrangement of the strata throughout the whole of this space.

“Having sufficiently discussed the state and circumstances of the soil of the United States, it remains for me to say a few words respecting one of the most remarkable natural singularities of the country; that by which it is most particularly characterized, since it’s parallel has never yet been found throughout the globe; I mean the fall of the river St Lawrence at Niagara.”

View of the Climate and Soil of the United States of America: To which are Annexed Some Accounts of Florida, the French Colony on the Scioto, Certain …

1805: Harris, Thaddeus Mason

Thaddeus Mason Harris; The Journal of a Tour Into the Territory Northwest of the Allegheny Mountains; Made in the Spring of the Year 1803: With a Geographical and Historical Account of the State of Ohio; Illustrated with Original Maps and Views; Vol 3; Manning & Loring; 1805

Thaddeus Mason Harris writes: “ARTICLE IV.

“THE said Territory, and the States which may be formed therein, shall forever remain a part of this confederacy of the United States of America, subject to the articles of confederation, and to such alterations therein, as shall be constitutionally made; and to all the Acts and ordinances, of the United

States in Congress assembled, conformable thereto. The inhabitants and settlers in the said Territory shall be subject to pay a part of the federal debts, contracted or to be contracted, and a proportionable part of the expenses of government, to be apportioned on them by Congress, according to the same common rule and measure, by which apportionments thereof shall be made on the other States; and the taxes for paying their proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the Legislatures of the district or districts or new States, as in the original States, within the time agreed upon by the United States in Congress assembled. The Legislatures of those districts or new States, shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil by the United States in Congress assembled, nor with any regulations Congress may find necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona fide purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on lands the property of the United States; and in no case shall non-resident proprietors be taxed higher than residents. The navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and St Lawrence, and the carrying places between the same, shall be common highways, and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of the said Territory, as to the citizens of the United States, and those of any other States that may be admitted into the confederacy, without any tax, impost or duty therefor.”

The Journal of a Tour Into the Territory Northwest of the Alleghany Mountains; Made in the Spring of the Year 1803: With a Geographical and Historical …

1806: Alley (LLB, Rector of the Parishes of Beaulieu and Drumcarr), Jerome

Jerome Alley (LLB, Rector of the Parishes of Beaulieu and Drumcarr); A Vindication of the Principles and Statements advanced in the Strictures of … Lord Sheffield, on the necessity of inviolably maintaining the navigation and colonial system of Great Britain, etc; HD Symonds; 1806

Jerome Alley writes: “While I dwell on these measures and facts, I am not forgetful that much has been done, in the present reign, to encourage the shipping interest of this country. The whale fisheries of the river St Lawrence and of Greenland, and the herring fisheries along the coasts of Great Britain, have been aided by bounties; foreigners have been prohibited, under additional penalties, from holding shares in British vessels; oak timber, for the use of the navy, has been the object of some new regulations and laws; and the voyages of discovery, undertaken by the wise and benevolent direction of his Majesty, have considerably contributed to the improvement of navigation. But a thousand salutary regulations may be counteracted by a single measure; the intention of the past will not be allowed to shelter from investigation the principles of the present; and, however we may admit the good which has been sought or accomplished, it cannot be wrong to enumerate the mischiefs which have been actually produced.”

A Vindication of the Principles and Statements advanced in the Strictures of... Lord Sheffield, on the necessity of inviolably maintaining the navigation and …

1806: Furlong, Lawrence

Lawrence Furlong (compiler); The American Coast Pilot: Containing the Courses and Distances Between the Principal Harbours, Capes and Headlands, from Passamaquoddy Through the Gulf of Florida … Together with the Courses and Distances from Cape Cod and Cape Ann to Georges’ Bank … with the Latitudes and Longitudes of the …; 5th edition; Edmund M Blunt; 1806

Lawrence Furlong writes: “Sailing directions for the Gulf of St Lawrence.

“FROM Cape North, in the island of Cape Breton, to Cape Ray, in Newfoundland, the course is east-northeast 19 or 20 leagues.

“From Cape North to the middle of the island of St Paul, the course is east-northeast. ¾ north distance 4 leagues.

“From St Paul’s island to Cape Ray, the course is east-northeast ¼ east 16 leagues.

“[All these Bearings are by Compass and the variation 16 of 17 degrees west; and the Distances are found by trigonometrical calculation by several Bearings taken, etc]

“From Cape North to the Bird islands, the course is north 9 degrees west 17 or 18 leagues.

“From St Paul’s island to the Bird islands, the course is north 24 degrees west distance 15 ½ leagues.

“From Cape Ray to the Bird islands, the course is west 26 degrees north distance 22 leagues.

“From the Bird islands to the north part of Isle Brion, is west ¾ south 5 or 6 leagues. – All the above courses are by compass.

“REMARKS.

“The Bird islands are but small, and not far asunder; the passage between is a rocky ledge. They are of a moderate height, and white at top, the northernmost being the largest, from the east end of which runs a small ledge of rocks.

“The passage between Little bird island and the Isle of Brion, is about 5 leagues.

“SOUNDINGS.

“Body of the island Brion, south and south ½ west 4 leagues, 35 fathoms, brown sand.

“North end of ditto, southwest by south 36 fathoms, same ground.

“Northwest end of ditto, south 40 fathoms, rocky with small shells.

“Body of ditto, south by east 7 or 8 leagues, 45 fathoms, sand and stones.

“From Island Brion to Cape Rosiere, the course is northwest by west 39 leagues. Here the variation is 17 degrees.

“From Cape Rosiere to the northwest end of Anticosti the course is north-northwest 20 leagues. Here the variation is 17 degrees 30 minutes.

“REMARKS.

“The channel between Anticosti and the main land of Nova Scotia, is about 14 or 15 leagues, and in the middle is very deep water, sometimes no ground with 180 to 200 fathoms line. To the westward of Anticosti is a bank, the extent of which is not known.

“LATITUDES.

“Cape North 47 degrees 6 minutes north

“St Paul’s island 47 degrees 14 minutes north

“Cape Ray 47 degrees 40 minutes north

“Bird island 47 degrees 52 minutes north

“North part of Brion island 47 degrees 50 minutes north

“Cape Gaspee 48 degrees 44 minutes north

“Northwest end of Anticosti 49 degrees 46 minutes north

“The islands of Mingan are 10 leagues northeast from the island of Anticosti, in latitude 50 degrees 15 minutes north.

“REMARKS.

“The harbour of Mingan is very secure for ships in all weathers; there is good anchorage all within the Parekett and other islands, and great plenty of cod fish. It appears to be very convenient for the cod, seal, and salmon fishery, and has the additional advantages of a level, good soil, and profitable Indian trade. The tide flows here full and change, at 3 o’clock, and rises about 10 or 12 feet; but much of the tides depend on the weather.

“The bay of Seven Islands is on the north side of the river St Lawrence, being a very secure harbour for a number of ships in any wind. It lies in latitude 50 degrees 20 minutes north and lies north from Mount Lewis, and west-northwest 25 leagues from the northwest end of Anticosti, by the compass. …”

The American Coast Pilot: Containing the Courses and Distances Between the Principal Harbours, Capes and Headlands, from Passamaquoddy Through the …

1806: Wakefield, Priscilla

Priscilla Wakefield; Excursions in North America: Described in Letters from a Gentleman and His Young Companion, to Their Friends in England; Issue 804 of Canadiana in the Toronto Public Library [Microfiche]; Darton and Harvey; 1806

Priscilla Wakefield writes: “My letter is already too long, yet it will not be complete unless I add a few particulars of our journey from Quebec to Montreal. At the first post-house, our driver, with his hair in a queue, bound up with an eel-skin, announced our arrival by a loud crack of his whip, which brought out the post-master and all his family to the door to welcome us. The old lady was very stylish, in a close French cap. She gave us a good breakfast, of which we stood greatly in need. The road runs mostly

along the banks of the St Lawrence, presenting the same views of neat little towns and villages, we so much admired from the water, in our passage to Quebec. In the first forty miles we were often gratified with prospects of great sublimity. In some places the immense river, like a lake confined between ranges of mountains, seemed to roll under our feet; and the largest merchantmen, as we looked down from the steep banks, appeared no bigger than fishing boats. We took refreshment at a town called Trois Rivieres, from its situation on the shore of the St Lawrence, close to the mouth of the river St Maurice – the largest of thirty rivers that fall into the St Lawrence, on the north-west side alone, between Quebec and Montreal. This river is divided into three streams, by two large islands just before, and is not large; the streets are narrow, and many of the houses are built only of wood: but we were so well amused at the convent of St Ursule, that we disregarded the meanness of the town. We first entered the chapel, the doors of which open to the street, under a porch. It is very lofty, but not extensive. Opposite to the entrance is the altar, which is richly ornamented; on each side of it is a lattice, the one leading to an apartment allotted for sick nuns, the other connected with the choeur of the chapel. Here we were desired to ring a bell. Upon this the curtain within the lettice was drawn back, and we discovered an apartment surrounded with nuns, and furnished with an altar, near which kneeled several nuns, dressed in black stuff gowns, and white handkerchiefs spread over their shoulders, and drawn close up to the throat; to these were joined a kind of hood, of white linen, that covers half the forehead, the temples, and ears. Each of them had, besides, a flowing veil of black gauze; and a silver cross hung from the breast. The works of these sisters in birch bark, embroidered with elk hair, dyed of the most brilliant colours, are very ingenious: of these materials they make pocket-books, work-bags, dressing-boxes, models of Indian canoes, and a variety of the warlike weapons used by the Indians. Strangers are expected to purchase some of them, which I did willingly, and shall send them by the first opportunity to Catharine and Louisa, as specimens of the art. Besides works of fancy, these good sisters employ themselves in attending on the sick in the hospital, which is close to the convent.”

Priscilla Wakefield continues: “IT is said the eye is not satisfied with seeing, which may be truly applied to us; for after the vast extent we have traversed, and the variety that has occurred in the course of our peregrinations, I could not behold a party of Montreal dealers in furs, set off for an expedition to the distant lakes that lies towards the Pacific Ocean, without an ardent desire to share their adventures, whatever difficulties they might encounter. Mr Franklin was not long in yielding to my importunities; but choosing to visit the celebrated Falls of Niagara, we took a different course, and agreed to meet them at Machillimackinack. We accordingly embarked at Chine, a small pleasant village about nine miles higher up on the island, to avoid the strong rapids just above Montreal. Here are very extensive storehouses, belonging to the king of England, where the presents for the Indians are deposited. On the opposite side of the river stands the village of the Cockenonaga Indians, chiefly consisting of a few log-houses and a Roman Catholic church, gaily adorned with pictures, lamps, and other finery, to attract the attention of these people. When the wind was favourable, we used our sails – when otherwise, the boatmen were obliged to take their oars; a labour that they always cheer with a song, in which every man of them joins, whether his voice is melodious or not. A strong current, at times, obliged them to keep as close as possible to the shore, and push the bateau along with light poles, headed with iron. They are often obliged to rest from this exertion, when they seldom fail to fill their pipes, which they keep constantly in their mouths; for a French Canadian without it is a rare sight. On one part of the river, called the Lake of St Louis, our vessels were covered with swarms of little white insects, rather larger than a gnat, but such of delicate texture, that they crumble to powder with a touch. We passed

the first night on a small island named Perot, at the mouth of the Utawas river. Here I enjoyed a novel scene. After our boatmen had secured the little fleet of bateaux, they divided themselves into small parties, and kindled fires along the shore, that they might cook their victuals for the next day, and keep themselves warm during the night. These men are so hardy, that in fine weather they sleep on the bare grass, with no other covering than a short blanket; and when it is stormy they shelter themselves with a sail, or a blanket spread against the wind, over a few poles stuck into the ground. I envied their independence, and tried, one night, to imitate it, but I got a trimming cold. The next day we crossed the Utawas, in order to gain the mouth of the south-west branch of the St Lawrence. The river at this place rushes down into the lake over immense rocks, with suck impetuosity, and the breakers run so high, that I fully expected our bateaux would be overset, or filled with water. The dexterity of our boatmen, however, got us safe through these rapids, as they are properly named, for boats are carried down the stream at the rate of fifteen miles an hour. Ascending the stream was, on the contrary, so tedious, that our party were put on shore, determining to proceed on foot, till the bateaux had passed this difficult navigation. We got a comfortable dinner in the English style, at a neat tavern, kept by an English woman, in the pretty village of the Hill of Cedars. This evening the bateaux were drawn up for the night, at the foot of the hill of the lake, and we pitched our tent on the edge of a wood, at a little distance from the river. I was fatigued, and slept as soundly as if I had been on a down bed. The next morning we entered the Lake St Francis, about twenty-five miles long; and landed on the Isle aux Raisins, named so from the abundance of wild vines that grow upon it. The Indians, who possess it, were very friendly, and sold us some wild ducks and fresh-caught fish, for a trifle. Night after night we passed much in the same manner, under the shelter of our tent, which did not secure us from the effects of a dreadful hurricane, attended with torrents of rain that drenched us to the skin.

“Some of our friends were excellent shots: when we went on shore to avoid the rapids, of which we passed several, they mostly carried their guns, and killed a number of wood pigeons, except being smaller, very much like those we have in England. Having passed the last rapid below the mouth of the Oswegatchee, the most considerable of those rivers within the territory that falls into the St Lawrence, the current became gentle, and we entered the Lake of a Thousand Islands. The multiplicity of small islets that cover its surface give it this name. They vary in size, from several miles round to a spot not bigger than our boat. All of them are covered with wood; and many of them are guarded by rocks, and crags of fantastic shapes, that rise to a considerable height above the water.

“Nothing can exceed the beauty and variety of prospects this lake affords. In some parts, our bateaux seemed to be hemmed in by islands, whose rich foliage hung over the water. Between the trees were the hunting encampments of the Indians, when, on a sudden, a narrow passage led us into the open lake. After enjoying these ever-changing views, we were landed at Kingston, a garrisoned town of great trade, situated at the mouth of a deep bay, at the north-eastern extremity of Lake Ontario. Before I proceed, I must entreat you to cast your eye on the map, and trace the course of the mighty St Lawrence. At its mouth, it is ninety miles wide, and it is navigable, for ships of the line, as far as Quebec, a distance of four hundred miles from the sea. If we consider that immense body of water that flows from Lake Winnipic through the Lake of the Woods, Lakes Superior, Eric, Huron, and Ontario, down to the sea, as one continued stream, it must excite our wonder and admiration.”

Priscilla Wakefield continues: “WE took a few day’s rest at Kingston; the ground near the city rises with a gentle swell, and forms, from the lake, a sort of amphitheatre of lands cleared, but not yet cultivated. A few of the houses are built of stone and brick, but the generality are only of wood. The barracks are a

stone edifice, surrounded with palisadoes. Kingston is a kind of mart for the goods brought up the St Lawrence, for the supply of the upper country: here they are deposited in stores, (the American name for warehouses,) till they can be exported across the lakes. A great number of furs also are collected in this town from the country beyond the lakes, and some are brought in by the Indians, who hunt in the neighbourhood.

“Having taken a full survey of this town, Mr Franklin bargained with the captain of a large vessel bound for Niagara, for the use of the cabin; and, on the signal of a fair wind, we embarked for crossing Lake Ontario, the most easterly of the four 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, and, in the broadest part, seventy wide. Our voyage was exactly the same as if we had been on the ocean, for the shores being generally flat and sandy, we were mostly out of sight of land; and this lake being less subject to storms that the others that are near it, the passage was calm and prosperous. As we approached the town of Niagara, often called Newach, we admired the handsome appearance of the fort. Here we were put ashore, and soon entered the town, which is one of the principal of Upper Canada, and the centre of the gentility of the province. The houses for the common people are mostly of wood, but those designed for the residence of the officers of government are very handsome buildings. It stands on the western bank of the river of the same time, in a very pleasant situation; but it is miserably unhealthy, the inhabitants being very subject to the ague, as I have unfortunately experienced during the last three days. I have had two violent fits of it. I am now swallowing doses of bark every two hours, in hopes of preventing a return of it. Agues and intermittents are very prevalent in many parts of America, particularly where the land has been lately cleared of wood; which is attributed to the vapours that rise from the earth, when first turned up, which has never before been cultivated. I hope I shall soon recover my health, as in many of our wanderings I am obliged to fast as well as feast, and have no opportunity for indulgence. Though there is no regular market at this place, we fare well: yesterday we had a haunch of venison, and salmon, for dinner; both purchased from an Indian, who gladly exchanged them for a bottle of rum and a loaf of bread. Lake Ontario, and all the rivers that fall into it, abound with excellent salmon, and many different kinds of salt-water fish, which come up the river St Lawrence; as well as a great variety, of those kinds that live in fresh water, its own natural inhabitants. The Indians, whose chief occupation, besides war, is fishing and hunting, have a curious method of taking the fish in this lake. Two men go at night on these expeditions, in a canoe: the one sits in the stern, and paddles the boat along; and the other stands with a spear in his hand, over a flambeau placed in the head of the canoe. The light attracts the fish; they crowd on all sides of the canoe; and the spearsman, accustomed to the business, strikes them with such dexterity, that he seldom misses his aim.”

Priscilla Wakefield continues: “The lakes, rivers, and cataracts of Canada, are on the grandest scale. The extremes of winter and summer are felt in this climate, but no middle season. The manners of the people, like their descent, are of French origin, and retain strong marks of their ancient customs. A happy, social, lively disposition is their characteristic, and appears in all ranks, from the merchant in furs, (the great article of their commerce,) to the men who row the boats on the mighty St Lawrence. The numerous tribes of Indians that live in the neighbourhood of the settlements, supply the Canadians with the furs of different animals, which they often procure vast distances, in the interior parts of the country.”

Excursions in North America: described in letters from a gentleman and his young companion, to their friends in England

1806: Webster, Noah

Noah Webster; Containing a historical and geographical account of the United States; Vol 1-2 of Elements of Useful Knowledge; OD Cooke; 1806

Noah Webster writes: “Of the Iroquois. The Iroquois, usually called St Lawrence, is a very large river, and the outlet or channel by which the superfluous waters of five large lakes and their numerous tributary streams, are conveyed to the ocean. Its sources is Lake Superior, or rather the rivers which fall into it. From this Lake is a channel of communication with Michigan and Huron, and thence with Erie and Ontario, from which the waters issue in a large river, which running to the north east, unites with the ocean opposite to Newfoundland, where it forms a large bay. From the extreme western part of the Superior, to its junction with the ocean, is more than two thousand miles.

“Of the rivers which run into the North Sea. To the northward of the sources of the Missisippi and St Lawrence, originate several large rivers, as the Albany, the Severn and the Churchill which pour their waters into Hudson’s Bay. The Makenzie, so called from the traveller, who sailed down the river to tide water, runs into the North Sea. The Unjiga, Saskashawin and others discharge their waters into large lakes or the North Sea. The land on which these great rivers and the Missisippi and St Lawrence have their sources, must be the highest in North America; as the waters descend to the ocean in opposit directions.”

Noah Webster continues: “Of the Gulf of the Iroquois. The river Iroquois, or St Lawrence opens into a bay ninety miles wide, at its junction with the waters of the Atlantic. In front of it is the large island of Newfoundland, almost four hundred miles in length, and within it, are St John’s Anticosti and others. On the north, between Newfoundland and Labrador, is the strait of Belisle, about twenty miles wide; and on the south a still wider channel by which this gulf communicates with the Atlantic.”

Noah Webster continues: “Of the Expedition under Admiral Walker. In 1711, General Nicholson procured of the queen, a fleet of men of war and transports, under Admiral Walker, for aiding in the conquest of Canada. This fleet arrived at Boston in June, and altho not expected, the colonies made the best preparation they could to second the operations. The whole force, when the British and colonial troops were united, amounted to seven thousand men. General Nicholson went to Albany, intending, with additional forces, to join Admiral Walker before Quebec. The fleet sailed from Boston July 30th, but met with fogs and tempestuous weather, near the mouth of the St Lawrence, in which eight or nine transports, with about a thousand men were lost, by ship wreck. This put an end to the expedition – the admiral sailed to England, and the colonial troops returned. The peace of Utrecht, signed March 3d, 1713, put an end to hostilities, and continued till 1739.”

Containing a historical and geographical account of the United States

1807: Pinkerton, John

John Pinkerton; Modern geography: A description of the Empires, Kingdoms, states and colonies with the Oceans, seas and isles in all parts of the world: Digested on a new plan; With numerous maps; Vol 3; Cadell; 1807

John Pinkerton writes: “From the preceding ample description, which the great importance of these rivers to the prosperity of North America authorizes, it appears that, setting aside the capricious distinctions of the savage tribes, the Missouri must be regarded as the chief river which constitutes what is called the Mississippi. Measured on the same merely comparative scale which has been adopted to give a general idea of the length of the rivers in Europe and Asia, the Missouri or Mississippi will be about 2000 miles in length. The great river of St Lawrence is far inferior, being chiefly remarkable for its breadth. In South America the Maranon, or river of Amazons, measured on the same comparative scale, will be found to be about 2300, and the Rio de la Plata about 1900. In the same comparative way, measured on the accurate planisphere of Mr Arrowsmith, the Kian Ku exceeds the Missouri and rivals the Maranon, which last is probably also rivalled by the Ob. Some deceptions have arisen on this curious subject, as the large rivers in America have been computed by actual navigation of the whole, or a part, in which every winding is taken into the account; while the length of those in Asia has been merely assumed from the general appearance in maps, without due attention to the innumerable deviations. A favourable climate, and other circumstances, render the American rivers more navigable; the Ob being impeded by ice, and the Kian Ku by the alpine rocks of Tibet.*

“The noble river of St Lawrence is universally regarded as the second in North America, being not less than 90 miles wide at its mouth, and navigable for ships of the line as far as Quebec, a distance of 400 miles from the sea. Near Quebec it is five miles in breadth; and at Montreal from two to four. Though there be some rapids, yet this grand river may be considered as navigable to Kingston, and the lake Ontario, 743 miles from the sea. It is difficult to define the precise source of the St Lawrence, though that name be generally confined to the river issuing from Lake Ontario; while the Niagara, which flows from the lake Erie, is regarded as a distinct stream. As in Asiatic geography the Angara is traced from the sea of Baikal, without assuming the Selinga, as a further source, so by analogy the St Lawrence cannot be traced beyond the lake Ontario, nor can geographical usage permit it to be traced to the lake Superior; and far less, with Mr Weld, to the lake Winipic, which, according to the best maps, has no communication whatever with what has been above called the sea of Canada, consisting of the joint lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron. The length of the St Lawrence may therefore be about 700 British miles, the breadth being the grand characteristic.

“*From Mr Arrowsmith’s last map of the American States, with corrections and additions to 1802, and his intending map of North America of the same date, it appears that the Mississippi rises from the Turtle Lake, latitude 47 degrees 40 minutes, not far to the south of the Red Lake. But from the last map, and the most authentic travellers, it is clear that the Mississippi should properly be termed the MISSOURI, the last being the most considerable river, and rising from sources in the western chain about 600 British miles more remote than the furthest source of the Mississippi, so that the comparative course of the Missouri may be about 2000 British miles. The Missouri, like the St Lawrence and river of Amazons, is a while muddy stream, while the Mississippi is clear like the Black River, which falls into that of Amazons. Charlevoix, ii 218, has described the confluence as the grandest in the world. Each river is about half a league in breadth; but the Missouri is the broadest and the most rapid. Le Page du Pratz, in his history of Louisiana, (i 202 of the English abridgement) says that the French word Mississippi is a contraction of the savage term Meact-Chassipi, which literally denotes the ancient Father of Rivers. Mr

Hutchins observes (Imlay, 389) that the natives still call it Meschasipi; and the same author adds, p 405, that the Missouri ‘affords a more extensive navigation, and is a longer, broader, and deeper river than the Mississippi’. The journey of a great savage traveller to the sources of the Missouri and to the noted western river, Du Pratz, ii 125, seems to correspond with recent discoveries, and the Otter nation probably still exists. The free navigation of the Mississippi was secured to the American States by the treaty with Spain 1795. The inundations begin in March and subside in July. It appears from Mr Mackenzie’s Voyages 1802, 410 p xxxvi that some rivers of North America have sunk more than ten feet beneath their ancient level.”

John Pinkerton continues: “The face of the country is generally mountainous and woody; but there are savannas, and plains of great beauty, chiefly towards Upper Canada. In the lower province the soil mostly consists of a loose blackish earth of ten or twelve inches, incumbent on cold clay. This thin mould is however very fertile, and manure was seldom or never used by the French settlers; but of late marl has been employed, and is found in considerable quantities on the shores of the river St Lawrence. A little tobacco is cultivated for private use, with many culinary vegetables, and considerable crops of grain, wheat being reckoned among the exports: a kind of vine is indigenous, but the grapes are sour, and little larger than currants. Raspberries are also indigenous; and there are good currants and gooseberries. A great variety of trees is found in the forests; beech, oak, elm, ash, pine, sycamore, chesnut, walnut, etc. The sugar maple tree also abounds, and the sugar is generally used in the country. Of this tree there are two kinds, the swamp and the mountain maple. Mr Weld points out some difficulties in the tenures of land which ought to be removed, as in such a climate there is no occasion for a barrier against colonization.

“The great river St Lawrence has been already described in the general view of North America. The Utawas is the most important of all its tributary streams, issuing from various lakes, towards the centre of Canada: its waters are of a bright greenish colour, while the St Lawrence is muddy. Many rivers of smaller consequence flow into the river St Lawrence from the north. The large lakes have been also already mentioned: there are many others, of which the enumeration would be tedious; and some difficulty arises from the want of any precise boundary in the north of Canada.”

Modern geography: A description of the Empires, Kingdoms, states and colonies with the Oceans, seas and isles in all parts of the world: Digested on a new …

1808: Atcheson, Nathaniel

Nathaniel Atcheson; American Encroachments on British Rights: Or, Observations on the Importance of the British North American Colonies and on the Late Treaties with the United States: with Ramarks on Mr Baring’s Examination; and a Defence of the Shipping Interest from the Charge of Having Attempted to Impose on …; J Butterworth; 1808

Nathaniel Atcheson writes: “ARTICLE II.

“And that all disputes which might arise in future on the subject of the boundaries of the said United States may be prevented, it is hereby agreed and declared, that the following are and shall be their

boundaries, viz from the north-west angle of Nova Scotia, viz that angle which is formed by a line drawn due north, from the source of St Croix river to the Highlands, along the said Highlands which divide those rivers that empty themselves into the river St Lawrence, from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean, to the north-westermost head of Connecticut river; thence down along the middle of that river to the forty-fifth degree of north latitude; from thence by a line due west on said latitude until it strikes the river Iroquois or Cataraquy; thence along the middle of said river into lake Ontario; through the middle of said lake, until it strikes the communication by water between that lake and lake Erie; thence along the middle of said communication into lake Erie; through the middle of said lake until it arrives at the water-communication between that lake and lake Huron; thence along the middle of said-communication into the lake Huron; thence through the middle of said lake to the water-communication between that lake and lake Superior; thence through lake Superior, northward of the Isles Royal and Phelipeaux, to the Long Lake; thence through the middle of said Long Lake, and the water-communication between it and the lake of the woods, to the said lake of the woods; thence through the said lake to the most north-western point thereof, and from thence on a due west course to the river Mississippi; thence by a line to be drawn along the middle of the said river Mississippi, until it shall intersect the northernmost part of the thirty-first degree of north latitude: - South, by a line to be drawn due east from the determination of the line last-mentioned, in the latitude of thirty-one degrees north of the equator, to the middle of the river Apalachicola or Catahouche; thence along the middle thereof to its junction with the Flint river; thence straight to the head of St Mary’s river, and thence down along the middle of St Mary’s river to the Atlantic Ocean: - East, by a line to be drawn along the middle of the river St Croix, from its mouth in the bay of Fundy to its source; and from its source directly north to the aforesaid Highlands, which divide the rivers that fall into the Atlantic Ocean from those which fall into the river St Lawrence; comprehending all Islands within twenty leagues of any part of the shores of the United States, and lying between lines to be drawn due east from the points where the aforesaid boundaries between Nova Scotia on the one part, and East Florida on the other, shall respectively touch the bay of Fundy, and the Atlantic Ocean; excepting such Islands as now are, or heretofore have said, within the limits of the said province of Nova Scotia.

“ARTICLE III.

“It is agreed, That the people of the United States shall continue to enjoy unmolested the right to take fish of every kind on the Grand Bank and on all the other banks of Newfoundland: also in the gulph of St Lawrence, and at all other places in the sea, where the inhabitants of both countries used at any time heretofore to fish. And also that the inhabitants of the United States shall have liberty to take fish of every kind on such part of the coast of Newfoundland as British fisherman shall use, (but not to dry or cure the same on that Island) and also on the coasts, bays, and creeks of all other of his Britannick majesty’s dominions in America; and that the American fishermen shall have liberty to dry and cure fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbours, and creeks of Nova Scotia, Magdalen Islands, and Labrador, so long as the same shall remain unsettled; but so soon as the same, or either of them, shall be settled, it shall not be lawful for the said fishermen to dry or cure fish at such settlement, without a previous agreement for that purpose with the inhabitants, proprietors or possessors of the ground.”

American Encroachments on British Rights: Or, Observations on the Importance of the British North American Colonies and on the Late Treaties with the …

1808: Harriott, John

John Harriott; Struggles Through Life: Exemplified in the Various Travels and Adventures in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, of Lieut John Harriott …; Vol 1; 2nd edition; 1808

John Harriott writes: “From New-York, we sailed for Halifax, in Nova Scotia. The French privateers from the Gulph of St Lawrence, had been so very busy and successful in taking vessels bound with provisions for Newfoundland, as to create an alarm for the island being distressed in the ensuing winter, if not provided for in time. We were ordered back, therefore, to New-York, to procure vessels, load them with provisions, and convoy them to Newfoundland.”

John Harriott continues: “The United States of America extend from 31 to 46 degrees of north latitude; in length 1250 miles and in breadth 1040; containing by computation, one million of square miles. No part of the world is better watered with springs, rivulets, rivers, and lakes, than the whole of North America. The facilities of navigation render the communication from the Missisippi to the River Saint Lawrence advantageously expeditious. Some few canals are now executing, and others are proposed, which, when completed, will open communications beneficial to the whole country; but this must be a work of time.”

Struggles Through Life: Exemplified in the Various Travels and Adventures in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, of Lieut. John Harriott....

1808: Holmes, Abiel

Abiel Holmes; American Annals: Or, A Chronological History of America: from Its Discovery in 1492 to 1806; Vol 2; 1808

Abiel Holmes writes: “NOTE III. (pp 378, 381)

“The Definitive Treaty was signed at Paris, 3 September, by John Adams, David Hartley, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay. By Article I his Britannic majesty acknowledges the United States of America to be free, sovereign, and independent States; treats with them as such; and for himself, his heirs and successors, relinquishes all claim to the government, property, and territorial rights of the same, and every part thereof. – By Article II the boundaries of the said States are declared and described from St Croix in Nova Scotia to Canada, by the lakes and the river Missisippi to East Florida. – By Article III it is agreed, that the people of the United States shall continue to enjoy, unmolested, the right to take fish of every kind on the Grand Bank, and on all other banks of Newfoundland, also in the Gulf of St Lawrence, and at all other places in the sea, where the inhabitants of both countries used at any time hereofore to fish – By Article IV it is agreed, that the creditors on either side shall meet with no lawful impediment to the recovery of the full value, in sterling money, of all bona fide debts heretofore contracted. – By Article V it is agreed, that congress shall earnestly recommend it to the legislatures of the respective States, to provide for the restitution of all confiscated estates, belonging to real British subjects, etc – By Article VI it is agreed, that there shall be no future confiscations, etc – By Article VII it is agreed, that there shall be a mutual, firm, and perpetual peace, and that his Britannic majesty shall, with all convenient speed, withdraw all his armies, garrisons, and fleets from the United States. – By Article VIII

the navigation of the Missisippi, from its source to the ocean, is for ever to remain free and open to the subjects of Great Britain and the citizens of the United States.”

American Annals: Or, A Chronological History of America: from Its Discovery in 1492 to 1806

1808: Porteus (bp of London), Beilby

Beilby Porteus (bp [Bishop] of London); A letter to the governors, legislatures, and proprietors of plantations, in the British West-India islands; Vol 10; 1808

Beilby Porteus writes: “It has, by its aids, produced and encouraged institutions similar to its own in Germany and Prussia. By the former of these 5000 copies of a German protestant New Testament have been printed; by the latter, an edition of the Bohemian Bible is in a course of printing for the use of the protestants in Bohemia, Berlin, and elsewhere. Two thousand copies of St John’s Gospel in the Mohawk language, have been printed in London at the society’s expence, and distributed among the Mohawks on the great river, and 500 more will soon be sent to the Mohawks lower down on the river St Lawrence. On the Icelandic New Testament 2000 copies have been printed at Copenhagen, at the society’s expence, and forwarded to Iceland. Two separate sums of 1,000 pounds each have been granted by the society towards the translation of the Scriptures now going on in Bengal, into ten Oriental languages. Of these translations I have myself seen specimens. Arabic types and paper have been granted by the society for the purpose of printing 5000 copies of the Turkish Testament at Karass on the borders of the Caspian Sea; an elegant specimen of this Turkish translation I have also seen. New Testaments have been sent to Ireland; and 20,000 copies of a neat Gaelic Bible is now passing through the press. The English and Welsh Bibles are all printed under the direction of the University of Cambridge. Copies of the New Testament have also been furnished to the convicts at Woolwich; the prisoners in Newgate, and other jails; the German soldiers and seamen at Margate, Gosport, Guildford, Dublin, and other places; the Sea Fencibles on the Essex coast, and the French and Spanish prisoners of war. Abroad, to the British soldiers at the Cape of Good Hope; the inhabitants of Newfoundland, Halifax, and Nova Scotia; the settlers at Van Dieman’s Land; the French at St Domingo; the Spaniards at Buenos Ayres; the colonists of New South Wales, and to different parts of France, Switzerland, and Germany.”

A letter to the governors, legislatures, and proprietors of plantations, in the British West-India islands

1809: Gray, Hugh

Hugh Gray; Letters from Canada, Written During a Residence There in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808; Coles Canadiana collection; Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme; 1809

Hugh Gray writes: “A seal and purpoise fishery has been carried on in several parts of the St Lawrence, and was formerly very productive both in skins and oil; at present little advantage is derived from it. These articles are likewise brought from the King’s posts.”

Hugh Gray continues: “The St Lawrence was so full of shelving masses of ice, which the frost had fixed in that position, that a road could not be made upon it; we continued therefore in the summer road, till we came to the river du Loup, which gave us for several leagues a pleasant road, free from cahots. From the river du Loup to the river Maskinonge, the distance is short, and we followed the course of the Maskinonge for several leagues, till we came to the St Lawrence, on which we found a good road as far as Berthier.

“Berthier is one of the best cultivated and most beautiful settlements in Canada. In summer it bears some resemblance to part of Gloucestershire, on the banks of the Severn. – In the St Lawrence, opposite to Bertheir, are several islands of considerable size, abounding with very fine timber, and yielding rich pasture for cattle. In summer, they have a charming effect; but, in winter, all is dreary and deathlike – nothing is left but the mere skeleton of a wood.

“Which way soever you direct your attention, nothing presents itself to your observation, but ice and snow; so that you may suppose there can be very little variety in a winter journey. After the first day, your curiosity is perfectly satisfied.

“The country people, pass their time in winter, very idly. Their only care seems to be to keep themselves warm; and their principal occupation is cutting and bringing home firewood. They make a journey to Quebec or Montreal occasionally, to dispose of any surplus provisions they may have, and procure some of the comforts of life; such as replenishing their rum bottle, and renewing their stock of snuff, pipes, and tobacco.

“Those who live on the banks of the St Lawrence, where the tide ebbs and flows, occupy themselves occasionally in fishing, or catching a species of fish, which come up the river in the winter time, in great abundance, and form a seasonable supply for those who will take the trouble to attend to it.

“They are from four to nine inches long, and resemble a cod in every respect, except size. The Canadians call them petite Morue; the English call them Tommy cod. – Some people think that it is a different fish from the cod; for my own part, I cannot see why. The principal reason for their being supposed a different fish from the cod is, that they are found full of spawn, which, it is alleged, could not be the case with cod at so early an age, and so small a size. This does not appear to me enough to warrant this conclusion. It is not, I believe, ascertained at what age or size the codfish begins to propagate; and I have yet to learn why this may not take place when the fish is six inches long, as well as when it is a foot, or two or three feet, long. If size were the criterion, it appears as extraordinary that a fish, which grows to the length of three or four feet, should propagate when at the length of one foot, as that it should do so at the length of six inches.”

Letters from Canada, Written during a Residence There in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808

1809: Lamb, Roger

Roger Lamb; An Original and Authentic Journal of Occurrences During the Late American War: From Its Commencement to the Year 1783; Wilkinson & Courtney; 1809

Roger Lamb writes: “In the river St Lawrence, are sea wolves, sea cows, purpoises, the chaourasou, turtles, lobsters, sea plaise, salmon, trouts, with a variety of other fish. The sea wolf, so called from its howling, is an amphibious creature; his head resembles that of a dog; he has four very short legs, of which the fore ones have nails, but the hind ones terminate in fins. The largest are said to weigh two thousand pounds, and are of different colours. Their flesh is good eating, but the profit of it lies in its oil, which is proper for burning, and currying leather. Their skins make excellent covering for trunks, and though not so fine as morocco leather, they preserve their freshness better, and are less liable to crack. The shoes and boots made of these skins do not admit water, and when properly tanned make excellent and lasting covers for seats. The sea cow, is larger than the sea wolf, but resembles it in figure. It is as white as snow, and has two teeth of the thickness and length of a man’s arm, that, when grown, look like horns, and are very fine ivory, as well as its other teeth. It seldom happens that they are caught in the water, but they are taken on shore by the following stratagem. The inhabitants of Arcadia, tie a bull to a stake, fixt on the shore, in the depth of about two feet water; they then beat, and otherwise torment him, by twisting his tail, until they make him roar; which as soon as these animals hear, they make towards the shore, and when they get into shallow water, they crawl to the bull, and are taken with little difficulty. The Arcadians as well as the Indians eat some parts of this animal, and what they dislike they boil with its fat, to an oily or greasy substance, with which they save or cure the skins of other animals for leather.

“Some of the porpoises of the river St Lawrence, are said to yield a hogshead of oil, and of their skins are made waistcoats, which are exceeding strong, and mustket proof.

“The chaourasou is an armed fish, resembling a pike but is covered with scales, that are proof against a dagger; some of them are above five feet long, and about the thickness of a man’s thigh: this fish is said even to catch and devour birds; in order to which, he conceals himself among the canes, or reeds, in such a manner, that nothing is to be seen besides his weapon, which he holds, raised perpendicularly above the surface of the water: the birds which come to take rest, imagining the weapon to be only a withered reed, make no scruple of perching upon it; but they are no sooner alighted, than the fish opens his throat, and so suddenly makes at his prey, that it rarely escapes.

“29th. Our fleet now arrived at Quebec, which is the capital of the province of Canada, and an episcopal see. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers St Lawrence and St Charles, or the little river. It is built on a rock, partly of marble, and partly of slate. The haven which lies opposite the town, is safe and commodious, and about five fathom deep. Before the city was taken by our troops, in the year 1759, it is said to have made a very fine appearance. Among the principal edifices, were the episcopal palace; the cathedral; the fort or citadel, which was the residence of the Governor; the house and church of the Recollects; the church of the Ursuline nuns, in which is the tomb of Monsieur Montcalm, who commanded the French, and was killed at the battle of Quebec, in which also fell that young hero, Wolfe, who commanded the English; the sumptuous college of Jesuits; the intendant’s house, the king’s magazine, etc, etc.”

Roger Lamb continues: “In the mean time, our troops proceeded with all expedition from Quebec to Three Rivers, which place was appointed the general rendezvous of the army. In our passage up the river St Lawrence, our eyes were entertained with beautiful landscapes, the banks being in many places very bold and steep, and shaded with lofty trees, and in others crowded with villages, the air became so mild and temperate, that we thought ourselves transported into another climate. June 5th our regiment

was ordered to land, and to press forward with all expedition. 6th, Arrived at Three Rivers. This town lies half way between Quebec and Montreal, and about thirty leagues from each; it has its name from three rivers which join their current above a quarter of a mile below the village, and fall into the great one, St Lawrence. It is much resorted to by the several tribes of Indians who come down those rivers, and trade with the inhabitants in various kind of furs. The country about it is fertile in corn, fruits, etc.

“For the sake of many of my readers who perhaps have never read the following anecdote, which is related of an Algonquin woman, I shall take the liberty of relating it in this part of my journal.

“That nation being at war with the Iroquois, she happened to be taken prisoner and was carried to one of the villages belonging to them. Here she was stripped naked, and her hands and feet bound with ropes, in one of their cabins. In this condition she remained ten days, the savages sleeping round her every night. The eleventh night, while they were asleep, she found means to disengage one of her hands, after which she immediately freed herself from the ropes, and went to the door. Though she had now an opportunity of escaping unperceived, her revengeful temper could not let slip so favorable an opportunity of killing one of her enemies. The attempt was manifestly at the hazard of her own life; yet, snatching up a hatchet, she killed the savage that lay next her; and springing out of the cabin, concealed herself in a hollow tree which she had observed the day before. The groans of the dying person soon alarmed the other savages, and the young ones immediately set out in pursuit of her. Perceiving from her tree, that they all directed their course one way, and that none of the savages were near her, she left her sanctuary, and flying by an opposite direction, ran into a forest without being perceived. The second day after this her footsteps were discovered, and they pursued her with such expedition that the third day she discovered her enemies at her heels; upon this she threw herself into a pond of water, and diving among some reeds and bulrushes, she could just breathe above water without being perceived. Her pursuers after making the most diligent search, were forced to return. For thirty-five days this woman held on her course, through woods and deserts, without any other sustenance than roots and wild berries. When she came to the river St Lawrence, she made with her own hands a kind of wicker raft on which she crossed. As she went by the French for Three Rivers, without well knowing where she was, she perceived a canoe full of savages, and fearing they might be Iroquois, ran again into the woods, where she remained till sun set. Continuing her course, soon after she saw Three Rivers, and was then discovered by a party whom she knew to be Hurons, a nation in alliance with the Algonquins; she then squatted down behind a bush, calling out to them, that she was not in a condition to be seen, because she was naked. They immediately threw her a blanket, and then conducted her to the fort, where she recounted her story.”

An Original and Authentic Journal of Occurrences During the Late American War: From Its Commencement to the Year 1783

1809: Williams, Samuel

Samuel Williams; The Natural and Civil History of Vermont; Vol 1; 2nd edition; Samuel Mills; 1809

Samuel Williams writes: “THE operations of nature with respect to the lake, must have been the same that they were in relation to the rivers. When the waters discharged by the streams, amounted to such a collection, as to rise above the shores of the lake, they would overflow at the lowest part. There, the

channel would begin; and being formed, it would become more and more deep, in the same manner as the channel of a river. The channel which this lake found, and formed was to the northward; into the river St Lawrence; and through that into the ocean. When this channel, by the constant running of the water, was worn down thirty or forty feet, the surface of the lake would naturally subside the same space.”

Samuel Williams continues: “IN this change of climate, the first effect which is generally observed, is an alteration in the temperature. The cold of the winters decrease; the rivers are not frozen so soon, so thick, or so long, as they formerly were; and the effects of extreme cold, in every respect, appear to be diminished. A remarkable change of this kind, has been observed in all the settled parts of North America. The bays and rivers in New England, are not frozen so hard, or so long, as they were at the first settlement of the country. At the first settlement of Philadelphia, the river Delaware was commonly covered with ice, about the middle of November, old style. It is not now commonly covered with ice, until the first week in January. Similar observations have been made with regard to the ice in Hudson’s river. The baron Lahontan gave this account of the river St Lawrence, at Quebec, in 1690: ‘I put to sea the twentieth of November, new style, the like of which was never seen in that place before. The ice had covered the river on the thirteenth and fourteenth of November, but was carried off by a sudden thaw.’ The river is not frozen over now until the latter end of December, or the beginning of January. The ancient people at Quebec, in 1749, informed Mr Kalm, that the winters in Canada were formerly much colder, than they were then. Similar observations have been made in almost every part of North America, where settlements and cultivation have taken place.”

Samuel Williams continues: “THE next year he was fitted out with three ships, and arrived at the isle of Orleans, in the beginning of September, and came to anchor between the island and the north shore. To the river he gave the name of St Lawrence; and leaving his ships at anchor on September the 19th, he set out with his pinnace and two boats upon a voyage up the river to Hochelaga; where he arrived October the second, and gave to the place the name of Montreal, by which it has ever since been denoted.”

Samuel Williams continues: “THE colony attempted by Cartier having failed, no further attempt was made either to explore, or to make any settlements in the interior parts of Canada, till the year 1603. That year a voyage was undertaken by SAMUEL CHAMPLAIN, a man of a noble family in France. He sailed up the river St Lawrence as far as Cartier had proceeded in 1535, and visited the places which that celebrated navigator had described. Passing the isle of Orleans he came to anchor at a place called Quebec, which in the language of the natives denoted a strait. Champlain remarked that this place might be approached by the largest vessels, that it was surrounded by water on three of its sides, had a situation elevated and commanding; and that with a little labor it might be made a place of great strength, and was in every view a fit place to erect a fort, and begin a settlement. He then proceeded up the river to Hochelaga or Montreal, and made many inquiries of the natives respecting their country, its rivers, lakes, productions, and inhabitants. Without fear or suspicion, and with the most artless simplicity, the Indians informed him that there was a communication to the south, by means of the lakes with a fertile country, which belonged to a powerful and warlike nation called the Iroquoise; that there were several and large lakes to the west, to one of which they knew of no bounds; and that to the north there was a large inland sea of salt water, the limits of which were also unknown. Having obtained this information, Champlain returned to France to communicate his discoveries to the government; and to procure assistance and supplies, to effect a settlement in the country.

“IN 1607 the establishment of a colony on the river St Lawrence, became an object of serious attention to the court and merchants of France. It was concluded that such a colony would extend the fur trade, and open a communication to China through the western lakes; and thus serve to benefit the kingdom, and to enrich the adventurers. Encouraged by these expectations, several vessels were fitted out in the year 1608, to begin a colony. Champlain had the command. He arrived at the place called Quebec, in the beginning of July. In his former voyage he had fixed upon this, as the most eligible place for a settlement, and upon his arrival he immediately began to cut down the trees, to clear up the land, to erect buildings, and prepare the soil for gardens and fields. At that place he spent the winter with his company, in the course of which they suffered much from the severity of the climate, and the prevalency of the scurvy.”

The natural and civil history of Vermont

1811: Bozman, John Leeds

John Leeds Bozman; A Sketch of the History of Maryland During the Three First Years After Its Settlement: To which is Prefixed, a Copious Introduction; Edward J Coale; 1811

John Leeds Bozman writes: “Cartier’s report to the French monarch, of his proceedings, was so favourably received by him, that it was now resolved to attempt the settlement of a colony in the country which he had visited. He was accordingly furnished with three large ships for that purpose, and sent out again with a sufficient number of colonists; among whom were many young men of distinction, who were desirous of accompanying him in the character of volunteers. He arrived in the Gulf on the 10th of August, 1535, and because that was St Lawrence’s day, he then gave it the name of the Gulf of St Lawrence, which name was subsequently extended to the river, and which both retain to this day. Passing by an island, to which he gave the name of Assumption, since called Anticosti, he sailed up the Saguenay, a river emptying into that of St Lawrence. Returning from thence, and proceeding up the river St Lawrence, he passed a small island, to which he gave the name of Isle aux Cuodriers, Isle of Hazels, from the number of those trees growing on it; and afterwards came to another island so full of vines, that he called it the Isle of Bacchus; but it has since acquired the name of the Isle of Orleans. He had in his last voyage, the precaution to carry out of the natives with him to France, where they learned as much of the language, as enabled them now to serve as interpreters between him and their countrymen. Sailing further up the St Lawrence, he entered a small river, where he had an interview with an Indian chief, whose name was Donnacona, and where he was informed of an Indian town called Hochelaga, which was deemed the metropolis of the whole country, and situated in an island now known by the name Montreal, near to which it would seem he then was. The inhabitants here, who are supposed to have been the Hurons, the most tractable of all the Indians then in Canada, treated Cartier and his attendants with much hospitality, expressing at the same time astonishment at their persons, dress, and accoutrements. He had at this time with him only one ship and two long boats, having left the rest at St Croix, a port in the river of St Lawrence, to which port he returned, and there spent the winter. The severe cold of the climate, together with a more probable cause; the use of salt provisions, brought on them the scurvy, with which he had his people would have perished, it is supposed, had they not, by the advice of the natives, used a decoction of the bark and tops of the white pine. On the approach of spring, Cartier prepared to return to Europe. Whatever other excellencies of character he

might have possessed, gratitude does not appear to have been a prevalent sentiment with him. He was ungenerous enough to kidnap his Indian friend, Donnacona, and carry him to France, where he arrived in the spring of 1536.”

A Sketch of the History of Maryland During the Three First Years After Its Settlement: To which is Prefixed, a Copious Introduction

1812: Brady, John Henry

John Henry Brady; Clavis Calendaria: Or, A Compendious Analysis of the Calendar; Illustrated with Ecclesiastica, Historical, and Classical Anecdotes; Vol 1-2; 1812

John Henry Brady writes: “SAINT LAWRENCE.

“(10TH AUGUST)

“ST LAWRENCE appears to have been born of Spanish parents, at Osea, in the kingdom of Arragon, though neither of the antient Fathers give any account of the precise period, nor of his education, while they generally agree that his extraordinary virtue recommended him, at a very early age, to the notice of ST XYSTUS, the arch-deacon of Rome, who, when he was himself raised to the pontificate in the year 257, made ST LAWRENCE one of the seven deacons. XYSTUS, as principal of the Christians, then suffering the rigours of extreme persecution, was, soon after his elevation to the bishopric, marked as an object for Pagan vengeance; and it forms an exemplary part of the character of ST LAWRENCE, that he retained his gratitude and fidelity to his patron, in spite of the danger that he thereby drew upon his own person. When the good primate was led to execution, LAWRENCE attended him to the fatal spot, joining with him in prayer, and openly avowing himself ready to suffer in the same cause. ‘Oh Father,’ he exclaimed. ‘where do you go without your son, without whom you never were wont to offer sacrifice? what is to become of the flock when deprived of their pastor?’ with other such passionate and feeling exclamations. The awful stroke, however, once struck, our Saint no longer indulged himself in the lethargy of grief; but, awaking all his energies, instantly prepared to afford the afflicted Christians all the aid and consolation in his power; he sold the church-treasury, as the bishop had recommended, and divided it among the poor, strongly exhorting them to stedfastness in their faith, until it should please the Almighty Disposer of events to reward their constancy. This conduct soon drew upon him the effects of Heathen jealousy and acrimony; the prefect of Rome summoned him to his presence, and demanded the treasures of which he had known him to be guardian, and to have disposed of. ‘The opulence of the Christian church,’ said ST LAWRENCE, ‘consists in its poor; take them, and afford them shelter, you will find their custody superior to all other riches.’ ‘The Christian Creed,’ retorted the prefect, ‘requires them to render unto CAESAR the things which are CAESAR’S; this man withholds the Emperor’s dues; lead him to torment’; the good Deacon was thereupon placed on a grid-iron, over a slow fire, and broiled to death, on the 10th August, 258, amidst the horrid shouts and exultations of surrounding barbarians.

“The fortitude with which he sustained his excruciating agonies, is the theme of most of his historians, some of whom, in their zeal, not only record him to have declared, that ‘he felt rather comforted than tormented’; but even that, in triumph, he bade his executioners ‘to turn him on the other side, for that the one downwards was broiled enough’.

“In honour of ST LAWRENCE, a monastery was erected at St Quintin, which, on that Saint’s anniversary, in the year 1557, PHILIP the Second was obliged to batter into ruins, in the famous battle of St Quintin, when assisted by the English he gave the French a complete defeat. To atone for the demolition of this monastery, PHILIP is stated to have made a vow, ‘that no time should see ST LAWRENCE so venerated as by him’; and that, in consequence, he caused to be erected the famous palace, convent, etc, at ESCURIAL, about fifteen miles from Madrid, esteemed by the Spaniards the eighth wonder of the world. Whether, in virtue of such vow, considered by some as apocryphal, or in memory of the victory, this superb edifice was raised, is matter of dispute; though it is worthy of remark, that the whole is dedicated to ST LAWRENCE, SAN LORENZO, and that not only the building itself, but almost every thing connected with it, bears the emblem of the instrument of torture by which that holy man expired: In the principal front, is a statue of the Saint holding a gilt grid-iron in his righthand; while similar types are to be found on the doors, windows, altars, and over the rituals and sacerdotal habits. This stupendous work was finished in about twenty-four years from its foundation, being laid in the year 1563, at the enormous expence of eight millions sterling, and was furnished with every costly ornament that the pride and piety of PHILIP could devise: the principal apartements were hung with silver lamps, three yards in circumference, and furnished with candlesticks of the same precious metal, six feet high.

“From the circumstance of ST LAWRENCE having been by birth a Spaniard, he has ever been held in much veneration by the Spanish nation; his fortitude has been extolled by innumerable of their writers, and his piety most strongly recommended as worthy of imitation; yet has the pride for which the Grandees have been remarkable, occasionally overcome the superstition of the country, and with it every notion of piety. ‘ST LAWRENCE,’ said a Castilian courtier to the Spanish monarch within the last century, ‘did not, as the priests declare, so nobly bear his sufferings, assisted by God’s grace, but solely by the valour inherent in him as a Spaniard.’”

Clavis Calendaria: Or, A Compendious Analysis of the Calendar; Illustrated with Ecclesiastica, Historical, and Classical Anecdotes

1812: Clinton, DeWitt

DeWitt Clinton; Discourse Delivered Before the New York Historical Society: At Their Anniversary Meeting, 6th December, 1811; Bibliotheca americana, Joseph Sabin; Issue 25098 of Early American Imprints, 1801-1819; James Eastburn; 1812

DeWitt Clinton writes: “The conquests of the Iroquois, previous to the discovery of America, are only known to us through the imperfect channels of tradition – but it is well authenticated, that since that memorable era, they exterminated the nation of the Eries or Erigas, on the south side of Lake Erie, which has given a name to that lake: They nearly extirpated the Andastez and the Chouanons; they conquered the Hurons and drove them and their allies, the Ottawas, among the Sioux, on the head waters of the Mississipi, ‘where they separated themselves into bands, and proclaimed wherever they went, the terror of the Iroquois’. They also subdued the Illinois, the Miamies, the Algonkins, the Delawares, the Shawanese, and several tribes of the Abenaquis. After the Iroquois had defeated the Hurons, in a dreadful battle fought near Quebec, the Neperceneans, who lived upon the St Lawrence, fled to Hudson’s Bay to avoid their fury. In 1649 they destroyed two Huron villages and dispersed the nation; and afterwards they destroyed another village of six hundred families. Two villages presented

themselves to the confederates and lived with them. ‘The dread of the Iroquois,’ says the historian, ‘had such an effect upon all the other nations, that the borders of the River Ontaonis, which were long thickly peopled, became almost deserted, without its ever being known what became of the greater part of the inhabitants.’ The Illinois fled to the westward, after being attacked by the confederates, and did not return until a general peace; and were permitted in 1760, by the confederates, to settle in the country between the Wabash and the Scioto rivers. The banks of Lake Superior were lined with Algonkins, who sought an asylum from the Five nations: they also harassed all the northern Indians, as far as Hudson’s Bay, and they even attacked the nations on the Missouri. When La Salle was among the Natchez in 1683, he saw a party of that people, who had been on an expedition against the Iroquois. Smith, the founder of Virginia, in an expedition up the bay of Chesapeak in 1608, met a war party of the Confederates, then going to attack their enemies. They were at peace with the Cowetas or Creeks, but they warred against the Catawbas, the Cherrokees, and almost all the Southern Indians. The two former sent deputies to Albany, where they effected a peace through the mediation of the English. In a word, the Confederates were, with a few exceptions, the conquerors and masters of all the Indian nations east of the Mississipi. Such was the terror of the nations, that when a single Mohawk appeared on the hills of New-England, the fearful spectacle spread pain and terror, and flight was the only refuge from death. Charlevoix mentions a singular instance of this terrific ascendency. Ten or twelve Ottawas being pursued by a party of Iroquois, endeavoured to pass over to Goat Island, on the Niagara river, in a canoe, were swept down the cataract; and, as it appeared, preferred to the sword of their enemies:

“‘The vast immeasurable abyss / Outrageous as a sea, dark, wasteful, wild / Up from the bottom turn’d.’”

Discourse Delivered Before the New York Historical Society: At Their Anniversary Meeting, 6th December, 1811

1812: Stoddard, Amos

Amos Stoddard; Sketches, Historical and Descriptive, of Louisiana; Mathew Carey; 1812

Amos Stoddard writes: “The certainty of a great inland water communication from the gulf of St Lawrence to that of Mexico, a distance of about 3,500 miles, awakened the surprise and curiosity of the French Cabinet. This discovery was the foundation of that policy, which was ultimately adopted to extend round the English settlements a strong cordon, calculated to draw them gradually into the embraces of France. This policy had less of hypothesis in it than was at first believed by the English. To carry it into effect, the French adopted the most artful and prudent precautions, and all their subsequent colonial measures tended to this point.”

Sketches, historical and descriptive, of Louisiana

1813: Heriot, George

George Heriot; Travels through the Canadas; 1813

George Heriot writes: “The settlement of Chateau Richer, derives its name from the ruins of an edifice situated on a small rocky point, on the borders of the Saint Lawrence. It was a Franciscan monastery, when the army under General Wolfe encamped on the eastern bank of the Montmorenci. As the monks used their influence among the inhabitants in their vicinity, to impede a supply of provisions for the English army, it was deemed necessary to send thither a detachment to make them prisoners. They had so fortified themselves within their mansion, that field pieces were required to compel them to a surrender. The house was destroyed by fire: and nothing now remains, except a part of the walls, and the ruins of an adjoining tower, which was formerly a wind-mill. By an inscription above the door, it appears to have been built one hundred and twelve years ago. The parish church is placed on a bank, immediately behind the chateau, and has two spires. The ruins already described, the great river, the island of Orleans, the point of Ange Gardien, and Cape Diamond in the distance, compose an agreeable scene.”

Travels through the Canadas

1813: Smyth, Sir David William

Sir David William Smyth, Francis Gore; A short topographical description of His Majesty’s province of Upper Canada, in North America: to which is annexed, a provincial gazetteer; 2nd edition; W Faden; 1813

Sir David William Smyth and Francis Gore write: “Hospital Island, in the river St Lawrence, in front of the township of Edwardsburgh, contains about 100 acres; it lies immediately above au Gallop.”

A short topographical description of His Majesty's province of Upper Canada, in North America: to which is annexed, a provincial gazetteer

1814: Dow, Lorenzo

Lorenzo Dow; History of Cosmopolite: or, The four volumes of Lorenzo’s journal concentrated in one, containing his experience & travels, from childhood to 1814; John C Totten; 1814

Lorenzo Dow writes: “October 31st. I informed my parents of my departure, and got into the gulph of St Lawrence; I felt some little sea sick, but did not puke much; but my bodily sickness increases fast, and ‘tis more than probable, according to human appearance, that I shall not see Dublin.”

History of Cosmopolite: or, The four volumes of Lorenzo's journal concentrated in one, containing his experience & travels, from childhood to 1814

1814: Morse, Jedidiah

Jedidiah Morse; A compendious and complete system of modern geography: or, A view of the present state of the world. Being a faithful abridgement of the American universal geography (edition of 1812) with corrections and additions …; Thomas and Andrews; 1814

Jedidiah Morse writes: “The Gulf of St Lawrence has Labrador on the north. Newfoundland and Cape Breton on the east and Nova-Scotia and Canada on the south and west. It extends from about 46 degrees to 52 degrees north latitude. It has three communications with the ocean, one between Nova-Scotia and Cape Breton, called the gut of Canso; a second between Cape Breton and Newfoundland; a third between Newfoundland and Labrador, called the straits of Belleisle. The depth of this gulf is 240 miles, and its width at the mouth, 90 miles.”

Jedidiah Morse continues: “ST LAWRENCE. The St Lawrence has two sources both tributaries of lake Superior. The St Louis, the southern, rises in the Illinois Territory, near the waters of the Missisippi, and falls into Lake Superior at its western extremity, in latitude 46 45 north longitude 92 10 west; called by the French, Fond du Lac, and by the English, West Bay. Dove river the other source rises in Peche lake, a small pond 3 miles over, whose waters are only 679 paces from lake Hauteur de Terre the source of Winnipec River. The space between them is the real height of land between lakes Winnipec and Superior. Dove river runs an easterly course of 50 miles to the latter, emptying a little north of the Grand Portage. St Mary’s river is the outlet of lake Superior, through which its waters flow into lake Huron. It is 70 miles long and from ¾ to 10 miles wide. The straits and falls of St Mary are 22 miles below lake Superior. The river is here less than a mile wide, and in ¾ of a mile falls 25 feet. It is navigable to the falls for the largest ships. The next branch of the St Lawrence is the outlet of lake Huron, called St Clair river. It runs nearly south 40 miles and is generally ¾ of a mile wide. The land along the shore is low. It is navigable for the largest vessels, except at its discharge into lake St Clair, where is a bar with only 6 ½ feet water. The next division is Detroit river, 27 miles long, running southwest 12, and then due south 15 degrees to lake Erie. It is every where navigable for the largest ships; and is generally from 1 to 1 ½, and in some places 3 miles wide. Niagara river, the next division of the St Lawrence, discharges Erie into Ontario. It is 36 miles long. The falls are 21 miles from Erie and 15 from Ontario. The outlet of Lake Ontario, commonly called the St Lawrence, and sometimes the Iroquois, is the longest division of the St Lawrence. Its course is northeast and its length 690 miles. It empties by a mouth 90 miles wide into the gulf of St Lawrence, and meets the tide 400 miles from the sea. The St Lawrence, from its source through the lakes to its mouth, is more than 2000 miles in length; and in the quantity of water annually contributed, is nearly unrivalled.”

A compendious and complete system of modern geography: or, A view of the present state of the world. Being a faithful abridgement of the American universal …

1814: Smith, Michael

Michael Smith; A Geographical View of the British Possessions in North America …; P Mauro; 1814

Michael Smith writes: “Mount. – Three hundred and thirty miles from the mouth of the St Lawrence is situated Cape Tourment, whose perpendicular altitude is 2000 feet. It exhibits a grand and sublime view, especially to those sailing up the river.

“Cataract. – The cataract of the river Montmorenci, which empties into the St Lawrence 8 miles below Quebec may be reckoned among the natural curiosities of this country. I will note its description in the words of Mr Heroit.”

Michael Smith continues: “On the 11th, part of the British force which occupied the banks of the St Lawrence, came to an engagement with a detachment of the American army under general Boyd, who again routed the enemy with some loss, and pursued them a considerable distance to Cryler’s farm, which is in the township of Williamsburg, 20 miles below Cornwall. At this place the British had some fortifications, and a tolerably large force, and where they made a stand, when the battle became obstinate and bloody; and as the night and a storm were coming on, the American army returned to the river, where they encamped for the night, and the British pursued at a respectable distance.”

A Geographical View of the British Possessions in North America...

1815: Bouchette, Joseph

Joseph Bouchette; A Topographical Description of the Province of Lower Canada: With Remarks Upon Upper Canada, and on the Relative Connexion of Both Provinces with the United States of America; 1815

Joseph Bouchette writes: “From Lake Temiscouata, near where it enters the district of Gaspe, to Cape Rosier, the interior has been but partially explored; however, such parts of it as are known bear an appearance of sterility that encourages but slender hopes of remunerating the labours of the husbandman, even with a scanty crop, being generally of a rugged and mountainous character. This description must be understood as applicable in its full extent to the interior only, because, on the banks of the Saint Lawrence, some good spots are frequently met with, but hitherto none of them have been settled upon. On the south side of the ridge down to the shores of Gaspe and Chaleur bay, the general description of the country is also mountainous; notwithstanding which, in many part of the district, particularly the latter, there is a considerable portion of excellent land, well settled, and containing a population of 3000 inhabitants, most of whom being employed in fisheries, unfortunately pay but little attention to the important duties of cultivation, that, from situation and other advantages, would soon become as productive to them, at all events, as the labours they now pursue. On the north side of the Saint Lawrence, and from the river St John, the eastern extremity of Lower Canada, a ridge of heights takes a course parallel with and close to it, or rather, in most parts forms its shores as far up as Cape Tourment, where, taking a direction west south-west, it ends upon the Ottawa river about 38 leagues above its confluence with the St Lawrence, enclosing within it and the two rivers a beautifully picturesque country, well watered and level, particularly so from Deschambault westward, which, in respect to population, good cultivation, and a generous soil, especially along the course of the river, must be considered as the best part of the province. On the north side of the ridge just described lies the remaining part of Lower Canada, yet unnoticed, and which is contained within the Ottawa river, the 81 degree of west longitude, and the 52 parallel of north latitude, intersected laterally by another and higher range of mountains that forms the Land’s Height, and divides the waters that empty into the St Lawrence from those that descend into Hudson’s Bay. Of this great space so little has been explored, that it is only known to be covered with immense forests, whose dreary solitudes are interrupted only by the wandering tribes of natives who occasionally resort thither in their hunting parties to procure furs for traffic with the nearest posts of the north-west company. It is in America that nature has displayed her powerful hand in forming objects of sublimity and grandeur, more imposing than what are to be met with in other parts of the world; the mountains there rise to an elevation but rarely equaled, and range to a distance unexampled on the old continent. The rivers roll their gigantic streams to the ocean,

unparalleled for length of course, and affording facilities for intercourse with the most remote parts that are quite unknown in other countries; the forests spread out to an extent, and abound with trees of a variety, magnitude, and utility that defies comparison with the most enormous of the other hemisphere. But, perhaps, of all the stupendous efforts that unfold so wide a field for the inquisitive researches of human wisdom to investigate the effects of her creative power, none are more calculated to excite admiration, and baffle the progress of philosophic enquiry, than the vast collections of fresh waters forming the chain of lakes, that through the channel of the Saint Lawrence descend like another sea to swell the bosom of the Atlantic. To trace the means, and lay open the secret agency by which these magnificent objects are produced, is left to the abler hands of science; my design is to relate, with the humble ability I am possessed of, the actual state of some of these extraordinary features of a country, even now but little known, comparatively speaking, to the rest of the world, as they have appeared to me, and as they are connected with the work I have undertaken. In this relation, the majestic river St Lawrence, from its importance to the British dominions on this continent, and, in fact, to the general interests of the British empire, will claim the first place in whatever way it can be examined. Embracing an inland navigation of little less than 1000 miles up to Niagara upon its own stream only, and which distance, with the exception of about 300 miles is entirely within British territory; it confers benefits of no ordinary kind upon the country through which it flows, benefits that would be increased to a value almost inestimable, upon judicious means being adopted by the administration of the mother country to secure to Canada all, or even some, of the great advantages that its natural resources will ensure to it. Its real consequence to the general interests of the empire will never be questioned, when it is viewed as the outlet by which produce, the property of British subjects, and of vital importance to the state, can be exported in British shipping to the mother country, and render her independent of political chances, by which continental confederacy might again attempt to exclude her from the ports of Europe. That these advantages are not ideal, a comparison of exports from the colony for the last ten years will abundantly prove; and although they have been neglected or overlooked during a long and eventful period of almost universal war, there remain hopes that, with the return of peace, the views of statesmen will be turned towards the arts of industry and commerce, and that this subject will be examined with as great a degree of attention as its magnitude lays claim to. The river St Lawrence, (which, from its first discovery in 1535, has been called by the inhabitants of the country, to mark its pre-eminence, the Great River,) receives nearly all the rivers that have their sources in the extensive range of mountains to the northwards, called the Land’s Height, that separates the waters falling into Hudson’s Bay still further to the north, from those that descend into the Atlantic; and all those that rise in the ridge which commences on its southern bank, and runs nearly southwesterly until it falls upon Lake Champlain. Of these, the principal ones are the Ottawa, Masquinonge, Saint Maurice, Saint Anne, Jacques Cartier, Saguenay, Betsiamites, and Manicouagan on the north; and the Salmon river, Chateaugay, Chambly or Richelieu, Yamaska, St Francis, Becancour, Du Chene, Chaudiere, and du Loop on the south. In different parts of its course it is known under different appellations; thus, as high up from the sea as Montreal, it is called St Lawrence; from Montreal or Kingston in Upper Canada, it is called the Cataraqui, or Iroquois; between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie it is called Niagara river; between Lake Erie and Lake St Clair, the Detroit; between Lake St Clair and Lake Huron, the river St Clair; and between Lake Huron and Lake Superior, the distance is called the Narrows, or the Falls of St Mary, forming thus an uninterrupted connection of 2000 miles. Lake Superior, without the aid of any great effort of imagination, may be considered the inexhaustible spring from whence, through unnumbered ages, the St Lawrence has continued to derive its ample stream. I am not aware that the source of this

river has thus been defined before; but examining the usual mode of tracing large rivers from their heads to their estuaries, I venture to believe that I am warranted in adopting the hypothesis. This immense lake, unequalled in magnitude by any collection of fresh water upon the globe, is almost of a triangular form; its greatest length is 381, its breadth 161, and its circumference little less than 1152 miles; and as remarkable for the unrivalled transparency of its waters, as for its extraordinary depth. Its northern coast, indented with many extensive bays, is high and rocky; but on the southern shore the land is generally low and level; a sea almost of itself, it is subject to many vicissitudes of that element, for here the storm rages, and the billows break with a violence scarcely surpassed by the tempests of the ocean. In the distant range of mountains that form the Land’s Height beyond its northern and western shores, several considerable rivers, and numerous small ones, have their rise, which being increased in their course by many small lakes, finally discharge themselves into Lake Superior. To the southward also there is another lofty range dividing the waters that find their way to the gulf of Mexico through the channel of the Mississippi, from those that take a northern course into the great lake; so that its vastness is increased by the tributary streams of more than thirty rivers. On its north and north-east sides there are several islands, of which one, called Isle Royale, is the largest, being one hundred miles long and forty broad. Out of Lake Superior a very rapid current is interrupted and broken by many small islands, or rather huge masses of rock, through a channel of twenty-seven miles in length, at the end of which it flows into Lake Huron. …”

Joseph Bouchette continues: “JACQUES CARTIER (the seigniory of) is in the county of Hants, having its front on the River St Lawrence, bounded on the south-west by the barony of Portneuf, by Belair and its augmentation on the north-east, and in the rear by waste crown lands; half a league in breadth by five leagues in depth; granted 29th March, 1659, to Dame Gaguier, widow of Jean Clement de Wauls, Chevalier and Seigneur de Monceaux. It is now the property of Messrs de Lery, and Mr Alsop. Although the surface is very irregular and broken, the land in general is of a moderately good quality; in some places the soil is light and sandy, in others a layer of black vegetable mould upon a stratum of lime-stone, and to the rear, where it becomes rather mountainous, a good light loam; each of these different kinds is sufficiently fertile, and several ranges of concessions are in an excellent state of cultivation, having among them many productive and valuable farms. The timber is various both in kind and quality, but there is good maple and birch, and along the banks of the different rivers some superior pine: the common species are very abundant. The Rivers Ste Anne and Portneuf, already mentioned, cross this seigniory, but the principal one by which it is watered is the Jacques Cartier: to many it may be superfluous to mention the origin of its name, which was derived from the navigator who first examined the River St Lawrence, and secured his vessels at the entrance of this river during the winter of 1536. It takes its source from several small lakes in the interior, near the parallel of 48 degrees north latitude, and about 71 degrees 20 minutes of west longitude. After running a very circuitous course through a mountainous country that is but little known, it reaches the townships of Tewkesbury and Stoneham, passes through them, and flows on a south-southwesterly direction, a distance of about forty-six miles, across the seigniories of St Ignace, St Gabriel, Faussembault, Neuville, Belair, and the fief Jacques Cartier, where it falls into the River St Lawrence. From the townships it stream displays a character of great wildness, and is both grand and impetuous in its course, hurrying through valleys between the lofty mountains, and frequently dashing with violence over the precipices and immense fragments of rock that oppose its progress. The bed being extremely rocky, the great number of falls and rapids, and the vehemence of the torrent, particularly in the spring and after the autumnal rains, render it generally impassable for canoes or boats of any description. The banks are exceedingly high, and at intervals, for

considerable distances, are formed of strata of lime-stone, or of granite rock that in many places are lofty, rugged, and majestic, partially displaying a few stunted pines in the interstices, or covered with creeping shrubbery, but in many parts presenting only the frowning aspect of huge barren masses heaped perpendicularly one upon another. From the heights on each side of the river spread extensive forests, through which there are various paths traced out and kept open during all the changes of seasons by the Indians, and chiefly those of the village of Lorette, who consider the lands on an immense distance northwards as their hunting grounds. The general view along the course of the river is varied, picturesque, and extraordinary, presenting a thousand combinations of the grandeur, beauty, and wild magnificence of nature that stand unrivalled by that of any other country. In its course through the seigniory of St Gabriel, it approaches within sixteen miles of Quebec; about nine miles before it reaches the St Lawrence is the new bridge of Jacques Cartier. The stream is here precipitated over many large fragments of granite that occasion a perpendicular fall of considerable height, the effect of which is greatly increased by the incessant roar of the torrent as it forces its way through the hollows and excavations that by the lapse of time it has wrought for itself in the rocky bed and sides of the channel: from hence it flows with the same impetuous character, until its waters are lost in the current of the St Lawrence. The River Jacques Cartier, viewed with a military eye, forms a most powerful natural barrier, and may be termed one of the outworks to the city and environs of Quebec; the velocity of the stream would make it extremely dangerous to attempt fording it; the height of the banks renders them inaccessible, except in a very few places, and those could only be ascended with much difficulty by a small number of persons at a time, which, with the numerous advantageous positions along the whole range of the river for posting a defensive force, would altogether constitute it a complete line of security; indeed, the French, after they were expelled from Quebec in 1759, retired behind this river, and manifested some intention of establishing themselves in force upon its western bank, where they hastily threw up some works, under the persuasion that they could there remain safe for some time from the molestation of their conquerors on the Plains of Abraham. On the eastern side of the river, at a short distance before its confluence with the St Lawrence, where the high bank receding considerably from the margin, leaves a rather extensive flat only a little elevated above the water’s level, are some corn-mills, and several stores belonging to the heirs of the late Mr Allsop of Quebec. They are the remains of a much greater and more valuable establishment that was nearly destroyed some years ago by fire; a large sum of money had been expended a short time previous to the accident to render it every way complete, and capable of carrying on a very extensive concern, and in which a flourishing progress had been made: since that period none of the buildings have been restored, consequently its importance is at this time greatly diminished. The main road passes along the front of the seigniory, and crosses the Jacques Cartier by a ferry, of about 160 toises broad, where, on account of the violence of the stream, the boats are traversed from side to side by means of hawsers stretched across; the charge for each person is three-pence, for a horse six-pence, a horse and carriage nine-pence, and fifteen-pence for a carriage and two horses. The road, as it passes in the vicinity of the river and winds up the lofty banks, is exceedingly steep; but notwithstanding the difficulty and fatigue of it to passengers, it is much frequented, although there is another road from Quebec passing over Jacques Cartier bridge, that is something shorter in its distance, and by which almost all the inequalities of the ground are avoided. Less than one third of this seigniory is cultivated; some of the best farms are near the road that passes by the St Lawrence, and on the south-west side, by the road leading from the bridge to the barony of Portneuf.”

A Topographical Description of the Province of Lower Canada: with remarks upon Upper Canada, and on the Relative Connexion of both Provinces with the …

1815: Tuckey, James Kingston

James Kingston Tuckey; Maritime Geography and Statistics, Or a Description of the Ocean and Its Coasts, Maritime Commerce, Navigation, etc …; Vol 1; Black, Parry, and Co, booksellers to the Hon East-India Co; 1815

James Kingston Tuckey writes: “Three or four years after the discovery of America, John Cabot quitted England with five vessels, under the royal flag, to make discoveries in the east, the west, and the north, and to take possession of the countries inhabited by Pagans, and not previously discovered by other Christian powers. In 1497, the same Cabot made a second voyage to the west, and named the first land he arrived at Prima Vista, or first view, which was shortly after changed or rather translated to Newfoundland; from hence he explored the coast to the latitude of the Strait of Gibraltar, which supposes him to have reached the Chesapeak. Five years after, Cortreal, a Portuguese, also visited Newfoundland, and thence steering to the north, discovered the river St Lawrence, and explored the coast to a strait, to which he gave the name of Anian, and to the country, that of Tierra de Labrador, from its seeming fitness for culture. The Strait of Anian appearing to Cortreal to afford a communication between the two oceans, he returned to Portugal to procure the means of prosecuting his discovery; but perishing in a second voyage, and the situation of the Strait being ill defined, it was long sought for in vain on both sides of America, and its name was at least omitted in the maps. A recent geographer has, however, critically identified it with Hudson’s Strait, entering Hudson’s Bay.”

Maritime Geography and Statistics, Or a Description of the Ocean and Its Coasts, Maritime Commerce, Navigation, Etc....

1816: Knight, Ann Cuthbert

Ann Cuthbert Knight; A Year in Canada: And Other Poems …; J Ballantyne & Co; 1816

Ann Cuthbert Knight writes: “And bright on Fancy’s view the picture glows, / The wood-crown’d hills of Canada arise, / And many a forest waves its verdant boughs, / And many a cultured vale between them lies. / Wide through the land her own St Lawrence pours / His swelling stream, to meet the ocean’s waves; / Now calmly steals along his sylvan shores, / Now rushing o’er the rocky rapids raves, / His village-skirted banks and spire-crown’d island laves.”

A Year in Canada: And Other Poems...

1816: Mann, James

James Mann; Medical Sketches of the Campaigns of 1812, 13, 14: To which are Added, Surgical Cases; Observations on Military Hospitals; and Flying Hospitals Attached to a Moving Army. Also, an Appendix, Comprising a Dissertation on Dysentery … and Observations on the Winter Epidemic of 1815-15, Denominated …; H Mann and Co; 1816

James Mann writes: “It has been already noticed in the preceding sketches, that many soldiers, after their passage down lake Ontario and river St Lawrence, were afflicted with edematose swelled legs. In many instances, the swellings were accompanied with both fungous and callous ulcers; the consequence of long exposures to cold, wet and inclement weather; also, a want of exercise of the lower extremities while on their passage down in open boats, confined on their seats; supported the coarse, and in some instances damaged rations, irregularly administered, or after long periods of abstinence. Under these circumstances a small scratch soon enlarged, and by frequent exposures in water, deteriorated to a most formidable ulcer, in extent from six to twelve inches up and down the legs.”

Medical Sketches of the Campaigns of 1812, 13, 14: To which are Added, Surgical Cases; Observations on Military Hospitals; and Flying Hospitals Attached to …

1816: Thomson, John Lewis

John Lewis Thomson; Historical Sketches of the Late War, Between the United States and Great Britain: Blended with Anecdotes, Illustrative of the Individual Bravery of the American Sailors, Soldiers & Citizens; Embellished with Portraits of the Most Distinguished Naval & Military Officers; and Accompanied by …; Thomas Desilver; 1816

John Lewis Thomson writes: “Captain Forsythe and his company, consisting now of about one hundred and eight-five men, were still stationed at Ogdensburg, where he was in command. Deserters, from the Canada side of the St Lawrence, were continually surrendered themselves to him, at this point, until their numbers became, at length, so extensive, that the vigilance of the enemy was strongly excited. British guards were repeatedly sent over to the American shore in search of them, and though they succeeded in taking about sixteen, they committed so many aggressions upon the persons and property of the citizens, that captain Forsythe determined on attacking them in the village of Elizabethtown, and releasing the deserters whom they had thus taken and imprisoned at that place. On the 6th of February, he therefore drafted a part of his own company, and accepted the services of a sufficient number of volunteers, to make his command amount to two hundred men. With these, accompanied by colonel Benedict and several private gentleman, he proceeded up the river to Morristown, where he formed his men, and at 3 o’clock on the morning of the seventh, he crossed over to Elizabethtown, surprised the guard, took fifty-two prisoners, among whom were one major, three captains, and two lieutenants, and captured one hundred and twenty muskets, twenty rifles, two casks of fixed ammunition, and some other public property, without the loss of a single man. He then released the deserters from jail, re-crossed the river, and returned to Ogdensburg, where he negociated with two British officers, sent over for that purpose, for the parole of the prisoners.

“Soon after this, the movements of the enemy at Prescot were indicative of an intention of attack on Ogdensburg. Colonel Benedict was therefore induced to call out his regiment of militia, and

arrangements were immediately made for the defence of the place. On the 21st of February the enemy appeared before it, with a force of twelve hundred men, and succeeded in driving out captain Forsythe and his troops. The British attacked in two columns, of six hundred men each, at 8 o’clock in the morning, and were commanded by captain McDonnell of the Glengary light infantry, and colonel Fraser of the Canadians militia. The American riflemen and militia received them with firmness, and contended for the ground upwards of an hour; when the superiority of numbers compelied them to abandon it, and to retreat to Blake Lake, nearly nine miles from Ogdensburg, after losing twenty men in killed and wounded. The loss of the enemy, from the deliberate coolness with which the riflemen fired, was reputed to have been thrice that number. That British account, which claimed the capture of immense stores, none of which had ever been deposited there, admitted the loss of five distinguished officers. – In consequence of this affair, a message was sent by the commandant of fort George, to colonel McFeely, the commandant of fort Niagara, informing him that a salute would be fired the next day in honour of the capture of the American village. Colonel McFeely having received intelligence in the course of the same evening, of the capture of his majesty’s frigate the Java, returned the message to the British commandant, by communicating to him his intention of firing a salute, at the same hour from fort Niagara, in celebration of this brilliant event.

“On the 26th March, the batteries on Black Rock were opened upon the enemy, and the fire continued with little intermission until night. The sailors battery completely silenced the lower battery of the enemy, but what damage was done to his troops, has not been ascertained. One man was killed, and several hurt by accidents at the Rock.

“Reinforcements were now every day arriving, and the concentration of a large force at Sackett’s Harbour, was effected about the middle of April. Many of the troops from Champlain, and the shores of the St Lawrence, among whom was captain Forsythe’s command, were ordered to that point; and it was confidently expected that the campaign would be commenced by the invasion of Canada, in or before the following month of May. Orders had been given to commodore Chauncey, by the navy department, to receive on board the squadron, the commanding general Dearborn, and any force which he might destine to proceed against the posts on the British Niagara frontier. A plan had been conceived and organized by general Dearborn, by which, in co-operation with the fleet, he was to storm and carry the works at Little York, the capital of Upper Canada, and to proceed thence to the assault of fort George, the great bulwark of that country.”

John Lewis Thomson continues: “Having issued the necessary orders, general Wilkinson resolved on moving on the 25th; and although the gales which had prevailed for several days, continued with unabated violence, and were now attended with heavy rains, his anxiety to promote the issue of the expedition, induced him to order the embarkation of the troops; and, buffetting with a disorder, which had rendered his health extremely precarious, he remained on the island until the embarkation was nearly completed, directing the boats to take advantage of the momentary pauses of the storm, to slide into the St Lawrence.

“A few days before, intelligence had been forwarded by colonel Scott, of the enemy’s having evacuated the entrenchments in the neighbourhood of fort George, and of their having burnt, and otherwise destroyed, all their camp equipage and many stand of arms, in order to facilitate the march of their troops to Kingston; to which place they had been ordered, as soon as general Wilkinson’s contemplated movement was discovered. They had been apprized of the intentions of the American general previous

to the 9th, and on that day they abandoned the whole peninsula, on the Niagara, and directed their attention to the defence of Kingston, against which they supposed the Americans would move. To keep that impression alive, and to confine their plans to the protection of Kingston only, general Wilkinson fixed on French creek, which lays immediately opposite the point at which the British suspected he would land, as the general rendezvous of the troops, after their entrance into the St Lawrence. Brigadier general Brown (now of the United States’ regulars) was ordered forward to command the advance of the army at that place; and the rear was soon after strengthened by the arrival at Grenadier island, of the 20th regiment, under colonel Randolph.

“On the 1st November, the enemy appeared at French creek with a squadron of four large vessels, and a number of boats filled with infantry, and attacked the detachment at that place in the evening. General Brown hastily made arrangements to defend his position, and after a short cannonade, the enemy’s vessels were compelled to retire, by a battery of three 18 pounders, which had been erected, and managed with great spirit, by captains McPherson and Fanning, of the artillery. The enemy fell down to a convenient harbour, and renewed his attack on the following morning. By the same judicious arrangements he was again repulsed, and a few hours afterwards the American squadron entered the St Lawrence, and took a position near French creek, to command the north and south channels. On the 3d and 4th the rear of the army arrived at the general rendezvous. On the 5th the flotilla of transports got under way, and arrived without accident, below Morrisville.

“On the 6th the commander in chief ordered the flotilla to descend with the whole army, to a point within three miles of Prescott, and directed the powder and fixed ammunition to be debarked, and transported by land, under cover of the night, below the enemy’s batteries. Before either of these orders were put in execution, he proceeded in his gig to reconnoiter the place, and having concluded that the safest passage of the troops would be effected on shore, he ordered the debarkation of every man, except the number necessary to navigate the boats, and the army marched by night, two miles below Prescott. Arrangements were also made for the passage of the flotilla, to the same point; and general Brown being the general officer of the day, was charged with the superintendence. Availing himself of a heavy log, which came on at 8 o’clock in the evening, the commander in chief, believing he could pass the enemy’s fort unobserved, put the flotilla and the marching columns in motion, at the same instant; and proceeded in his gig, followed by his passage boat and staff, ahead of the former. An unexpected change of the atmosphere, enabled the enemy’s garrison to discover the boats, and the columns upon land, whose movements had been simultaneous. Nearly fifty 24 pound shot were fired at the general’s passage boat, and the columns were assailed with great numbers of shot and shells. Neither of these attacks were successful, nor did the Americans sustain the slightest degree of injury. The flotilla had been halted by general Brown, as soon as the firing was heard, and it did not resume its course until the setting of the moon; when, in attempting to pass, at the same place, it was attacked also. It nevertheless pursued its passage to the place of destination, under a heavy, though ineffectual fire, of three hours. During all this time, of three hundred boats, of which the flotilla was comprised, not one was touched by a ball; and before 10 o’clock of the 7th, they all safely arrived at the designated rendezvous. From this place, the commander in chief forwarded an order to general Hampton, commanding the left division of the northern army, to form a junction, with the division then descending the St Lawrence.

“On the 7th the difficulties in this descent encreased. The indisposition of the general became alarming. The passage of the troops was delayed half a day, in extricating two schooners from the river near

Ogdensburg, which were loaded with provisions, and had been driven to that place by the enemy’s fire. In the course of the morning, the commander in chief had been informed, that the coast below was lined with posts of artillery and musquetry, at every narrow pass of the river. He therefore detached colonel McComb, with the elite corps of about twelve hundred men, to remove these obstructions. At three in the afternoon the army followed. Immediately after passing the first rapid of the St Lawrence, the passage boat of the general was again attacked by two pieces of light artillery, which colonel McComb had not observed in his march. No other injury was done, however, than the cutting of the rigging, the attention of these pieces being diverted from that object, by lieutenant colonel Eustis and a few light gun barges, between whom and the enemy, a cannonade was kept up, without effect on either side. But major Forsythe, who was in McComb’s rear, having landed his riflemen, and advanced upon the enemy, three pieces were precipitately carried away. About six miles below the town of Hamilton, the flotilla came too, and the general received intelligence of colonel McComb’s having routed the enemy at a block house, two miles lower. The dragoons, which were attached to the first division of the army, had by this time, assembled at a place called the White House, situated at a contraction of the river. On the morning of the 8th, the flotilla proceeded to this point, and after having ordered gen Brown to go forward with his brigade, to reinforce colonel McComb, and to take command of the advance of the army, general Wilkinson directed the transportation of the dragoons across the St Lawrence. This business was completed in the course of the night.”

Historical Sketches of the Late War, Between the United States and Great Britain: Blended with Anecdotes, Illustrative of the Individual Bravery of the American …

1817: Brackenridge, Henry Marie

Henry Marie Brackenridge; History of the Late War, Between the United States and Great-Britain: Containing a Minute Account of the Various Military and Naval Operations …; 3rd edition; published and sold by Cushing & Jewett; 1817

Henry Marie Brackenridge writes: “The British, who were at this time pursuing the system of devastation along our sea-board, which will be recounted in the next chapter, were at the same time engaged in laying waste the country on the borders of Lake Champlain. A little navy was also set on foot by both sides, on this Lake, in the beginning of the year; but that of the United States was thus far less prosperous than that of the enemy. The whole American force, on this lake, consisted of a few armed barges, some gun boats, and two schooners, the Growler and Eagle, under lieutenant Sidney Smith. In the beginning of July, the schooner were attacked near the entrance of this lake into the St Lawrence, and after a severe resistance of three hours, against a very superiour force, were compelled to surrender. The British being now masters of the lake, cruised along its borders, landing in various places, and committing many depredations on the property of the inhabitants. On the thirty-first of July, twelve hundred men landed at Plattsburgh, where no resistance was made, a sufficient body of militia not being collected in time; they first destroyed all the publick buildings, and then wantonly burnt the storehouses of several of the inhabitants, and carried off great quantities of private property. The same outrages were committed afterwards at Swanton, in the state of Vermont. Such acts served only to

provoke the inhabitants, and render them better disposed to give the enemy a warm reception at some other period.”

Henry Marie Brackenridge continues: “IN the midst of the various occurrences of the war, on the northern frontier, on the sea-board, and on the ocean, important preparations were making to the westward; and although the spring and summer had passed away, without any incident in this quarter worthy of being recorded, they had not passed inactive. The general attention was now turned towards it with much anxiety, and the armies of the Niagara and St Lawrence, remained almost with folded arms, awaiting the issue of Harrison’s campaign, and the result of the contest for the mastership of Lake Erie. The British, aware of the consequence of a defeat, had with great assiduity laboured to strengthen themselves. The reinforcements continually arriving at Fort George, were evidently destined to follow up the advantages which Proctor might gain, in conjunction with the commander on the lake. In the meanwhile, in the neighbouring states of Kentucky and Ohio, the people were excited in a most surprising degree; had it been necessary they would have risen en masse; almost every man capable of bearing a musket, was anxious to march. The governour of Ohio had scarcely issued his proclamation, calling on volunteers, (for the obligations of law to render military service were no longer thought of,) than fifteen thousand men presented themselves, completely armed and equipped – more than five times the number required. The venerable governour of Kentucky, Shelby, a revolutionary hero, and the Nestor of the present war, made it known that he would put himself at the head of the injured citizens of that state, and lead them to seek revenge for the murder of their relatives and friends; but limited the number of volunteers to four thousand. The state of Kentucky, called by the natives, ‘the dark and bloody ground’, forty years ago was a dark uninhabited forest, possessed by no tribe of Indians; but from time immemorial had been the theatre of sanguinary wars. At this day, it blooms beneath the hand of agriculture, it is filled with beautiful towns and villages, and is the abode of peace, opulence and refinement. The inhabitants are descended from many of the best families of Virginia and North-Carolina, and the enterprising and intelligent of the other states. Living in abundance and at their ease, and more remote from the seats of commerce, they have imbibed less of foreign attachments or feelings, than any of our people; and are perhaps more enthusiastically devoted to the institutions of freedom. Together with an enlightened manliness of mind, they unite a romantick cast of character, derived from the independence of their situation, and not vitiated by too close an intercourse with the sordid world. They have not a little of the manners of chivalry in their generous and hospitable deportment. Fearless of danger, regarding dishonour more than death but with these qualities, a benevolence and humanity, which has scarcely a parallel. Had the elder brethren of our confederacy acted like this younger member, the Canadas would have been ours, and Britain would never have dared to insult us with her unwarrantable pretentions.”

History of the Late War, Between the United States and Great-Britain: Containing a Minute Account of the Various Military and Naval Operations...

1817: Merrill, Eliphalet

Eliphalet Merrill, Phinehas Merrill (compilers); Gazetteer of the State of New-Hampshire …; C Norris & Co; 1817

Eliphalet Merrill and Phinehas Merrill write: “1711 – The depredations of the Indians increased in audacity and violence. Another expedition was prepared against Canada, which failed. Eight transports were this year wrecked on Egg Island, in the river St Lawrence, and a thousand people perished.”

Gazetteer of the State of New-Hampshire...

1818: Barrow, Sir John

Sir John Barrow; A Chronological History of Voyages Into the Arctic Regions; John Murray; 1818

Sir John Barrow writes: “THE French may almost be said to be the only maritime people of Europe who have seen, with apparent indifference, the exertions made by other nations for the discovery of a passage to India, either by the north-east or the north-west. Yet they very early availed themselves of the discoveries of others: for we find the Normans and Bretons, at the commencement of the sixteenth century, frequenting the banks of Newfoundland for the purpose of fishing; and one of their navigators, named AUBERT or HUBERT, sailed from Dieppe in 1508, in a ship called the Pensee, with the view, as it would seem, to examine the shores of Newfoundland, from whence he brought back to Paris one of the natives; but it does not appear that any further discovery was the object of this voyage. Perhaps, however, the expedition of JACQUES CARTIER in 1534, under the auspices of Francis I, might be called a voyage of discovery, undertaken with the view of finding a short route to those countries, from which Spain derived so much wealth. The discovery he actually made, or at least claimed, was that of the gulf and river of Saint Lawrence; though there can be little doubt that Cortereal preceded him, and indeed it is generally supposed that even Velasco had been before. The etymology of the word Canada (already noticed) has even been ascribed to the visit of Velasco, with as little accuracy perhaps as that which had before been assigned by Cortereal. It is stated that the former, disappointed in not finding any of the precious metals, in hastening to return, called out to his people Aca nada, ‘there is nothing here’, which words being repeated by the natives to the next Europeans they saw, it was concluded that Canada was the name of the country; but both may probably be thought too forced and fanciful to be real. Cartier, in the narrative of his second voyage up the St Lawrence in 1535, gives a more probable derivation of the name, when he says that an assemblage of houses or a town is called canada in the language of the natives – ilz appellent une ville, Canada.”

Sir John Barrow continues: “On the 29th the ships made the land of the Asiatic continent, which, like the opposite coast of America, was low land next the sea, with elevated land farther back. It was destitute of wood, and without snow. To a steep and rocky point Captain Cook gave the name of Cape North; its latitude 68 degrees 56 minutes, longitude 180 degrees 51 minutes; no land appearing to the northward of this, it was concluded that the coast here began to trend to the westward. ‘The season,’ says Captain Cook, ‘was now so far advanced, and the time when the frost is expected to set in so near at hand, that I did not think it consistent with prudence, to make any further attempts to find a passage into the Atlantic this year, in any direction, so little was the prospect of succeeding.’ Accordingly, on the 30th August, he stood to the southward, coasting the land of Asia from the Cape Serdze Kamen of Muller, so called from a heart-shaped rock upon it, round East Coast, passed the mouth of the bay of St Lawrence, down to Tschukotskoi Noss, from thence to Norton Sound on the American coast, and finally to the Sandwich Islands, where this celebrated navigator lost his life.

“Captain Clerke was now become Commanding Officer, and Lieutenant Gore appointed Commander of the Discovery. On the 15th March, 1779, they left the Sandwich Islands, and stood to the northward, by the way of Kamtschatka, to follow up the discovery of a passage into the Atlantic. On the 3d July they came in sight of Tschukotskoi Noss, and on the 5th saw East Cape, covered with snow, and the beach surrounded with ice. On the same evening, at ten o’clock, they saw, at the same moment, the remarkable peaked hill, near Cape Prince of Wales, on the coast of America, and the East Cape of Asia, with the two connecting islands of Saint Diomede between them. On the following day they fell in with an extensive body of ice, from which they seem to have anticipated an unsuccessful issue of the expedition. It presented a solid compact surface, and appeared to adhere to the coast of America.

“On the 8th July the latitude was 69 degrees 21 minutes, longitude 192 degrees 42 minutes west. They were then close to the ice, the weather exceedingly cold, with much snow and sleet; Fahrenheit’s thermometer in the night 28 degrees, and at noon 30 degrees. Having stood near forty leagues to the westward along the edge of the ice, without seeing any opening, or a clear sea to the northward beyond it, Captain Clerke resolved to return to the southward and to pass the time in examining the Bay of St Lawrence, till the season should be further advanced. They found so much ice, however, to the southward, and the sea now appeared so free from it to the northward, that they immediately returned towards that quarter; but on the 13th found themselves close in with a solid field of ice, to which no limits could be seen from the mast head; the latitude then being 69 degrees 37 minutes, and the position of the ships nearly in the mid channel, between two continents; the ice extending from east-northeast to west-southwest. They proceeded along the edge towards the coast of America, and, on the 18th, were in latitude 70 degrees 26 minutes, longitude 194 degrees 54 minutes. The following day they found themselves so completely embayed in the ice as to have but one opening to the southward, through which they directed their course. This was the farthest point to which they proceeded, being in latitude 70 degrees 33 minutes, which is five leagues short of the point to which Captain Cook had proceeded the former year. On the 21st they got sight of the American coast at the distance of eight or ten leagues, and hauled in for it; but were again stopped by the ice, and obliged to bear away to the westward, along the edge of it. ‘Thus,’ observes the writer of the voyage (Captain King), ‘a connected, solid field of ice rendering every effort we could make to a nearer approach to the land fruitless, and joining, as we judged, to it, we took a last farewell of a north-east passage to England.’”

A chronological history of voyages into the Arctic regions

1818: Darby, William

William Darby; The Emigrant’s Guide to the Western and Southwestern States and Territories: Comprising a Geographical and Statistical Description of the States; Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio; the Territories of Alabama, Missouri, and Michigan; and the Western Parts of Virginia; Kirk and Mercein; 1818

William Darby writes: “No 68.

“Much attention has been given to the two projected canals to unite the Hudson river with lakes Erie and Ontario, towards the west, and with lake Champlain and the St Lawrence river to the north of the city of Albany. Like all great designs, the promulgation of these works excited much speculation and but

little investigation. The practicability or impracticability of such immense plans, have been adopted rather from feeling than examination into the ratio of means to ends. Without entering into any discussion on the subject, we beg leave to present our readers with the following syllabus of the Western Canal, compiled from the Report of the Commissioners who were employed by the Legislature of the State of New-York to superintend the survey of the intended route.”

… the road and   river   routes, west of the Allegheny Mountains, and the connecting roads from New-York, Philadelphia, and Washington City, to New-Orleans,   St . …

1819: Darby, William

William Darby; A Tour from the City of New York, to Detroit, in the Michigan Territory; 1819

William Darby writes: “Before leaving New-York, and when employed in writing the Emigrant’s Guide, I carefully measured and calculated the respective superficies, drained by the St Lawrence and Mississippi rivers, the former came so near to 500,000 square miles, that I assumed that area in round numbers, re-measuring the same stream by sections, the result is, as you perceive. At the same period I also measured the Mississippi, and found its area varied so little from 1,400,000 square miles, that I assumed that number as sufficiently accurate for general purposes. Calculating again by sections, I found 1,394,000 square miles. From these various estimates, I am confident that neither of these surfaces are essentially incorrect, as far as our maps are entitled to confidence.

“The outline of the two streams are respectively as follows: that of the St Lawrence 3,500, that of the Mississippi 5,600. Of these distances the two rivers have interlocking branches, from the head of the Allegany branch of Ohio, to the sources of the Mississippi and Lake Superior, which following the sinuosities of the dividing line, stretch along 1,300 miles.

“Rising from the same vast table land, and having such extended connexion, it is surely worthy of remark, that no two rivers on earth so essentially differ in their general features, as do the Mississippi and St Lawrence. The former is turbid, in many parts to muddings, the latter unequally limpid. One river is composed of an almost unbroken chain of lakes, the other in all its vast expanse, has no lakes that strictly deserve the name. Annually, the Mississippi overleaps its bed and overwhelms the adjacent shores to a great extent; an accidental rise of three feet in the course of fifty years, is considered an extraordinary swell of the waters of St Lawrence; this circumstance has occurred the present season, for the first time within the lapse of forty years past. The Mississippi flowing from north to south, passes through innumerable climes; whilst its rival, winding from its source in a south-east direction to near north latitude 41 turns gradually north-east, and again flows into its original climate of ice and snow. The Mississippi before its final discharge into the gulph of Mexico, divides into a number of branches, having their separate egress; the St Lawrence imperceptibly expands to a wide bay, which finally opens into the gulph of the same name. The banks of the Mississippi present a level, scarce rising above the superior surface of that stream; those of the St Lawrence, by a gentle acclivity, exhibit the opposing sides of an elegant basin. Much of the surface, watered by the Mississippi, is a region of grass, where few shrubs or trees rise to break the dull monotony of the face of the earth; the shores that bound the St Lawrence are, when in a state of nature, covered with an almost continuous and impervious forest.

And last, though rather an accidental than a natural distinction, the Mississippi rolls its mighty volume, swelled by more than a thousand rivers, through one empire, and is, as I once before observed, ‘the largest stream on this globe, whose entire course lies within one sovereignty’. The St Lawrence is, for more than thirteen hundred miles, a national limit, and as such, marked with the sanguinary points which distinguish the bounds of rival power. Both rivers have a name in the hearts of the people of the United States, upon both have their arms been wreathed with never fading laurels.

“Mr Bouchette, page 32 of his topographical description of Canada, commences a description of St Lawrence, which from the extensive local knowledge of this author, is no doubt the best notice of this river that has yet been published to the world. I am ignorant whether you have read Mr Bouchette’s statistics or not; from its voluminous size, it is a scarce and expensive work in the United States. As it would not be in my power to give so extensive, or except in a small part, so accurate a picture of this remarkable stream, I have sent you a copy of Mr Bouchette’s description, with occasional notes from myself, which together will I trust, convey a tolerable comprehensive view of the most singular object in North American hydrography.

“‘The river St Lawrence, (which from its first discovery in 1565, has been called by the inhabitants of the country, to mark its pre-eminence, the Great river,) receives nearly all the rivers, which have their sources in the extensive range of mountains to the northward, called the Land’s Height, that separates the waters falling into Hudson’s Bay still further to the north, from those that descend into the Atlantic; and all those that rise in the ridge which commences on its southern bank, and runs nearly south-westerly, until it falls upon Lake Champlain. Of these, the principal ones are the Ottawa, Musquinonge, St Maurice, St Ann, Jacques Cartier, Saguenay, Betsiamites, and Manicouagan on the north; and the Salmon river, Chateaugay, Chambly or Richelieu, Yamaska, St Francis, Becancour, Du Chene, Chaudiere, and Du Loup, on the south. In different parts of its course it is known under different appellations; thus, as high up from the sea as Montreal, it is called St Lawrence; from Montreal to Kingston in Upper Canada, it is called the Cataraqui, or Iroquois; (Cataraqui was the Indian name for the river Iroquois, the name given by the French to the six nations) between lake Ontario and lake Erie, it is called Niagara river; between lake Erie and lake St Clair, the Detroit; between lake St Clair and lake Huron, the river St Clair; and between lake Huron and lake Superior, the distance is called the Narrows, of the falls of St Mary forming thus an uninterrupted connexion of 2000 miles. Lake Superior, without the aid of any great effort of imagination, may be considered as the inexhaustible spring from whence, through unnumbered ages, the St Lawrence has continued to drive its ample stream. I am not aware that the source of this river has thus been defined before; but examining the usual mode of tracing large rivers from their heads to the estuaries, I venture to believe that I am warranted in adopting the hypothesis. This immense lake, unequalled in magnitude by any collection of fresh water on the globe, is almost of a triangular form; its greatest length is 331, its breadth 161, and its circumference little less than 1152 miles; and as remarkable for the unrivalled transparency of its waters, as for its extraordinary depth. Its northern coast, indented with many extensive bays is high and rocky; but on the southern shore the land is generally low and level; a sea almost of itself, it is subject to many vicissitudes of that element, for here the storm rages, and the billows break with a violence scarcely surpassed by the tempests of the ocean. In the distant range of mountains that forms the Land’s Height, beyond its northern and western shores, several considerable rivers, and numerous small ones have their rise, which being increased in their course by many small lakes, finally discharge themselves into lake Superior. To the southward also there is another lofty range, dividing the waters that find their way to the Gulf of

Mexico, through the channel of the Mississippi, from those that take a northern course into the great lake; so that its vastness is increased by the tributary streams of more than thirty rivers. On its north and north-east sides there are several islands, of which one, called Isle Royale is the largest, being one hundred miles long and forty broad. Out of Lake Superior a very rapid current is interrupted and broken by several small islands, or rather huge masses of rock, through a channel of twenty-seven miles in length, at the end of which it flows into lake Huron. The Falls of St Mary are nearly midway between the two lakes; this denomination, though generally given, but little accords with the usual appellation of Falls, as applied to the descent of large bodies of water precipitated from great heights, that so frequently occur on the rivers of America; for in this place, it is only the impetuous stream of the enormous discharge from lake Superior, forcing its way through a confined channel, and breaking with proportionate violence among the impediments that nature has thrown in its way; yet this scene of tumultuous and unceasing agitation of the waters, combined with the noise and dazzling whiteness of the surge, is not deficient either in grandeur or magnificence.’”

William Darby continues: “The rapid change made upon an uncultivated country by the introduction of the necessary arts of civilized life never did receive a more striking exemplification, than is now given by the left shore of the St Lawrence below the Thousand islands, as far down as Hamilton. Fields joining to fields, farm-houses, with their most attractive decoration, garden, meadow, and orchard, smile along this truly elegant slope. Villages with many of the highest traits of cultivated life, and with all the first principals of civilization, rise along this once desolate waste. Brockville, Prescott, and Johnstown, are now what were once New-York and Philadelphia, what were once Quebec and Montreal, and ranging farther back in the lapse of ages, what was once Athens, Rome, Paris and London.”

William Darby continues: “‘The gulf of St Lawrence, that receives the waters of this gigantic river, is formed between the western part of Newfoundland, the eastern shores of Labrador, the eastern extremity of the province of New Brunswick, part of the province of Nova Scotia, and the island of Cape Breton. It communicates with the Atlantic ocean by three different passages, viz: on the north by the straits of Belleisle between Labrador and Newfoundland; on the south-east by the passage from cape Ray; the south-west extremity of the latter island, and the north cape of Breton Island; and lastly by the narrow channel named the gut of Canso, that divides cape Breton from Nova Scotia. The distance from cape Breton to cape Ray is 79 leagues, and from Nova Scotia to Labrador one hundred and six.’ [Bouchette’s Canada, page 32-55.]

“It has already been observed that the St Lawrence was rather a strait than a river; below Quebec it assumes more the character of a bay, than either that of a strait or river. In such rivers as the St Lawrence, Hudson, Delaware, Susquehanna, Rio de la Plate, and Elbe, it is very difficult to determine where the river ceases, and the bay commences. Except width, no essential change in the ordinary features of the stream of the St Lawrence takes place below Quebec. It is perfectly similar at the Island of Orleans, and opposite Cape Rosier.

“Amongst the most interesting problems suggested by a review of this mighty river, is the comparative quantity of water contained in its volume or discharged at its mouth. No river of this globe can differ so much in the mass of contained fluid and its expenditure as the St Lawrence. I have already given a table of the area of this river and its lakes, expressed in square miles; and have also observed that the depth of the lakes was very unequal, and difficult to reduce to a medium. Without pretending to a very strict accuracy, I will endeavor to estimate the quantity of water contained in the St Lawrence and its lakes,

assuming my former superficies as data for the surface, and estimating the depth from the best information in my reach. It appears from the united information of all those who have made the necessary experiments, that lakes Superior and Huron are vast, and in some places unfathomable gulfs; that of all the great lakes that of Erie is the most shallow, not exceeding an average of more than 20 fathoms; and that Ontario varies from 75 to 89 fathoms, with a medium depth of 82 fathoms. The St Lawrence itself varies very much in depth, and exhibits phenomena that shew its bottom to be excessively uneven. …”

A Tour from the City of New York, to Detroit, in the Michigan Territory

1819: Doige, Thomas

Thomas Doige (compiler); An Alphabetical List of the Merchants, Traders, and Housekeepers, Residing in Montreal; J Lane; 1819

Thomas Doige writes: “From various parts of this Mountain, a beautiful prospect opens to the view; but from no part, perhaps, more particularly so, than from the spot on the South side, which belonged to the late Simon McTavish, Esquire; and which may be known by a handsome building erecting when he died, that still remains in an unfinished state. From this place there is a delightful view of Chambly Mountain – Beloeil Mountain, on the top of which there is a considerable Lake, the St John’s Mountain and of the Blue Mountains, in the State of Vermont; which the eye can trace the course of, until they are entirely lost in the distant perspective – the villages of Longueuil and Laprairie, with various farm houses, the islands in the river, etc, etc, form a pleasing part of the general prospect. – On this spot, scarcely out of the buzz of business in the Town, which appears to lie immediately beneath it, you perceive the shipping in the harbour, the mechanic on his building, the agriculturalist in his field and innumerable fine gardens and orchards, surrounding the various elegant seats, belonging to the gentlemen of Montreal. All kinds of fruit, found in European climes under similar latitudes, are produced in these gardens – the apples in particular, are of a very superior quality; and some of them, possessing a most delicious taste and flavour, are considered worthy presents to the best apple countries in Europe. The clear and extensive prospect of the River Saint Lawrence, deemed one of the finest rivers in the world, with the shipping, steamboats, and other craft navigating it; the extensive Prairie on the opposite side of the river, the roads of which are constantly covered with vehicles of commerce, passing from and to the United States, afford a pleasing subject for contemplation; which will soon be improved by the serpentine waters of the canal to La Chine.”

Thomas Doige continues: “The principal markets in Montreal are the Old and the New Markets; in which meat, vegetables, poultry, eggs, butter, etc, etc, are vended. There is also a fish market, and a hay market, in the latter of which wood is sold, the chief supply of this article, is, however, by rafts, which are constantly arriving at Montreal, from the upper parts of the province, while the navigation in the river is open, and which is generally sold from 10 shillings to 15 shillings a cord. Tuesdays and Fridays are called the market days; and, on which days, the habitants from the country bring large quantities of eatables to market. There is, however, a partial market on every week, or working day, when most articles may be had, but not in such abundance, or so cheap, as on the market days. Meat seldom exceeds sixpence a pound, and even that is double the price it fetched ten years ago. – An Agricultural Society is established in Montreal, who, among other things, offer handsome premiums for the

improvement of cattle, and, from this it is inferred, that the markets will improve in the general supply of superior meat. There are various kinds of fish, taken in the St Lawrence, sold in the fish market, and in tolerable quantities during the summer season; and, in the winter, codfish from Boston, and places near there, are brought frozen in snow – it sells from 3 pence to 6 pence a pound. No place is appropriated solely for the sale of grain here; it is generally found in and near the other markets.

“Two associations for banking purposes have been lately established, and are called the Montreal Bank and the Bank of Canada – the former with a capital of 250,000 pounds, and the latter that of 300,000 pounds; they are each of them managed by a President and Directors, chosen yearly. These gentlemen are always of the first respectability, and the liberal manner in which the business of discounts is transacted at these banks, appears to give general satisfaction.

“Several hotels in the town afford excellent accommodations for visitors, on pleasure or business – the principal ones are the Mansion-House Hotel, the City Tavern, the Montreal Hotel, Clamp’s Coffee-House, and the British Tavern, formerly the Belfast. – the Mansion-House Hotel is a superb building, situated near the north end of the Saint Paul street, fronting back on the River St Lawrence, from which there is a very handsome prospect of that river and the adjoining country. The assemblies are held in this house, in a room which is not surpassed in size and elegance by any in the province; in fact, the whole house is very superiorly fitted up, and first rate accommodations are to be found in it.”

An Alphabetical List of the Merchants, Traders, and Housekeepers, Residing in Montreal

1820: Sansom, Joseph

Joseph Sansom, Elias Cornelius; Travels in Lower Canada: With the Author’s Recollections of the Soil, and Aspect, the Morals, Habits, and Religious Institutions of that Country; Vol 3, Issue 1 of Modern voyages and travels; Sir Richard Phillips; 1820

Joseph Sansom and Elias Cornelius write: “The river St Lawrence, one of the largest bodies of fresh water on the surface of the globe, received its name from Jacques Cartier, who, in the year 1535, had ascended the river as far as the place where Montreal now stands, in the vain hope of finding a nearer passage to China, the fruitless research which so long engrossed the attention of European navigators, with a small ship or two from St Maloes, a seaport of France, upon the coast of Brittany.

“That magnificent monarch, Francis I still occupied the throne of France; but that prince being engaged at home in perpetual conflicts with his formidable rival, Charles V of Spain, from this period, until the beginning of the following century, no effectual attempts were made by Europeans to form a settlement in Canada.

“When Jacques Cartier arrived at the island called by him Montreal, from the singular mountain which there rises, in solitary majesty, over the present town, they found there an Indian village, or rather a fortified town, since the fifty cabins, of which it was composed, were surrounded by a triple row of palisades. It was called Hochelaga, and it was under the command of a chief, whose name has not been preserved, so far as I know.

“Although Jacques Cartier appears to have been prevented, either by discouragement or inability, from returning to take possession of Montreal, yet, in 1541, Francis de la Roque, Seigneur de Roberval, a nobleman of Picardy, having been endowed by the king with the unlimited powers of viceroy of Canada, set sail, with no fewer than five small vessels, for New France, where he planted a colony, at the head of which he placed Cartier, who had accompanied him, and went back to France to prosecute the interests of the new settlement at court.

“On his returning the next year with fresh recruits, he met, opportunity, his new colonists off Newfoundland, returning home in despair of relief. He readily persuaded them to return; and this enterprising noblemen made afterward several other voyages in prosecution of his favourite settlement, before the last unfortunate embarkation in 1549, when he was lost at sea, upon which the colony was broken up; and with this unfortunate event terminated the first attempts at colonization upon the river St Lawrence.”

Joseph Sansom and Elias Cornelius continue: “In the year 1690 a joint invasion of Canada was concerted between New England, that was to attack Quebec by sea, and New York, that was to invest Montreal by land. Major Peter Schuyler commanded the party sent from New York, having been joined at Albany by a body of Indians, some of whom were now always enlisted in every quarrel between their European neighbours. He penetrated as far as the Prairie de la Madeleine, where he was repulsed by the Count de Frontenac, who was there posted, with a large body of French and Indians. The fleet destined to attack Quebec, consisting of thirty sail, fitted out in the ports of Massachusetts, was commanded by Sir William Phips. Arriving before the town on the 5th of October, Sir William summoned the Count de Frontenac, who had by this time returned from Montreal, to surrender the place. In the chronicles of the times, the pompous message is said to have received an insolent answer. Upon this he landed a few miles below, thinking to take the town by storm; but he was so warmly received by the French commander, that he was fain to re-embark in the night, leaving behind him all his baggage and artillery. The fleet now cannonaded the town, but with little effect; and, being driven from their moorings by stress of weather, Sir William retired in disorder, on the 12th of October, under the necessity of avoiding the approach of winter. Several of the ships of this unfortunate squadron were blown off to the West-Indies, as they endeavoured to make the coast of New England; and some of them were wrecked in the Bay of St Lawrence, or never more heard of. Sir William himself did not arrive at Boston, with the shattered remainder, until the 19th of November.

“Quebec has been, for the first time, regularly fortified in the summer of 1690, and was thus enabled to resist a formidable attack, which it would have been utterly unable to withstand, had it taken place but a few months before.

“The English and Dutch settlers, upon the more favourable coasts and rivers to the south, had now become sufficiently populous and powerful to stimulate the Iroquois or Five Nations to commence hostilities upon the French, during the frequent wars which have been always taking place between those two powerful and warlike nations.

“The early emigrations were principally from the northern coasts of France, which would seem to be one of the reasons why no Protestants engaged in this colonial adventure, the great body of the Protestants of France being situated on the coasts of the Mediterranean; whilst the migrations from England were almost entirely confined to dissenters from their national establishment; a circumstance which has probably had no small share in producing the various fortunes of the respective colonies.

“The society of Jesuits had been among the first to locate and improve the Island of Montreal, which they founded agreeable to traditional record, by the express command of Lewis XIV as far up the great river as it was possible for ships to sail. They were followed in 1657 by the Abbe Quetus, and the brotherhood of St Sulpice.

“From this time till the conquest of Canada by the English, which occurred in the year 1759, there continued to take place, at distant intervals, repeated incursions on both sides, between the French and English provinces, as likewise that of the Dutch, with various degrees of success, or rather of disappointment and disaster; for the French never gained any ground upon the neighbouring frontier, and the hardy sons of New England had more than once invaded Canada to as little purpose, or rather worse than none; particularly in the year 1711, when Admiral Walker was cast away in the Bay of St Lawrence, with a fleet of ships intended to co-operate in another attack upon Quebec; before General Abercrombie, at the head of fifteen thousand men, was repulsed (in 1758) by the French and Indians at Ticonderoga, a formidable out-post at the confluence of Lake George and Lake Champlain – now far within the acknowledged boundary of the United States.

“It was before this savage entrenchment, the remains of which may still be traced by those who sail upon those inland waters, that the first Lord Howe lost his life. The same nobleman, whose two sons afterwards acted so conspicuous, yet so negative a part, the one as admiral, the other as commander-in-chief, in the struggle that soon afterward took place between the British colonies and the mother-country, for continental independence.

“In the following year, General Wolfe succeeded in wresting Quebec out of the hands of the Marquis de Montcalm, who fell, together with the successful invader, in the same bloody field. The marquis is said to have replied, with characteristic magnanimity, when he was told that he had but a few hours to live – ‘So much the better! – I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec.’

“During the revolutionary contest, in the year 1775, the American General Montgomery fell, in like manner, during a fruitless attack upon Quebec. And the British General Burgoyne, in 1777, having descended Lake Champlain, and dissipated his mighty force among the trackless woods which then surrounded it on all sides, was fain, at Saratoga, to strike the royal standard to that very undisciplined multitude whom his fulminating proclamation from Illinois, for we are not the only people that are chargeable with similar rhodomontades, had begun with denominating rebels and traitors.

“Five-and-thirty years after this event, in the year 1812, during another struggle between the same parties, in support of national pretensions, the British Commodore Downie, with five or six sloops of war, was completely discomfitted by McDonough, the American commander, upon the same Lake Champlain; and the trophies of his victory, their dismantled hulks, still exhibit their black and battered sides among the dark firs and frowning precipices of Wood Creek.

“Sir George Provost, who had penetrated to Plattsburgh, at the head of fifteen thousand men, precipitately retreating to St John’s, upon this event taking place before his eyes, without his being able to do any thing to prevent the unexpected catastrophe.

“Such are the melancholy details of national prowess: alas! that it should have been hitherto in vain for moralists, philosophers, and poets, under the immediate sanction of the PRINCE OF PEACE, the Captain of our Salvation, to deprecate the unnecessary effusion of blood in national quarrels. –

“‘Ah! what more shews the vanity of life, / Than to behold the Nations all on fire, / In cruel broils engaged, and deadly strife; / Most Christian Kings inflamed by black desire, / With honourable ruffians in their hire, / Cause war to rage, and blood around to pour; / Of this sad work, when each begins to tire, / They set them down just where they were before; / Till, for new scenes of woe, peace shall their force restore.’

“THE ANCIENT NOBLESSE.

“Of the ancient Noblesse of Canada, the Counts of Longueil and St Lawrence have long been extinct; and the small remainder being now deprived of the advantages of privilege and prepossession; and having no longer any other chance for the appointments of power and profit, but what they must derive, in common with their fellow-subjects, from personal merit, are rapidly sinking into decay or insignificance. Events which they are said to have accelerated by their own inattention to qualify themselves for public confidence, and their neglecting to preserve their families from the supposed contamination of plebeian intermixture.”

Travels in Lower Canada: With the Author's Recollections of the Soil, and Aspect, the Morals, Habits, and Religious Institutions of that Country

1822: Sigourney, Lydia Howard

Lydia Howard Sigourney; Traits of the Aborigines of America: A Poem; History of women; Hillard and Metcalf; 1822

Lydia Howard Sigourney writes: “Soon in the track mark’d out / By haughty Spain, the Lusitanian bands / Came flocking; from scant bounds and despot sway, / Eager for space and freedom, their rude hands / Grasp’d the wide zone from where th’ Equator marks / The mouth of Amazon, to the broad sea / Of the La Plata. Sweetly were thy vales / Smiling, Oh Fair Brazil! on their new lords, / Unconscious that their harvests many a year / Must rise and fatten in the richest blood / Of their own sons. For northward, where the chill / Of winter linger’d, steer’d the crews of France, / And with a giddy and vivacious joy / Snatch’d for themselves a cold Acadia, white / With frost, and drifted snow. Onward they prest, / Toward where its source the proud St Lawrence owns, / As Nilus ‘mid th’ Abyssinian wastes / Reveals through fringed reeds, and willows dank / His azure eyes. With trembling awe they mark’d / Bold Niagara hurling down the steep / Eternal thunders, while the battle shock / Of rocks and waters in his gulf profound / Forever by the rushing column swoln, / Uprears a misty canopy to involve / The fearful conflict. Eagerly they trac’d / That land which bounding the broad lakes, erects / A lofty aspect, where the dying sigh / Of Wolfe, on victory’s bloody couch arose, / Where bold Montgomery sank ‘mid patriot tears, / And Arnold urged the combat, ere his foot / Prest dark Perdition’s portal.”

Traits of the Aborigines of America: A Poem

1822: Stansbury, Philip

Philip Stansbury; A Pedestrian Tour of Two Thousand Three Hundred Miles in North America: To the Lakes, - the Canadas, - and the New-England States. Performed in the Autumn of 1821 …; published and sold by JD Myers & W Smith; 1822

Philip Stansbury writes: “By moonlight I proceeded six miles hence, through a lonely woods, to Caughnawaga, a very considerable village of Indians upon the banks of the St Lawrence. Their dwellings are similar to those of the Canadians; large and closely compacted in several narrow streets. There are two Catholic chapels. Among them are some French as well as English residents; an Englishman keeps the incc. By agriculture and traffic with the whites, some of these Indians have accumulated large fortunes, and it is not unusual to see them driving to Montreal in gigs, with great pomposity – their long black hair waving behind, pendant in the wind. Though it was late, I met numerous boys playing games of their own in the streets, and warriors and sage orators, muffled in blue robes, walking to and fro in the dark, talking in low voices; and through the glass casements, observed the sociable family circles enjoying all the comforts of complete civilization. Without staying long in Caughnawaga, I went out of a sort of gate, which marked their limits of the territory like a distinct kingdom, and again entered a deep wood of four or five miles; in the middle of which, as rising clouds obscured the moon, a company of the savage tribe passed me, rustling among the trees and wrapt in large white blankets. It was near midnight, when I knocked at some Canadian farm-houses, inquiring for the inn, and found them still awake, knitting and sewing, or conversing with the men around their fires. My Gallic landlady was a little suspicious of my appearance at so late an hour; but a few words of explanation soon conciliated her good will.”

A Pedestrian Tour of Two Thousand Three Hundred Miles in North America: To the Lakes,--the Canadas,--and the New-England States. Performed in the …

1822: Watson, William

William Watson; The Emigrant’s Guide to the Canadas; 1822

William Watson writes: “The majority of Emigrants on their arrival at Quebec have scarcely any money. Quebec is about 540 miles distant from York in Upper Canada, which journey may be performed by water, and will take, at least a fortnight to accomplish this tedious voyage, owing to the amazing rapids or currents, in some parts of the river St Lawrence, which oppose the Boats drawn by men and horses with astonishing force, and when in their favour carry them forward with incredible velocity.”

The Emigrants' Guide to the Canadas

1822: Wilson, Charles Henry

Charles Henry Wilson; The Wanderer in America; Or, Truth at Home: Comprising a Statement of Observations and Facts Relative to the United States & Canada, North America; the Result of an Extensive Personal Tour, and from Sources of Information the Most Authentic; Including Soil, Climate, Manners & Customs of Its …; 2nd edition; 1822

Charles Henry Wilson writes: “AFTER every known recipe and surgical amusement had tortured, ineffectually, my emaciated frame, a return to native air was pronounced by the illegitimate sons of Messrs Galen & Aesculapius, my last resource, and I left Montreal, not as the contemplating sage would the Ruins of Palmira, or a Grecian Temple, with regret; nor had I the parting curiosity of Mrs Lot. – In a Sleigh we crossed the river St Lawrence, which was a carriage without wheels, open sides, ornamented with a kind of curtain, drawn by four excellent horses: and we reached the town of La Prairie, the distance of nine miles, in one hour and twenty minutes, through stupendous mountains of ice, and chasms of wintry desolation. This mode of travelling was novel, and rather unpleasant at this period; for flesh and bones had dissolved partnership, and I found myself rather too transparent, to encounter the chance of limb dislocation; but wrapt in the skin of a buffalo, and a seal-skin cap, I preferred the pure air, although cold and piercing, to the stewing exaltation of stoves within doors. On the following morning, after leaving St John’s, we crossed Lake Champlain, and our driver exclaimed, ‘There they are.’ ‘What?’ said I ‘Why the British ships’; and the scene of action pointed out where England’s navy suffered shameful defeat; the captive fleet were sad trophies of the fight. My friend Jehu’s remarks were true, but rather gallingly unpleasant: this as the third exhibition of the kind, I had seen the vanquished Flotilla of Lake Erie, and the crest-fallen Guerrier. Neither Nelson nor Cochrane was there – a perspective of Westminster Abby, or that monitor, ‘England expects every man to do this duty.’”

The Wanderer in America; Or, Truth at Home: Comprising a Statement of Observations and Facts Relative to the United States & Canada, North America; the …

1823: Worcester, Joseph Emerson

Joseph Emerson Worcester; Geographical Dictionary, or Universal Gazetteer, Ancient and Modern: in 2 Volumes; Vol 2; 2nd edition; Cummings; 1823

Joseph Emerson Worcester writes: “St Lawrence, river North America, one of the largest in the world. It is the outlet by which the waters of the great lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario, are poured into the ocean through the gulf of St Lawrence. This great river, in different parts of its course, is known by different names. From the sea to lake Ontario it is called St Lawrence; but the name Cateraqui, or Iroquois, is sometimes applied to the part between Montreal and lake Ontario. Between lakes Ontario and Erie it is called Niagara river; between lakes Erie & St Clair, Detroit river; between lakes St Clair and Huron, St Clair’s river; between lakes Huron & Superior, St Mary’s river, or the Narrows, forming thus an uninterrupted connexion of upwards of 2,000 miles. It is navigable for ships of the line to Quebec, about 400 miles, and to Montreal for ships of 600 tons, 580 miles. The distance from Montreal to lake Ontario is 190 or 200 miles. The tide flows up as far as Three Rivers. Its breadth between Montreal and Quebec is from ½ mile to 4 miles; the average breadth about 2 miles. Below Quebec it gradually widens, till it enters the gulf, where, from Cape Rosier to the Mingan settlement on the Labrador coast, it is about 105 miles in breadth. The country, through which it flows, from the lake to the gulf, is generally fertile, & much of it well cultivated, and rapidly improving; on both sides the prospect is delightful, numerous villages, for the most part built round a handsome stone church, invite the traveller’s attention, while single houses and farms appear at agreeable distances. The river in several places spreads out into large lakes, as lakes St Francis, St Louis, and Deux Montagnes; and there

are numerous islands, shoals, and rapids. From the beginning of December to the middle of April, it is totally suspended by frost. The breaking up of the ice in the spring is described as a must stupendous operation of nature.

“St Lawrence, (Gulf of,) gulf, which receives the waters of the St Lawrence, formed between the western part of Newfoundland, the eastern shores of Labrador, the eastern extremity of New Brunswick, part of Nova Scotia, and the island of Cape Breton. It communicates with the Atlantic by 3 passages, on the north by the straits of Belleisle, between Labrador & Newfoundland, on the south-east by the passage between Cape Ray and Newfoundland, and by gut of Canso, which divides Cape Breton from Nova Scotia. The distance from Cape Rosier to Cape Ray is 79 leagues; from Nova Scotia to Labrador 106.

“St Lawrence, county New York, on the St Lawrence. Population in 1810, 7,885, in 1820, 16,037. Chief town, Ogdensburg.”

Joseph Emerson Worcester continues: “Thousand Islands, number of small islands, in the river St Lawrence, a little below lake Ontario; the part of the river being called Thousand Island Lake.”

Joseph Emerson Worcester continues: “Thousand Rocks, rocks in the river St Lawrence; 72 southwest Montreal.”

Geographical Dictionary, Or Universal Gazetteer, Ancient and Modern: In 2 Volumes

1824: Andrews, William Eusebius

William Eusebius Andrews; A critical and historical review of Fox’s Book of martyrs, shewing the inaccuracies, falsehoods, and misrepresentations in that work of deception; Vol 1-2; WE Andrews; 1824

William Eusebius Andrews writes: “But the most invidious trick at deception on the part of these modern editors of Fox remains to be pointed out. The next martyr described is St Lawrence, who was so cruelly broiled on a gridiron in this persecution. In the very sheet detailing the martyrdom of Sixtus and his deacon Lawrence, the modern editors have given a representation of the latter, and, such is their scrupulous adherence to correctness, that they have not only made the saint an old man, but they have actually introduced a figure in the back ground, clothed in the pontifical habits of a pope, to impress on the minds of the vulgar and unthinking that Lawrence suffered by order of the pope, and therefore became a victim to the cruelties of Popery, when the fact was, the pope had suffered martyrdom only three days before him, and consequently could not be present at the execution of his deacon. It is recorded of St Lawrence by St Ambrose (Amb 1 i Officior c 41, & 1 ii, c 28), St Augustin (Aug tract 27, in Joan at Serm de Sanctus), and later authors, that ‘when Lawrence the deacon saw his bishop Sixtus about to be carried away to martyrdom, he began to weep, not for the other’s sufferings, but for his own remaining behind them? wherefore he cried unto him in these words: whither do you go, O Father, without your son; and whither do you hasten, O holy priest, without you deacon? You were never wont to offer sacrifice without a minister; what then hath displeased you in me, that you leave me behind you? Have you proved me perhaps to be a coward? Make trial, I pray you, whether you have chosen unto yourself a fit minister, to whom you have committed the dispensing of our Lord’s blood? and then,

seeing that you have not denied unto me the fellowship of administering sacraments, do not deny me the fellowship of shedding my blood also with you.’

“Now this language of St Lawrence does not savour much of Protestantism, though it does of Catholicism. He here talks plainly of assisting his bishop at the holy sacrifice of the mass, which Protestants condemn upon oath as idolatrous and superstitious; and when we take into consideration the speech of the prefect of Rome, before whom St Lawrence appeared, we shall find the prefect speaking very like ‘Protestant-ascendency’. According to Prudentius, who was the glory of the ancient Christian poets, and wrote a famous book On the Crown of Martyrs, somewhere about the close of the fourth century, the prefect addressed Lawrence thus: ‘You often complain that we treat you with cruelty; but no tortures are here thought of; I only inquire mildly after what concerns you. I am informed that your priests offer in gold, that the sacred blood is received in silver cups, and that in your nocturnal sacrifices you have wax tapers fixed in gold candlesticks. Bring to light these concealed treasures; the prince has need of them for the maintenance of his forces. I am told, that according to your doctrine, you must render to Caesar the things that belong to him, I do not think that your God, money to be coined; he brought none into the world with him; he only brought words. Give us therefore the money, and be rich in words.’ Lawrence, however, anticipating that he should soon be called to God, from what the holy pope Sixtus had told him, had already expended the treasure he held among the poor widows and orphans, and had even sold the sacred vessels to increase the sum, laying it all out in the same manner. He however promised to shew the tyrant the treasures of the church. Accordingly, he gathered together a great number of the decrepid, the blind, the lame, the maimed, the lepers, orphans, widows, and virgins, and then invited the prefect to come and see them. The prefect was astonished and enraged at what he saw, and demanded to see the treasures which had been promised. St Lawrence answered, ‘What are you displeased at? The gold which you so eagerly desire is a vile metal, and serves to incite men to all manner of crimes. The light of heaven is the true gold which these poor objects enjoy. Their bodily weakness and sufferings are the subject of their patience, and the highest advantages; vices and passions are the real diseases by which the great ones of the world are often most truly miserable and despicable. Behold in these poor persons the treasures which I promised to shew you; to which I will add pearls and precious stones, - those widows and consecrated virgins, which are the church’s crown, by which it is pleasing to Christ; it hath no other riches; make use of them for the advantage of Rome, of the emperor, and yourself.’ This sight before him, and the speech of the saint, inflamed the prefect with fury, and he ordered Lawrence to be broiled on a gridiron, under which the coals were partly extinguished, that his sufferings might be the greater. The prefect insulted the martyr, whilst his body was broiling, but, Lawrence continued in earnest prayer, imploring the divine mercy, for the conversion of Rome, for the sake of Saints Peter and Paul, who had there begun to plant the cross of Christ, and watered it with their blood.

“Mr Butler in his account of St Lawrence’s martyrdom, writes, ‘Prudentius doubts not to ascribe to his prayer the entire conversion of Rome, and says, God began to grant his request at the very time he put it up; for several senators who were present at his death, were so powerfully moved by his tender and heroic fortitude and piety, that they became Christians upon the spot. These noblemen took up the martyr’s body on their shoulders, and gave it an honourable burial in the Veron field, near the road to Tibur, on the tenth of August in 258. His death says Prudentius, was the death of idolatry in Rome, which from that time began more sensibly to decline; and now, adds the same father, the senate itself venerates the tombs of the apostles and martyrs. He describes with what devotion and fervour the

Romans frequented the church of St Lawrence, and commended themselves in all their necessities to his patronage; and the happy success of their prayers proves how great his power is with God. The poet implores the mercy of Christ for himself, and begs he may obtain by the prayers of the martyrs with his own cannot. St Austin assures us that God wrought in Rome an incredible number of miracles through the intercession of St Lawrence. St Gregory of Tours, Fortunatus, and others relate several performed in other places. It appears from the sacramentary of pope Gelasius, that his feast has been kept with a vigil and an octave at least ever since the fifth age. In the reign of Constantine the great, a church was built over his tomb, on the road to Tibur, which is called St Lawrence’s without the walls; it is one of the five patriarchal churches in Rome. Seven other famous churches in that city bear the name of this glorious saint.’

“From these authorities it is an unquestionable fact, that the ‘godly martyr’ Lawrence held the Popish doctrines, as they are termed by Protestants, of the mass and praying to saints, which were consequently the doctrines of the primitive Christians, and therefore ought to be the doctrines of Protestants, if the latter would believe what John Fox says are orthodox doctrines. Miracles are also here clearly established to have been performed since the time of the apostles, and the veneration of relics and the invocation of saints was also practised in these times. But what can we think of the conduct of the modern editors of the Book of Martyrs, in representing the bishop of Rome as superintending the execution of his deacon Lawrence, when they admit, in their relation of this persecution, that the bishop or pope of Rome was himself a martyr? This proceeding must be considered by every unbiassed mind a most shameful trick to deceive the superficial and unwary. It is calculated, certainly, ‘to excite a hatred and abhorrence of Popery and its professors’, but must be far, very far, from diffusing a ‘knowledge and love of the genuine principles of Christianity’. While we are remarking on this palpable and malicious misrepresentation of an historical fact, we feel called upon to state, that scarcely one cut that has appeared in this edition of the Books of Martyrs is correct in its delineation, while others are absolutely indecent, and deserve the notice of the Vice Suppressing society much more than some things that have attracted the vigilance of its officers.”

A critical and historical review of Fox's Book of martyrs, shewing the inaccuracies, falsehoods, and misrepresentations in that work of deception

1824: Morse, Jedidiah

Jedidiah Morse; Annuals of the American Revolution; Or, A Record of the Causes and Events which Produced, and Terminated in the Establishment and Independence of the American Republic …: To which is Prefixed a Summary Account of the First Settlement of the Country, and Some of the Principal Indians … To which is Added … an Appendix, Containing a Biography of the Principal Military Officers, who Were Instrumental in Achieving Our Independence; 1824

Jedidiah Morse writes: “In the spring of 1534, by the direction of Francis I a fleet was fitted out at St Malo’s, in France, with design to make discoveries in America. The command of this fleet was given to James Cartier. He arrived at Newfoundland in May of this year. Thence he sailed northerly; and on the day of the festival of St Lawrence, he found himself in about latitude 48 degrees 30 minutes north, in the midst of a broad gulf, which he named St Lawrence. He gave the same name to the river which empties into it. In this voyage, he sailed as far north as 51 degrees, expecting in vain to find a passage to China.

“The next year, 1535, he sailed up the river St Lawrence 300 leagues, to the great and swift Fall. He called the country New France; built a fort near the west end of the Isle of Orleans, which he called Port de St Croix, in which he spent the winter, and returned in the following spring to France, carrying with him some of the natives.”

Jedidiah Morse continues: “1607. Champlain, by order of De Mons, sailed up the river Canada, (now St Lawrence) and fortified Quebec, the name of a strait in the river, which was afterwards given to the city, built on its banks.”

Annals of the American Revolution; Or, A Record of the Causes and Events which Produced, and Terminated in the Establishment and Independence of the …

1824: Talbot, Edward Allen

Edward Allen Talbot; Five Years’ Residence in the Canadas: Including a Tour Through Part of the United States of America, in the Year 1823; Vol 1; Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green; 1824

Edward Allen Talbot writes: “The St Lawrence between Prescott and Kingston presents an aspect the most wild and fanciful. The Lake of THE THOUSAND ISLES, which is situate between them, exhibits a delightful combination of the varied scenery of nature. It has all the features of the placid, the picturesque, and the sublime, with a striking intermixture of the savage and the uncouth. While slowly gliding up the translucent stream, the stranger observes the Northern shores thickly settled: The lowly cottage and the stately mansion alternately attract his notice. The bustle and activity of life are every where visible upon the land; while, upon the lake, all is solemn stillness and cheerless solitude. Hundreds of little islands, assuming every variety of form, and covered with stunted trees of almost every species, are spread over the watery expanse, and afford a finished specimen of that peculiar sort of scenery, which is produced when the several principles and causes of vegetation are not consentaneous, - when the seed it planted by the hand of nature in a sterile soil, and fertilizing rains, warming suns, and fostering breezes severally contribute their appointed quota of natural assistance, but seem to lose much of their accustomed efficacy by having no suitable objects on which to operate. The rocky and barren soil of these islands invites not the hand of industry, to redeem them from their unproductiveness; nor do their unfrequented retreats discover to the beholder even a solitary wig-wam. They are the abode of silence, and the resting-place of solitude. The contemplative observer cannot view them without some feelings of regret: While his eye roves with delight over spots of earth disposed into all imaginary shapes, in which matchless beauty and proofs of skilful design are apparent in every direction; his judgment detects the fallacy of his sight, and he laments to find these picturesque creations yielding nothing for supplying the wants of man, but such products only as serve to gratify his curious vision. Scarcely can he restrain the wish, presumptuous though it be, that Providence, in its wisdom, had distinguished this portion of the universe by something of greater utility and of more substantial excellence.

“Immediately opposite the town of Prescott, on the shore of the United States is the town of Ogdensburgh; and 12 miles higher up, on the Canada shore, stands the delightful village of BROCKVILLE, so called in honour of the late lamented Sir Isaac Brock. This enchanting little spot unites in its situation

every beauty of nature. In front of it flows the river St Lawrence, interspersed with numerous islands, variously formed and thickly wooded: Behind it, is an assemblange of small hills, rising one above another in ‘gay theatric pride’: And, on each side, are a number of well-cleared farms in an advanced state of cultivation. Every thing combines to render it pre-eminently beautiful. The dwellings are built of wood, and tastefully painted; and the Court-house, on an elevated situation at the back of the village, seems, from its superior size, to be the guarding of the villagers, - an idea of my fancy, which I did not seek to confirm by entering within its doors. Brockville contains 450 souls: It has a Parsonage-house, but no church has hitherto been erected.

“Sixty-seven miles from Prescott, and seventy-nine from Brockville, is the town of KINGSTON, in latitude 44 degrees 8 minutes North, and 76 degrees 40 minutes West longitude. This town was built in 1784, and is now a place of great importance to the British Interests in Canada. It is the naval depot of the Upper Province, and is strongly protected by a fort called ‘Fort Frederick’. In Kingston harbour, which is deep and well-sheltered, there are several large ships, particularly the St Lawrence of 102 guns, which is said to have cost the immense sum of 300,000 pounds. Some of these vessels were constructed in England, and sent to Quebec in frame; whence they were transported to Kingston at an enormous expense, on board of the various boats already described. The carriage of the Psyche frigate alone, from Quebec to Kingston, is said to have cost 12,000 pounds. What could induce government to build ships in England, where timber is so dear, for the service of Canada? The policy of this arrangement, like the unprofitable speculation of ‘sending coals to Newcastle’, is a mystery which could not be solved by the best-informed men in the Canadas. A sufficient number of mechanics, to construct every ship necessary for the lake-service might have been sent out, for one-fourth of the expense incurred by the bare transportation of a single frigate from Quebec to Kingston.”

Edward Allen Talbot continues: “The SEA-HORSE and SEA-COW are said still to exist in the Gulf and River of St Lawrence.”

Edward Allen Talbot continues: “In 1535, Jacques Cartier, a native of St Malo, sailed up the St Lawrence, to the distance of 900 miles, till has passage was intercepted by an immense cataract, probably the Falls of Niagara. He took possession of the territory, in the name of ‘his most Christian Majesty’; formed alliances with the inhabitants; built a fort, and wintered in the country, which he called ‘NEW FRANCE’. In the course of his return down the river, he visited a large Indian settlement, called ‘Hochelaga’: It occupied the ground on which the city of MONTREAL now stands; which is a corruption from MOUNT ROYAL, the name originally conferred on it by Cartier. He also gave the name of ST LAWRENCE to the River of Canada, from the circumstance of his having entered it on the festival of that Saint. The natives, whenever he met with them, treated him with the greatest hospitality, and their intercourse was tolerably free: For having taken a voyage the preceding year to the coast of America, he observed the precaution of bringing two of the natives back with him to France; who, having by the time of his second voyage obtained a considerable knowledge of the French language, were now able to serve as interpreters between him and their countrymen. On this occasion, he formed an intimacy with one of their Chiefs, called Donnaconna, from whom he experienced much kindness and attention; in return for which, Cartier was cruel enough to carry him to France against his inclinations. It would seem, that his expedition brought him neither honour nor advantage; for when he arrived in his native country, his discoveries were deemed of little importance and his services very sparingly remunerated. He was so much reduced in his circumstances, that, only five years after his return from that country, he accompanied, in the humble capacity of Pilot, Monsieur Roberval, who was appointed the Viceroy of

Canada in 1540. On the arrival of the Viceroy in the River of St Lawrence, he built a Fort; and, after he had wintered about four leagues above the Island of Orleans, returned to France, leaving the command of the garrison to Cartier. In two years he came back to Canada, with a large re-inforcement, and attempted to find out a North West passage to the East Indies. In 1549, he again returned to France, and, after a short stay, sailed a third time for America, accompanied by his brother and a numerous train of adventurers. This voyage, however, did not terminate so successfully as those by which it was preceded. No tidings were ever heard either of the Viceroy or his companions, and they were supposed to have perished on their way. The French Government were so much discouraged by this disastrous event, that, for nearly fifty years afterwards, they used no further exertions to promote emigration to Canada. Indeed, the forcible abduction of Donnaconna exasperated the natives of the country to such a degree, that they studiously avoided all familiar intercourse with the French, from the time of this shameful transaction till the year 1581, when the recollection of it had in a great measure subsided, and their former friendly communication was renewed. This reconciliation with the aborigines of Canada proved so advantageous to the French, that, in 1584, three ships, each of 180 tons, were employed in trading to that country.

“In 1591 a fleet of ships was fitted out at the port of St Malo, for the purpose of hunting the Walrus, in the river St Lawrence. The teeth of these animals were valued more highly than ivory, and sold at a much greater price. It is recorded, that 1500 of these creatures were killed this year, by the crew of one small bark, at Ramea, an island within the straits of St Petre. The Walruses, in addition to the value of their teeth, produce a prodigious quantity of oil; and, with such results, this expedition greatly surpassed the expectations of those with whom it had originated.

“In the same year, George Drake, an Englishman, made a voyage up the Gulf of St Lawrence, to the Isle of Ramea, and having acquainted himself with the nature and extent of the trade carried on by the French, returned home and gave such a favourable account both of it and of the country, that the French became alarmed with the fear of their craft being in danger, and the Marquis de la Roche was deputed by the King of France, to set sail for Canada, and conquer the country. The Marquis failed however in his expedition, and landed on the Isle of Sable, about one hundred and fifty miles South-east of Cape Breton, and one hundred and five Eastward of Canso. On this island he erected a fort, absurdly supposing it an eligible spot for effecting a settlement. He then cruised for some time along the coast of Nova Scotia, and returned to France, leaving his unfortunate companions on the isle of Sable, where they must certainly have perished for want of subsistence, had not a French ship been wrecked upon the Island. In this wreck they found some provisions, and with the boards which it afforded erected huts to shield them from the inclemency of the weather. When their other provisions were exhausted, they subsisted entirely upon fish, and when their clothes were worn out, they substituted seal-skins, and continued to live in this deplorable condition for seven years; at the end of which time, Henry the Fourth of France sent Chitodel, who had acted as pilot to La Roche, to bring them back to their native country. On their arrival in France, the generous monarch had the curiosity to see them in their seal-skin dresses, and was so affected by their miserable condition that he gave them each fifty crowns, with which they might begin the world again. La Roche had, long before this, fallen a victim to the corroding feelings produced by the ill success of his American expedition and his consequent disgrace at Court.

“Notwithstanding the exclusive of La Roche’s patent, private adventurers still continued to carry on a profitable trade with Canada, without being noticed by the French Government. Soon after the death of the Marquis, his patent was renewed in favour of M De Chauvin, a commander in the French navy; and

in 1600 he made a voyage up the St Lawrence as far as Tadousac, where he left some of his people; and returned to France, with a cargo of furs. This adventure proved so profitable, that he was induced to make a second voyage in the ensuing year for the same purpose. He was equally successful in this; but, while preparing for a third voyage, was summoned to leave the work of exploration in this world, for making those discoveries in the next, which are to be made by all alike. Chauvin was succeeded by De Chatte, Governor of Dieppe, who resolved to carry on the trade with France through a company of Rouen merchants and adventurers. He survived his predecessor but a short time, and at his death was succeeded by Pierre du Gast, Sieur de Monts, a gentleman of the Bed-chamber of the King of France, who, in 1603, obtained a patent of that vast territory extending from the fortieth to the forty-sixth degree of North Latitude, constituting him Lieutenant-General of the country, and investing him with authority to colonize it and convert the natives to Christianity. The trade of the Canadas had by this time risen to such importance that De Monts formed a company, and resolved to avail himself of the great advantages which were afforded by his exclusive patent. To carry his purpose into effect, he fitted up four ships and took the command of two upon himself. In this expedition he was accompanied by Samuel Champlain, of Brouage, a few miles from Rochelle, and a gentleman of the name of Pontrincourt. One of the other two ships was intended to carry on the fur-trade at Tadousac, and Pontgrave was appointed to the command of the fourth. His orders were to touch at Canso, in Nova Scotia, and thence to proceed to Cape Breton for the purpose of clearing the sea between that and the island of St John, from all vessels sailing there without the authority of De Monts. On the 17th of March, 1604, De Monts himself, took his departure from Havre-de-Grace, and touching at Acadia, - which received the pedantic name of Nova Scotia, from the greatest pedant that ever lived, our First James, - confiscated a ship which he found trading with the natives without his consent. He next arrived at a small haven, to which he gave the sheepish appellation of Mutton Haven. While cruising in this way from place to place, Champlain, who spent the greatest part of his time in the long-boat, directed his attention towards the discovery of some eligible situation for a settlement, and ultimately resolved on founding one on a little island which he designated, L’isle de St Croix; this little spot, is only one mile and a half in circumference, and is situated about sixty miles West of St John’s.”

Five Years' Residence in the Canadas

1826: Maude, John

John Maude; Visit to the Falls of Niagara in 1800; Longmans, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green; 1826

John Maude writes: “‘The Genesee Fever’ was still proverbial for its malignancy, though now unjustly so; yet a schoolfellow of mine, Mr Dennison, of Nottingham, would have been added to the list of its martyrs, had not the benevolence of Captain Williamson interfered. Many others of my acquaintance who visited the Genesee were seized with the fever; indeed few of them escaped it. Shooting the Rapids of the St Lawrence will never be considered as boy’s play: unknown dangers, too, no doubt, oft hung about me, but hidden from my sight and averted by that Almighty Being, who, in two impressive instances, snatched me from destruction when all hope of other aid had died within me. With such sentiments, (and who in like circumstances would not entertain such sentiments?) could I do other than hail sight of Albany?”

Visit to the Falls of Niagara in 1800

1827: von Riedesel, Friederike Charlotte Luise (von Massow) freifrau

Friederike Charlotte Luise (von Massow) freifrau von Riedesel, Friedrich Adolf Freiherr von Riedesel; Letters and Memoirs Relating to the War of American Independence, and the Capture of the German Troops at Saratoga; History of women; G&C Carvill; 1827

Friederike Charlotte Luise (von Massow) freifrau von Riedesel and Friedrich Adolf Freiherr von Riedesel write: “On the following day, we entered the gulf of St Lawrence, and saw Port islands, which are a mass of rocks. – This was my husband’s birth-day. My heart was filled with mixed feelings of joy and anxiety, and fond yearnings at the thought of seeing him soon, of holding him in my arms, and of presenting him our dear children.

“On the 4th, we entered the river St Lawrence, and saw on our left a hilly shore. We met with a multitude of vessels, which were making sail towards Europe, but the wind blew so fresh, that we could not speak to them. Some persons in our vessel thought they had seen soldiers on their decks, which made me very uneasy until we reached land, for the idea of going to a distant country, from which my husband had just departed for Europe, was indeed dreadful.”

Letters and Memoirs Relating to the War of American Independence, and the Capture of the German Troops at Saratoga

1828: Bernard (Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach), Karl

Karl Bernard (Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach), Friends’ Free Library, Germantown, provenance; Travels through North America, during the years 1825 and 1826; Vol 1-2; Carey, Lea & Carey, sold in New York by G&C Carvill; 1828

Karl Bernard (Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach) writes: “At Lockport we took a dearborn for Buffalo, where we were anxious to go, in order to see the union of the canal with Lake Erie. Though a good stage runs between Lockport and the Falls of Niagara, we went in this bad vehicle five miles, to the navigable part of the canal. The road led through the forest, the trees of which had been felled along the canal, and passed over the stumps, so that it was uncommonly rough, especially as it had rained the day before. Arrived at length at the navigable part of the canal, we took passage on board a rather bad boat, where nothing was to be had but the common cordial, whiskey. The village where we went on board, is called Cottensburgh, and is quite a new settlement. At this place also the canal is cut through rocks on the depth of about thirty feet. About two or three miles farther on, it terminates in the Tonnawanta Creek, which serves as a canal for twelve miles. This creek has scarcely any outlet, so that when it rises much, they are obliged to protect the canal by means of safety-locks near its union with the creek. At the outlet of the creek into the Niagara is a sluice for the purpose of keeping the water always at a certain height. The creek itself is about fifty yards wide, and runs through a dense and beautiful forest, which has never been touched by the axe, except along the canal, where they have been obliged to make a two-path. I sat in the bow of the boat during the whole passage. Nothing interrupted the solemn silence, except the chattering of the boatmen’s teeth, who are often severely affected in this unhealthy part of the country, with the intermittent fever. Another small river, called

Eleven-mile Creek, unites with the main river, and not far from this junction was the site for the new town of Tonnawanta. A few small houses and a saw-mill were already erected; the inhabitants appeared also to suffer much from the intermittent fever. Here the Tonnawanta Creek, unites with the Niagara, where the sluice which we have just mentioned leads off. At this place also we had the first view of the Niagara river, which conveys the waters of Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, from the other extremity of which flows the St Lawrence. In the river we observed Grand Island, which contains about one thousand one hundred acres, is overgrown with timber, and belongs to a New York editor, Moses Mordecai Noah, a Jew, who purchased it for the purpose of establishing a Jewish colony. The soil is very good; during the late war between England and the United States, the Niagara, it is well known, formed the boundary line between them and the British provinces of Upper Canada, and this island bore testimony of the bloody conflict. From this place, the canal runs along the bank of the Niagara, from which it is separated only by a small bank, built rather carelessly, and several feet above the level of the river, which is already somewhat rapid on account of its vicinity to the falls. On the Tonnawanta Creek we saw several canoes which were made by excavating the trunks of trees. The Tonnawanta to Buffalo is eight miles, five of which we travelled on the canal as far as Black Rock. A basin is formed here by means of a dam situated near Squaw Island, on which is a lock communicating with the Niagara. The whole of this work is of wood, and cannot therefore be expected to be very durable. In the basin lay the new steam-boat Henry Clay, of three hundred tons, intended for running on Lake Erie. We had here the first view of the lake, whose shore appeared to be overgrown with wood. The other shore of course we could not see, and it seemed therefore as though we were looking into an expanded sea. The canal to Buffalo not being completed, we again took stage at Black Rock, and rode three miles to the former town, where we arrived at about 5 o’clock at evening, and took lodgings at the Mansion House, pleasantly situated on a little eminence in the lake.”

Travels through North America, during the years 1825 and 1826

1829: Dwight, Theodore

Theodore Dwight; Sketches of scenery and manners in the United States; AT Goodwich; 1829

Theodore Dwight writes: “This commanding elevation rises at a spot where the St Lawrence, after having rushed and foamed over the last of the series of Rapids, to which it is introduced after parting from Lake Ontario, first subsides into a placid current. It is here that the dauntless boatman discovers the smooth surface which relieves him from anxiety, if not from apprehension; and where many a birch canoe has been moored in safety, after the countless dangers of the upper navigation. The spectator on one hand may trace some of those milk-white rapids where the current wages war with the skill and industry of man in the summer season, and with the masses of ice by which winter so often in vain endeavours to connect the opposite shores. Before him extends a portion of that valley which reaches almost to Quebec, and may be supposed to have been formed by an ancient lake, a sister of Ontario and Champlain, until the current cut a deeper passage through the mountains in that vicinity. On this extensive surface – uniform except where it is interrupted by a few distant and solitary peaks – are collected the descendants of the old French colonists, who were the first representatives of Europe in this region. Looking down upon them as we do from this height, we feel an interest both in them and

the soil for each other’s sake – an interest which, though it may receive some checks on minute acquaintance, will, on the whole, increase rather than diminish, during our stay in Lower Canada.

“The Canadian husbandman has labored silently along with little notice from the world, for the last two centuries; and seems likely to pursue the same unvarying course for an equal period to come, unless some unforeseen accident should occur, to give a new direction to his faculties. Like the small but powerful animal which assists him in his labors, he persists in preserving the form, the step, and the trappings of his ancestors, content with their simple food, their hardy industry and their plain enjoyments, without wishing for the distinction which a loftier bearing might confer, or once raising a question of what might be the result of his breaking the gait of his ancestors. – Whoever has been rowed through the rapids of the St Lawrence by a band of Canadian boatmen, and had heard their cheerful boat-song: or passed along its banks on a summer evening, and seen the happy family circles which assemble at the doors of the little farm-houses after the labors of the day, will ever remember them with feelings of pleasures. It may indeed be doubted, whether a race of people can be found, better calculated by nature to appear to a stranger light-hearted and gay. They retain much of the vivacity of the French character; and the variation of temperature, the aspects of nature, and the condition of the inhabitants which the seasons produce, increase by contrast the enjoyments of all. – When we visit them, they are in the midst of their fields, which are covered with bright and fresh vegetation, so green, so luxuriant, and so transitory, that the inhabitants seem to regard them with almost as much surprise as ourselves, who are accustomed to think of Canada only as the region that supplies us with the sharp, freezing winds of winter.”

Sketches of scenery and manners in the United States

1829: Haliburton, Thomas Chandler

Thomas Chandler Haliburton; An Historical and Statistical Account of Nova-Scotia; Vol 2; Issue 1542 of Canadiana in the Toronto Public Library Microfiche; J Howe; 1829

Thomas Chandler Haliburton writes: “Greywacke, and Greywacke Slate, extend from the south river of Antigonish to Guysborough, and from thence along both shores of Chedabucto Bay. The best defined or most characteristic varieties occur on both sides of Milford Haven and Salmon river. – It is closely allied to, and appears to have been formed at a period coeval with, the Greywacke of the Isle of Madame. The passage from the red shale and grits of the Coal Measures is very gradual, and may be seen to the best advantage from the Catholic Chapel, near the south river of Antigonish, to the head of Milford Haven, a distance of twelve miles. In this space it assumes an almost innumerable variety of appearances from a red grit to a course conglomerate. The steep hills on the north side of Milford Haven, are chiefly composed of Greywacke slate, of a very fine close grain; it can scarcely be distinguished from clay slate; veins of Quartz are abundant in this rock, and farther to the north-east, beds of coal, schistus, etc, and their usual accompanying stratum, are known to exist. On the opposite side of the Haven the coarser variety prevails, and beautiful sections are exhibited in the cliffs in Salmon river. Several beds of line-stone occur in the Greywacke formation near Guysborough; it is generally of a deep red colour, and very much like the Greywacke in structure, being composed of angular pieces of lime-stone, cemented by a base of clay and sand. The sand in some specimens predominates so much, that they may properly be termed calcarious sandstones. Greywacke slate also succeeds the silicious strata which underlie the

mountain lime-stone of the Pictou Coal Field; it is the rock in which the great veins of Iron Ore, on the East River, occur. It extends from the Forks of the river in a direction towards Merigomish, and probably constitutes the chain of mountains which stretch from the source of French river at Merigomish, parallel with the shore of the Gulf of St Lawrence, as far as Malignant Cove; and thence continuing, in an easterly course behind Antigonish, to the head of Milford Havan. It is certain, however, that Greywacke slate is the prevailing rock from the East river of Merigomish to Arisaig Pier, where it is traversed by a very remarkable vein or bed of Chert, Quartz, and Porphory, confusedly aggregated. The Greywacke of Guysborough contains numerous veins of specular Iron Ore; Lead Ore is also said to have been found in the same formation on Salmon river.”

An historical and statistical account of Nova-Scotia

1829: Mactaggart, John

John Mactaggart; Three years in Canada: an account of the actual state of the country in 1826-7-8, comprehending its resources, productions, improvements, and capabilities, and including sketches of the state of society, advice to emigrants, etc; Vol 1; Issue 1500 of Canadiana in the Toronto Public Library [Microfiche]; H Colburn; 1829

John Mactaggart writes: “Numbers of various fish are met with in a voyage over the Atlantic. Porpoises gambol and plunge about the ships in shoals, while the sailors harpoon them beneath the bows. Sharks are often seen prowling round, with dorsal fins above the water, and sometimes will take the bait hung out for them astern: when the weather is extremely fine, the ocean unruffled and pure, they may be seen playing with the bait in the chambers of the deep – this is an interesting scene; fain would they grasp it, yet are suspicious. Dog-fish play round it in the same manner, turning up the edges of their white bellies, while they munch at it with their singular cross-set mouths: - they are much like the shark, but not so large: they bring forth their young alive; after they have been caught, the pregnant females deliver themselves on the deck. It is said that the shark cannot suffer the smell of tobacco-smoke: he is not singular in this respect, for there are human beings who do not relish it either, - at least they pretend so. The Indians are aware of this fact, and dare not smoke while they are crossing the bays of the Gulf of St Lawrence, or the river itself, lest they rouse the ire of a shark. They have a story of an Indian and his squaw, who were crossing, but forgot the precaution regarding the tobacco-smoke: an infuriated shark, of enormous size, came whack against their canoe, and cut it in two with his tail, when the poor wretches were devoured by the monster. There may be some truth in this statement. Beating up the St Lawrence, while the pilot, a Canadian, was relating the above story, an immense shark approached the ship, swimming with great swiftness, and was seen distinctly by all on the deck; the water frothed about him, and he seemed much in wrath at something, which was concluded to be the cloud of smoke issuing from the sailors’ pipes. Small fish are often found squatting on his back along the side of the fins, called pilot-fish. Where sharks, dog-fish, and other rapacious fish are met with, all else are rare; innocence flees the domain of the savage: sharks and salmon, tigers and sheep, hawks and linnets, all feel the instinct to keep as much out of one another’s company as possible.

“Whales, or what are called finners, are common about the Gulf; they will come up and blow so near alongside sometimes, that the spray from their nostrils will fall abroad the ship. When they throw their

tails out of water, they take a deep dive, and are seen no more for that time. Much oil might be obtained from them, if a method was found of playing the rocket-shot on them to advantage.

“A species of porpoise, very large, called bottlenoses by the sailors, is also very plentiful. This fish is of a white colour in the river St Lawrence: and when they turn up above the surface, they resemble a wreath of snow. How they become white is not known, their natural colour being black; some think it is the water that effects this change, the same being fresh and brackish. The young ones are grey. Probably this is a fish of a different kind from either the porpoise or bottlenose; the Canadian says, that he changes his skin by rubbing it off beneath the ice. It is to be regretted that they are rarely caught; and when that happens, there is seldom any body present who makes any inquiry about the matter.”

John Mactaggart continues: “There are no soundings in the middle of the St Lawrence, until we are about a hundred and fifty miles up it. The snow on the banks in winter is about five feet deep. Sometimes the soil on the breasts of the hills will shove down with all its trees to the plains below. The spots where these shoves have taken place, are plainly seen from the river, and have a singular appearance. Milton’s simile of the downfall of the rebel angels might have been derived from this scene.

“The Mother Carey’s chickens forsake the ships in going up the river, and follow the outward-bound. This singular bird seems to dislike the very appearance of land.

“Numbers of little trading-vessels toil about in the river, and these have always a full complement of crew; but none of them, like the Manx boats, have any masters: they are cooks, captains, and sailors, turn about, and live merrily together.

“There are three islands of rock, called the Brandy Pots, from their being round, high, and extremely like one another: ships are often cast away upon them. Also a very dangerous place in the river, called the Traverse, where the waters have a strong tendency to whirl the ships ashore, unless aided by favourable winds, or tiding it at the proper times.

“There is a singular high conical mountain seen away in the country, about ten miles off, called by the French Mount Carmel: I have met with nothing like it of the kind in Canada: it seems to be about 1500 feet high.

“Ships going up the stream have to anchor at the turn of the flood-tide, unless aided by a very strong fair wind.

“Numbers of shipwrecks occur yearly in the Gulf and River St Lawrence; this proceeds from many causes. The pilots are none of the most skilful; the navigation of itself is intricate and difficult; the shoals of Manicogan are horrible. Then there are many ships sent out for timber, which are old, crazed, and unfit for any other trade. These are often laden beyond what they can bear; too much deck wood is heaped on them, so that the sailors cannot get to the ropes; and there are many ships so poorly found, that the captains cannot afford to give fifteen pounds to a pilot to take them up, and so endeavour to perform the task themselves. In spring and fall, they are troubled with cold weather and floating ice. One winter a ship was wrecked, and lifted by contending ice into a flaw: there she sat, high and dry, as the sailors say, and moved out of and in the Gulf, by way of the Gut of Causo, with the tides and winds, during the inclement season; at last it melted, and she sank.”

John Mactaggart continues: “The great river St Lawrence discharges to the ocean annually about 4,277,880 millions of tons of fresh water, of which 2,112,120 millions of tons may be reckoned melted snow; the quantity discharging before the thaw comes on being 4,512 millions of tons, at an average per day, for 240 days, and the quantity after the thaw begins being 25,560 millions per day for 125 days, the depths and velocity when in and out of flood duly considered. Hence we find that if a ton of water be nearly equal to fifty-five cubic yards of pure snow, this river frees a country of more than 2000 miles square covered with it three feet deep.

“There are rivers in Canada, such as the Ottawa, and Gattineau, that have two floods every spring. The first flood, which is of small note compared with the second, comes on in April – the great flood in June. From this cause, I infer that there are not many large lakes in the courses of these rivers, and that their sources are more northerly than those of the St Lawrence; for were there large reservoirs to receive the waters of dissolving snows, then there would be but one flood, which would keep rising, as the altitude of the sun increased, so long as any unmelted snow remained in the region valleys, as it were, of these rivers.”

Three years in Canada: an account of the actual state of the country in 1826-7-8, comprehending its resources, productions, improvements, and capabilities, …

1830: Kidd, Adam

Adam Kidd; The Huron chief, and other poems; 1830

Adam Kidd writes: “CATHLEEN.

“Over her tearful eyes hung loose her disordered locks - / She wept for her own green land. – OSSIAN.

“‘Upon a lonely bank, against whose base / Saint Lawrence wildly heaves, she sat and wept / Her sad misfortune – that dark misfortune, / Which thus had forced her from her native cot, / And doomed her in a distant land to seek / A scanty pittance from a hand unknown.

“‘A sun more fierce than ever yet has flung / Its scorching beams upon her own green hills, / Had marked her care-worn cheek with brownest hue, / And tinged her brow with deep Canadian die - / To me she told the story of her woes, / And hopes of other times, which never more / Can wake one spark of joy in her dark soul.

“‘Yet, CATHLEEN, though a wreck, seemed lovely still, / And kindled feelings of a finer stamp / Than pity or compassion e’er hath known.

“‘Her plaintive tale was such, as Erin’s child, / No matter where he strays to find a home, / Might well divine. – But as my pen, too oft, / Has freely strayed from that allegiance, / Which some may say it owes to England’s king, / I’ll here restrain its open willingness, / And check its blamed impetuosity!

“‘Yet, quite too soon, the chequered path of life / Thy young and gentle heart must enter on, / Without a guide – save the All-ruling Power, / Which, at the call of stainless purity, / Is ever ready – and confers a

boon, / On worth and innocence so chaste as thine. / Deep, deep, unseen like Bakou’s ardent fire, / Lie all the sympathies that merit praise.

“‘In man’s proud breast, till sadly once he sees - / Too true an image of his country’s fate - / The child of impulse weep, and drag the chain - / Then all the soft emotions of his heart - / As spirits flash resentment on the foe - / Quick swell to rage – he strikes, and takes revenge.

“‘Oh, Cathleen! I can truly share thy grief, / And fain would hope, that yet a brighter day / May shine with all its wonted cheerfulness, / And give to Erin’s Isle what Heaven designed; - / Come then with me, the portion of my roof, / Which, though but scanty, thou shalt freely share - / And when the shell of joy has once proclaimed / Love Erin free, I’ll cross the ocean wave, / And to thy mountain-cot thyself restore.’”

The Huron chief, and other poems

1831: Biddle, Richard

Richard Biddle; A Memoir of Sebastian Cabot: With a Review of the History of Maritime Discovery; Carey and Lea; 1831

Richard Biddle writes: “Just as these regions were becoming so well known, as rather to bring discredit on such tales, the New World was discovered, and abundant scope allowed to the fancy, particularly in the North, without much peril of detection. A difficulty seems to have been experienced at first in selecting a judicious site for the interesting emigrants. The island, saved from the wreck of their fortunes in the old world, is bandied about in all directions by Cosmographers with little regard to that good old saying which, without recommending unnecessary commerce with the Evil One, yet makes it a point of honesty to give him his due in unavoidable transactions. Ortelius, on whose map the ‘Insula Daemonum’ figures with St Brandon, Frisland, and all the other silly, or fraudulent fabrications of that day, places it not very far from Hudson’s Strait. Ramusio, in his text, would give it a local habitation about half way between that Strait and Newfoundland, but in constructing the map which accompanies his third volume, he seems to have thought a great Gulf a much fitter place, and it, therefore, occupies a conspicuous station in the ‘Golfo Quadrado’, or St Lawrence. It is about five times as large as Newfoundland, from which it is divided by a narrow strait. On it demons are seen, as well flying as on foot, with nothing to protect them from a climate so little suited to their former habits but a pair of wings and a ridiculously short tail; yet they are made, poor devils, to appear happy and even sportive.”

A Memoir of Sebastian Cabot: With a Review of the History of Maritime Discovery

1832: Ames, Nathaniel

Nathaniel Ames; Nautical Reminiscences; W Marshall; 1832

Nathaniel Ames writes: “The island of Anticosti, in the mouth of the river St Lawrence, is notorious for shipwrecks, and although it is low land, and the eastern side of it extremely dangerous of approach,

there was no light upon it when I saw it. Such an island, level, free from rocks, covered with a rich growth of wood, and showing every sign of fertility, would, if it were upon the coast of New England, be cleared and cultivated by at least a dozen families of industrious people, fishermen one part of the year and farmers the other. This is another strong point of contrast between the appearance of the shores of His Brittanic Majesty’s American dominions, and those of his neighbor Jonathan. Indeed, a stranger passing down the coast could ascertain by a single glance when he had crossed the boundary line. In New England the marks of civilization and habitation are visible quite down to the water’s edge and along the shore; one must go half way from Anticosti to Quebec, before he meets with the symptoms of either. The appearance of the whole coast is barren, dreary and desolate in the extreme. The coast of New England is iron bound enough, heaven knows, but the navigator in sailing along its shores, now and then gets a glimpse of some little village, with its half dozen sloops and schooners, or at least he sees the smoke ascending from such village.

“Near the mouth of the Saint Lawrence is a group of three or four islands, called the Bird Islands, from the incredible numbers of birds, principally gannets, or Solan geese that resort there. On one of these islands, high, precipitous and almost inaccessible, a party of us landed from the barque John Howard, and in about an hour loaded the jolly boat with gannets’ eggs, to the quantity of about three or four barrels, and I presume we broke about as many more, chasing the birds about. These eggs kept our jaws going till after we arrived at Quebec. Like all seafowls’ eggs, no boiling or frying was sufficient to harden the whites, which retained their jelly like consistence through the fiery trials of frying pan and kettle. A schooner is sent every spring to these islands from Halifax to collect feathers and eggs.

“These gannets’ nests are within a foot of each other, being nothing more than a slight hollow scratched in the ground, and covered the entire top of the island of twenty acres at the least. When we ran shouting and roaring through their settlement, the birds rose upon the wing with a most dreadful noise. Sir Walter Scott in his ‘Pirate’ speaks of smoked solan geese as forming a staple commodity in a Zetland bill of fare, but though we skinned and parboiled several, we found them too fishy to be eaten, though plump and tender. The appearance of the land on the banks of the St Lawrence, after ascending it some distance, is extremely fertile, gently sloping down to the water, and every farm laid out with perfect regularity. The houses are generally painted white, roofs and all, and the spires of the churches, both in the country and in the city of Quebec, covered with tin.”

Nautical Reminiscences

1832: Drake, Samuel G

Samuel G Drake; Indian Biography: Containing the Lives of More Than Two Hundred Indian Chiefs: Also Such Others of that Race as Have Rendered Their Names Conspicuous in the History of North America from Its First Being Known to Europeans to the Present Period. Giving at Large Their Most Celebrated Speeches, Memorable Sayings, Numerous Anecdotes; and a History of Their Wars; Josiah Drake; 1832

Samuel G Drake writes: “Whether this chief was the leader in the attack upon Oyster river in New Hampshire, Groton in Massachusetts, and many other places about the year 1694, we cannot determine, but Hutchinson says he was ‘a principal actor in the carnage upon the English’, after the treaty which he had made with governor Phips, in 1693. In 1694 he came to the fort at Pemmaquid with

a flag of truce, and was treacherously seized by those who commanded, and sent prisoner to Boston, where he remained some months, in a loathsome prison. In 1706 new barbarities were committed. Chelmsford, Sudbury, Groton, Exeter, Dover and many other places suffered more or less. Many captives were taken to Canada, and many killed upon the way. A poor woman who had arrived at the river St Lawrence was about to be hanged by her master. The limb of the tree on which he was executing his purpose gave way, and while he was making a second attempt, Bomazeen happened to be passing, and rescued her. Here was humanity. What a thrill of gratitude would our natures receive, were we able to record, or read, that at a certain time the arm of an Englishman was stayed, when the axe was about to descend upon the neck of a poor helpless Indian prisoner!”

Indian Biography: Containing the Lives of More Than Two Hundred Indian Chiefs: Also Such Others of that Race as Have Rendered Their Names …

1833: Coke, Edward Thomas

Edward Thomas Coke; A Subaltern’s Furlough: Descriptive of Scenes In: the United States, Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, 1832; Vol 1; Saunders & Otley; 1833

Edward Thomas Coke writes: “THE old Indian name of York was Toronto, and it was so called from the circular bay upon whose margin the town is built; but the same rage and bad taste for modernizing the names of places has spread over the Canadas as in the United States. The first objects which meet the eye upon approaching the bay are the miserable barracks and mud fort upon the left, Gibraltar Point and Light-house on the right, and the large building of the new Parliament House in the town, about a mile distant from the fort, in front. The town, containing between 8000 and 9000 inhabitants, is situated on low ground, which rises gradually as it recedes from the lake, but attains no great elevation. The streets are straggling and ill paved, but the greater proportion of the private houses and shops are of good substantial masonry. The public buildings, with the exception of Government-house, which in point of external appearance is little superior to a cottage, are plain and excellent, and the English church, when completed, will be a tasteful and ornamental structure. The new Parliament House, a spacious brick building, was in an unfinished state, and had been appropriated for the purposes of an hospital during the prevalence of the cholera, of which cases were daily landing from every vessel that brought emigrants from Montreal. It was truly melancholy to see some of the wretched objects who arrived; they had left England, having expended what little money they possessed in laying in a stock of provisions for the voyage and payment of their passage across the Atlantic, expecting to obtain work immediately they landed in Lower Canada. Being deceived in these prospects, they became a burden upon the inhabitants of Quebec, or the provincial government. Forty-five thousand emigrants of all classes landed in that city during the first three months of the season, and the fate of many of them was miserable in the extreme. Nearly every headland of the St Lawrence was occupied by an hospital, tenanted by numerous sufferers. Those who had some small funds, and intended settling in the lands belonging to the Canada Company, were forwarded to the Upper Country in the following manner. The emigrant who purchased not less than 200 acres in the scattered Crown Reserves, or 100 acres in the Huron Tract, received a passage to the head of Lake Ontario, upon depositing with the Company’s agent at Quebec a sum of money equal to the price of his conveyance to the head of the Lake. After he had fixed upon his land, he showed the receipt for his forwarding-money to the Company’s agent at York,

and it was taken in part payment of his second instalment, the Company allowing the purchasers of their lands to pay by six instalments in five years, and giving them a right to occupy the lots after payment of the first instalment.”

A Subaltern's Furlough: Descriptive of Scenes In: the United States, Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, 1832

1833: Drake, Samuel Gardner

Samuel Gardner Drake; The Book of the Indians of North America: Comprising Details in the Lives of about Five Hundred Chiefs and Others …; Josiah Drake; 1833

Samuel Gardner Drake writes: “WE will continue here our catalogue of eminent chiefs of the east, which, though a remote section, has no less claim than any other; and the first of them which we shall introduce was called Bomazeen, who was a sachem of a tribe of the Canibas, or Kennebecks, whose residence was at an ancient seat of sagamores, upon a river bearing their name, at a place called Norridgewock. Whether Bomazeen were the leader in the attack upon Oyster river in New Hampshire, Groton in Massachusetts, and many other places, about the year 1694, we cannot determine, but Hutchinson says he was ‘a principal actor in the carnage upon the English’, after the treaty which he had made with Governor Phips, in 1693. In 1694, he came to the fort at Pemmaquid with a flag of truce, and was treacherously seized by those who commanded, and sent prisoner to Boston, where he remained some months, in a loathsome prison. In 1706, new barbarities were committed. Chelmsford, Sudbury, Groton, Exeter, Dover, and many other places, suffered more or less. Many captives were taken to Canada, and many killed upon the way. A poor woman, one Rebecca Taylor, who had arrived at the River St Lawrence, was about to be hanged by her master, an ‘overgrown Indian’, named Sampson. The limb of the tree on which he was executing his purpose gave way, and, while he was making a second attempt, Bomazeen happened to be passing, and rescued her.”

The Book of the Indians of North America: Comprising Details in the Lives of about Five Hundred Chiefs and Others...

1833: MacGregor, John

John MacGregor; British America; Vol 2; 2nd edition; W Blackwood; 1833

John MacGregor writes: “Walruses and porpoises were said to have been seen as far up as the St Lawrence as Three Rivers, where they never appeared before; equally terrified with the inhabitants of the land, and the former howling in the piteous manner so peculiar to them.

“The first shock continued, without intermission, for about half an hour. It was followed, about eight o’clock, by a second, equally violent. Thirty shocks were numbered during the night, and the whole country continued to be violently agitated, at intervals, until the end of July.

“From all accounts transmitted to us, it appears wonderful that no human lives were lost during this extraordinary convulsion; nor does it appear that any change was caused in the configuration of the

countries said to be so long and violently disturbed by the power of its action. The River St Lawrence and its tributaries, the Islands, Saghunny, Quebec, Lakes St Peter and Champlain, Montreal, and the Rapids of St Louis, or La Chine, are apparently at this day exactly in the same position as when discovered by Cartier and Champlain.”

British America

1834: Hawkins, Alfred

Alfred Hawkins, John Charlton Fisher; Hawkins’s Picture of Quebec: With Historical Recollections; 1834

Alfred Hawkins and John Charlton Fisher write: “THE RUINED CHATEAU.

“‘Here from these storied walls, in ancient day / By CHAMPLAIN raised, the patriot and the brave - / The Gallic Lily once claimed regal sway, / Where’er ST LAWRENCE rolls his mighty wave!

“‘Thy latest Chief, who ne’er from honor swerv’d / With ebbing life resigned his pride of place - / Thy fealty changed, thy glories all preserv’d / The British Lion guards thee from disgrace!

“‘Long shall thy gentler triumphs be our theme, / Thy beauteous dames, thy gallant, plumed train: / The great and good flit by me as a dream, / Who once kept here their hospitable reign!

“‘Here has the table groaned with lordly cheer - / Here has the toast, the dance, the well-trill’d song, / Welcomed each coming of the infant year, / And served the festive moments to prolong!

“‘Still, midst these ruined heaps, in mental pain, / Does faithful memory former years restore - / Recall the busy throng, the jocund train, / And picture all that charmed us here before!

“‘Yet now, how changed the scene! ‘Tis silence all - / Save where the heedful sentry steps his round! / We may not look upon that ruined hall, / Nor venerate the site so long renown’d!’”

Hawkins's Picture of Quebec: With Historical Recollections

1834: Lyell, Sir Charles

Sir Charles Lyell; Principles of geology: being an inquiry how for the former changes of the earth’s surface are referable to causes now in operation; Vol 2; 3rd edition; John Murray; 1834

Sir Charles Lyell writes: “Quebec, 1791. – We learn from Captain Bayfield’s memoirs, that earthquakes are very frequent on the shore of the estuary of the St Lawrence, of force sufficient at times to split walls and throw down chimneys. Such were the effects experienced in December, 1791, in St Paul’s Bay, about fifty miles northeast from Quebec; and the inhabitants say, that about every twenty-five years a violent earthquake returns, which lasts forty days. In the history of Canada, it is stated that, in 1663, a tremendous convulsion lasted six months, extending from Quebec to Tadeausac, - a distance of about 130 miles. The ice on the river was broken up and many landslips caused.”

Principles of geology: being an inquiry how for the former changes of the earth's surface are referrable to causes now in operation

1834: Mathison, John

John Mathison; Counsel for Emigrants, and Interesting Information from Numerous Sources: With Original Letters from Canada and the United States …; 1834

John Mathison writes: “THE WATER OF THE ST LAWRENCE.

“EMIGRANTS, after confinement on shipboard for five or six weeks, living on salted provisions, and latterly, with bad water, are naturally eager to take advantage again of the first fresh water which they have an opportunity of drinking. That of the St Lawrence is therefore often taken in copious draughts by the thirsty voyager, but this ought to be very cautiously indulged in, from a peculiar quality in it which produces looseness. This was one great cause of the dreadful cholera spreading so generally and fatally in 1832, at Quebec and Montreal, among the newly arrived emigrants, for strangers are more apt to be affected by this water than the natives of these places. The bad effects mentioned, are not so liable to be experienced when the water is mixed with a little spirits or wine, and even if it is boiled before being used, it may be drunk with more safety, as is the case with most waters which are impregnated with any noxious ingredients, arising from natural admixture. The waters of the river Ness in Scotland have a similar power on strangers.

“Rain water is commonly used for washing by the inhabitants on the banks of the St Lawrence, owing to the river water being too hard for this purpose, but a little common soda mixed with it, will obviate its hardness in this respect, and a pinch or two of the same substance purified (called, in this state, carbonate, or rather super-carbonate of soda,) will enable it to draw tea tolerably well, which of itself it will not do.*

“*‘When you arrive in the St Lawrence, having been on shortish allowance of water, you will be for swallowing the river water by the bucket full. Now, if you have any bowels of compassion for your intestinal canal, you will abstain from so doing; for to people not accustomed to it, the lime that forms a considerable constituent part of the water of this country, acts pretty much in the same manner as would a solution of Glauber salts, and often generates dysentery and diarrhea; and though I have an unbounded veneration for the principles of the Temperance Societies, I would, with all deference, recommend that the pure fluid be drank in very small quantities at first, and even these tempered with the most impalpable infusion possible of Jamaica or Cognac.’ – A Backwoodsman.”

Counsel for Emigrants, and Interesting Information from Numerous Sources: With Original Letters from Canada and the United States...

1834: Whiton, John Milton

John Milton Whiton; Sketches of the History of New-Hampshire, from Its Settlement in 1623, to 1833: Comprising Notices of the Memorable Events and Interesting Incidents of a Period of Two Hundred and Ten Years; Marsh, Capen and Lyon; 1834

John Milton Whiton writes: “This important success encouraged an attempt the next year on Quebec itself. A powerful fleet under Admiral Walker, and several regiments of veteran troops were despatched from England; who on their arrival at Boston were joined by such large reinforcements of Colonists as swelled the whole number to 6500. Never before had New-England seen on her waters and fields, a force so formidable. One hundred of the Colonial troops were furnished by New-Hampshire. With the brightest anticipations of success, the expedition sailed from Boston, July, 1711, and had entered the mouth of the St Lawrence, when in one fatal night all their hopes were blasted. The weather being thick and dark, and the Admiral obstinately refusing to direct the course of the fleet according to the advice of the pilots, eight transports were wrecked on an island, and more than a thousand men perished in the waters! – the sad result of the rashness and obstinacy of one man! Disheartened by the disaster, the fleet returned to Europe, and the Colonial troops to their homes. From the wrecks the French obtained many cannon and other spoils of great value. It was observed by the pious people of that day as a Providential interposition, that of the multitude who perished in that dreadful shipwreck, only one man belonged to New-England.”

Sketches of the History of New-Hampshire, from Its Settlement in 1623, to 1833: Comprising Notices of the Memorable Events and Interesting Incidents of a …

1835: Lyell, Sir Charles

Sir Charles Lyell; Principles of Geology: Being an Inquiry how Far the Former Changes of the Earth’s Surface are Referable to Causes Now in Operation; Vol 2; 4th edition; John Murray; 1835

Sir Charles Lyell writes: “Canada. – Although no volcanos have been discovered in the northern regions of the new continent, we have authentic accounts of frequent earthquakes in Canada, and some of considerable violence have occurred, as that of 1668, hereafter to be described. A large part of the estuary of the St Lawrence and the surrounding country has been shaken from time to time; and we learn from Captain Bayfield’s Memoirs, that along the shores of the estuary and Gulf of St Lawrence horizontal banks of recent shells appear at various heights, from ten to one hundred feet above high water mark, and inland beaches of sand and shingle with similar shells, as also elevated limestone rocks scooped out by the waves, and showing lines of lithodomous perforations, facts which indicate most clearly the successive upheaving of the land since the sea was inhabited by the existing species of testacea.”

Principles of geology: being an inquiry how far the former changes of the earth's surface are referable to causes now in operation

1835: Macy, Obed

Obed Macy; The History of Nantucket: Being a Compendious Account of the First Settlement of the Island by the English, Together with the Rise and Progress of the Whale Fishery, and Other Historical Facts Relative to Said Island and Its Inhabitants; Halliard, Gray and Co; 1835

Obed Macy writes: “THE RIGHT-WHALE.

“This species of whale differs materially from the spermaceti. The whales obtained in the Gulf of St Lawrence, about the year 1761, produced from 100 to 230 barrels of oil each. The vessels engaged in the right-whale fishery, at that time, were from 45 to 60 tons burthen, so that one, which took a whale of the largest size, would make a profitable voyage. The bone from one of these whales weighed from 2500 to 3200 pounds, and sold at $1 and $1,25 per pound; the slabs were 10 feet in length. A stranger to the business may ask, what these monsters of the deep live upon, to grow to such an enormous size? Their principal food is an animal of the fish kind, not bigger than a spider, which it resembles somewhat in shape: the color is of a reddish cast. It is called bret, and is frequently seen on the surface of the water in such quantities as to make a reddish appearance of several acres. These the whales take into their mouths in large quantities, and the slabs of bone serve as strainers to discharge the water and retain the food.”

The History of Nantucket: Being a Compendious Account of the First Settlement of the Island by the English, Together with the Rise and Progress of the Whale …

1836: Thom, Adam

Adam Thom; Anti-gallic Letters Addressed to His Excellency, the Earl of Gosford, Governor-in-chief of the Canadas; Issue 21522 of CIHM/ICMH Microfiche series; Issue 21522 of CIHM/ICMH collection de microfiches; Montreal Herald; 1836

Adam Thom writes: “No VI.

“MONTREAL, 3d October, 1835.

“MY LORD,

“I yesterday proved, that Upper Canada, as she was admitted to have a right to one-third of the import duties at the date of the last adjustment and would certainly be admitted to have a right to one-half at the date of the next, was entitled to receive annually during the whole of the quadriennial period the arithmetical mean between the two quantities, or, in other words, 41 2/3 instead of 33 1/3 per cent. I, moreover, inferred, that, under the existing arrangement, she receives precisely four shillings in place of a dollar. Your lordship must perceive, that either Lower Canada is a bankrupt or that Upper Canada is a tributary. Does your lordship think, that Upper Canada will submit tamely to a system, which, besides being at present so galling and so iniquitous, becomes more oppressive every year. During the first of the three enumerated periods, Upper Canada was robbed of a ninth of her just claim; during the second, of a seventh; during the third, of a fifth. Her definite loss during the first two periods I am neither able nor anxious to specify; but during the last two years, she has been despoiled by Lower Canada of at least 100,000 dollars. In 1833 and 1834 respectively, she received, in round numbers, 60,000 pounds and 40,000 pounds, whereas she ought to have received instead of these respective sums 75,000 pounds and 50,000 pounds, or 25,000 pounds more in all. This difference, my lord, would have paid more than half the interest on the sum borrowed for the construction of the St Lawrence Canal. The allusion to that magnificent work, my lord, gives me an opportunity of briefly proving, that the revenue of Upper

Canada is more beneficial than that of Lower Canada to the English inhabitants of the latter province. These inhabitants are chiefly engaged in commerce, and more likely to derive benefit from the improvement of our noble river than from the extravagantly remunerated services of your personal friends, Mr Viger and Mr Papineau. Mark the contrast, my lord. The province, that receives less than her share of the revenue, does every thing for the promotion of public prosperity, while the province, that receives more than her due, does nothing – absolutely nothing. Your lordship must be aware, that you are doing as much, as in you lies, to establish and perpetuate the despotism of an anti-commercial and Anti-British faction. Let me call your lordship’s special attention to a striking event in Roman history. A Gallic robber of the name of Brennus had driven the last hopes of Roman power within the walls of the capitol. The besieged Romans, though they were a ‘miserable minority’, yet long withstood the fierce assaults of their savage foes; but worn out at last by famine and fatigue, they appointed a deputy to effect a compromise with the exulting and insolent barbarians. That deputy, my lord, did promise the barbarians gold. I admit, my lord, that he did so; but in justice to him, my lord of Gosford, I must add, that he stipulated for the salvation of the capitol. Can either of your organs say as much in justification of your lordship’s compromise? Have you stipulated for the salvation of the capitol? No, my lord! The golden bribe, with which you have conciliated the barbarians, essentially involves the sacrifice of the capitol, the extinction of the last hopes of British connexion. But, my lord, I must proceed with the historical passage. The gold, my lord, was in the scale; many a Gallic ruffian was directing one eye in contempt on the abject deputy and another in eagerness on the glittering bribe; the audacious and dishonest leader was already giving a foretaste of violated promises, broken treaties and trampled rights. Such was the scene, my lord, when a man, whom the intended victims of Gallic avarice and treachery had suspected and insulted and injured, put an end to the compromise, and ransomed the capitol, not with gold but with iron.”

Anti-gallic letters addressed to His Excellency, the Earl of Gosford, governor-in-chief of the Canadas

1837: Dunlap, William

William Dunlap; A History of New York, for Schools; Vol 1-2; Collins, Keese; 1837

William Dunlap writes: “Un. Yes, piracies were very frequent at this period; and those miscreants who prowled along the coast of South America, and swept our shores, from the gulf of St Lawrence to that of Mexico, occasionally ran into the ports of Boston, Newport, and New York. In the latter place, it is said, they had sometimes appeared openly, and there is good reason to believe that they were countenanced by Governor Fletcher.”

A History of New York, for Schools

1839: Bosworth, Newton

Newton Bosworth; Hochelaga Depicta: The Earth History and Present State of the City and Island of Montreal …; Coles Canadiana collection; Issue 1 of Facsimile reprints of early Canadian books; Congdon & Britnell; 1839

Newton Bosworth writes: “‘As for the rest, we have remarked that, though this earthquake continued almost without intermission, yet it was not always of an equal violence. Sometimes it was like the pitching of a large vessel which dragged heavily at her anchors; and it was this motion which occasioned many to have a giddiness in their heads, and qualmishness at their stomachs. At other times the motion was hurried and irregular, creating sudden jerks, some of which were extremely violent; but the most common was a slight tremulous motion, which occurred frequently with little noise. Many of the French inhabitants with Indians, who were eye-witnesses to the scene, state that a great way up the river of Trois Rivieres, about eighteen miles below Quebec, the hills which bordered the river on either side, and which were of a prodigious height, were torn from their foundations, and plunged into the river, causing it to change its course, and spread itself over a large tract of land recently cleared; the broken earth mixed with the waters, and for several months changed the colour of the great river St Lawrence, into which that of Trois Rivieres disembogues itself. In the course of this violent convulsion of nature, lakes appeared where none ever existed before: mountains were overthrown, swallowed up by the gaping, or precipitated into adjacent rivers, leaving in their places frightful chasms or level plains; falls and rapids were changed into gentle streams, and gentle streams into falls and rapids. Rivers in many parts of the country sought other beds, or totally disappeared. The earth and the mountains were entirely split and rent in innumerable places, creating chasms and precipices whose depths have never yet been ascertained. Such devastation was also occasioned in the woods, that more than a thousand acres in our neighbourhood were completely overturned; and where but a short time before nothing met the eye but one immense forest of trees, now were to be seen extensive cleared lands, apparently cut up by the plough.

“‘At Tadoussac (about 150 miles below Quebec on the north side) the effect of the earthquake was not less violent than in other places; and such a heavy shower of volcanic ashes fell in that neighbourhood, particularly in the river St Lawrence, that the waters were as violently agitated as during a tempest. Near St Paul’s bay (about 50 miles below Quebec on the north side), a mountain about a quarter of a league in circumference, situated on the shore of the St Lawrence, was precipitated into the river, but, as if it had only made a plunge, it rose from the bottom and became a small island, forming with the shore a convenient harbour, well sheltered from all winds. Lower down the river, towards Point Alouettes, an entire forest of considerable extent was loosened from the main bank, and slid into the river St Lawrence, where the trees took fresh root.”

Hochelaga Depicta: The Early History and Present State of the City and Island of Montreal...

1840: Gosse, Philip Henry

Philip Henry Gosse; The Canadian Naturalist: A Series of Conversations on the Natural History of Lower Canada; J van Voorst; 1840

Philip Henry Gosse writes: “F. – Yes: we have only the Virginian deer and the Moose (C Alces), that I am aware of; though the Caribou, or Reindeer (C Tarandus), is, I believe, found north of the St Lawrence. This last is common in Newfoundland. The Moose is the Elk of Europe; but the ‘Elk’ of the Americans is a much smaller species, though still a very fine animal; it is the Wapiti (C Wapiti), which is confined to the Western States. There is a remarkable peculiarity which is said to belong to that curious animal, the

Prong-horned Antelope of the Rocky Mountains (Antilope Furcifer), which I have observed in our common deer. (C Virg) It is the singular form and texture of the hair. In winter the hair is very tubular, like a bird’s quill, and so inelastic as to crumple on the slightest pressure; when bent, it crushes into a sharp angle, in which shape it remains: it is exceedingly soft and brittle; its colour is mostly white, tinged with red, but some of it is dark brown just at the tip: the root of every hair is more slender than the other part, the transition being abrupt; and this part looks exactly like the barrel of a quill in miniature: the extremity is generally waved. I believe this conformation is peculiar to this northern climate, and to winter, even here; in summer, the hair resembles that of other animals. Its coat is then of an uniform reddish brown, but in winter its colour is a greyish russet, not easily to be described. The venison is very juicy, and of delicious flavour; but to an American palate, a piece of fat pork has far greater charms.”

Philip Henry Gosse continues: “F. – Very little indeed: and nothing of their natural history or specific characters. I have angled in the Coatacook, and caught several small species, which bite very freely. Dace, trout, chub, lump-fish, and others, are names given to our most common river fish, whether correctly, I am not ichthyologist enough to determine. The salmon is taken in our rivers: the Shad (Clupea Alosa), a fish very highly esteemed for its firmness and the delicacy of its flavour, abounds, I believe, in the St Lawrence in spring; and the Maskilonge, (Esox Estor?) another fish of large size, of the pike family, is found in the lakes. On the bank of the Masuippi, about a mile above its junction with the Coatacook, is a spot where the land, after descending with a gradual slope, suddenly ends in rather a steep but grassy bank. At the very edge of this bank is a farm-house, and the owner has told me that he can sit at his door, and watch the sturgeon and other fish playing almost directly under him, over the pebbly bottom of the clear river. The Sturgeon (Acipenser Sturio) is very numerous just there; and is, I suppose, the largest fish we have, being several feet in length. They are long, slender, and angled, and covered with tubercles; the flesh is not much esteemed. They often leap from the water, several feet into the air. While on the subject of fishes, I may allude to the White Dolphin of the St Lawrence (Delphinus Canadensis). In coming up that river in summer, I saw great numbers of them frolicking and leaping about, like their congeners, the dolphins and porpoises of the ocean, from which I could not see that they differed in any respect, except in being all over of a pure white. The Natural History Society of Montreal offered a prize a few years ago for an essay on the Cetacea of the St Lawrence, which was, I believe, handed in, but I have never had an opportunity of learning the information contained in it. Seals also often pop up their blacks heads in the same river.”

Philip Henry Gosse continues: “F. – It is the Firefly (Lampyris Corusca); which illuminates our summer nights with its radiance. When I came up the country from St Lawrence, travelling late one evening, I first saw these pretty insects. The light, you see, is of a yellow colour, like that of flame, and very different from the blue gleam of our English glowworm: from this circumstance, I at first took them for candles in the woods, and though told what they were, at every one that appeared, the same idea would come across my mind, that it was some one in the woods, carrying a candle, until I became more familiar with them. Even now, if I see one suddenly, without having expected it, the impression momentarily recurs. They more frequently give out the light while flying, than when crawling or resting, though we may often observe the intermittent gleam as one crawls up a stalk of grass, or rests on the leaf of a tree. They fly slowly, and as they fly, emit and conceal their light with great regularity at intervals of two or three seconds: making interrupted lines of light through the air, gleaming slowly along for along a yard, then suddenly quenched, and appearing again at the same distance a-head. The insect is a pretty bettle, with soft elytra, of a light brown colour, marked with red, and handsomely

striped: the lights proceeds from the last three segments of the abdomen, which are of a delicate cream colour by day. At night these three segments are bright at all times, but at the regular intervals I have mentioned, they flash out with dazzling splendor. If this part be plucked off and crushed, many patches of brilliance occur for a few moments among the flesh, but they gradually die away. In summer evenings, they often occur in great numbers, especially over wet and marshy ground: I have seen the whole air, for a few yards above the surface of a large field, completely filled with them, thicker than the stars on a winter night; and, flashing and disappearing, every one moving about in their mazy evolutions, it is really a very beautiful sight: it is commonly believed these numbers precede rain. Notwithstanding their abundance, they are not often seen by day. They are usually known here by the name of lightning bugs.”

The Canadian naturalist: a series of conversations on the natural history of Lower Canada

1841: Drake, Benjamin

Benjamin Drake; Life of Tecumseh, and His Brother the Prophet: With a Historical Sketch of the Shawanoe Indians; E Morgan & Co; 1841

Benjamin Drake writes: “To the succeeding one made at Philadelphia, in February, 1701, the Shawanoes were parties, being represented on that occasion, by their chiefs, Wopatha, Lemoytungh and Pemoyajagh. More than fifty years afterward, a manuscript copy of this treaty of commerce and friendship, was in the possession of the Shawanoes of Ohio, and was exhibited by them. In 1684, the Iroquois, when complained of by the French for having attacked the Miamis, justified their conduct on the ground, that they had invited the Santanas (Shawanoes) into the country, for the purpose of making war upon them. The Sauks and Foxes, whose residence was originally on the St Lawrence, claim the Shawanoes as belonging to the same stock with themselves, and retain traditional accounts of their emigration to the south. In the ‘History of the Indian Tribes of North America’, when speaking of the Shawanoes, the authors say, ‘their manners, customs and language indicate a northern origin; and, upwards of two centuries ago, they held the country south of Lake Erie. They were the first tribe which felt the force and yielded to the superiority of the Iroquois. Conquered by these, they migrated to the south, and from fear or favor, were allowed to take possession of a region upon the Savannah river; but what part of that stream, whether in Georgia or Florida, is not known; it is presumed the former.’ Mr Gallatin speaks of the final defeat of the Shawanoes and their allies, in a war with the Five Nations, as having taken place in the year 1672. This same writer, who has carefully studied the language of the aborigines, considers the Shawanoes as belonging to the Lenape tribes of the north. From these various authorities, it is apparent that the Shawanoes belonged originally to the Algonkin-Lenape nation; and that during the three first quarters of the seventeenth century, they were found in eastern Pennsylvania, on the St Lawrence, and the southern shore of Lake Erie; and generally at war with some of the neighbouring tribes. Whether their dispersion, which is supposed to have taken place about the year 1672, drove them all to the south side of the Ohio, does not very satisfactorily appear.”

Life of Tecumseh, and his brother the prophet: with a historical sketch of the Shawanoe Indians

1841: McLeod, Donald

Donald McLeod; A Brief Review of the Settlement of Upper Canada by the UE [United Empire] Loyalists and Scotch Highlanders, in 1783: And of the Grievances which Compelled the Canadas to Have Recourse to Arms in Defence of Their Rights and Liberties, in 1837 and 1838: Together with a Brief Sketch of the Campaigns of 1812 …; 1841

Donald McLeod writes: “‘A young Scotchman, named Alexander Wright, whose mother, a widow, lives in Glengarry, was engaged in the patriot service. He was wounded in the arm and disabled; after which he attempted to leave the Wind Mill and seek a place of safety, where his wounds might be dressed. He jumped out of the Wind Mill window, near the spot where an Orangeman was loading his gun. He had just rammed down his cartridge, and without returning the ramrod, fired at Wright. The ramrod passed into the poor fellow’s body, but not through it. He fell; and the Orange volunteers instantly stripped him, regardless of his entreaties, after which they tumbled him into a cart, sent him to Prescott, and put him on board a steam boat with the ramrod sticking in his body. His cries were piercing. In a few hours he died, and there was an end of his agony – but not to their brutality. They tied round shot to his legs and threw him into the St Lawrence, with curses and imprecations. Mr Wright was a most respectable and very handsome young man. His death and usage excited feelings of deep and lasting regret.”

A Brief Review of the Settlement of Upper Canada by the UE Loyalists and Scotch Highlanders, in 1783: And of the Grievances which Compelled the …

1841: Stone, William Leete

William Leete Stone; Life and Times of Red-Jacket, or Sa-go-ye-wat-ha: Being the Sequel to the History of the Six Nations; Wiley and Putnam; 1841

William Leete Stone writes: “The questions as to the origin of the Seneca Indians, the entire confederacy to which they belonged, and the length of time they had in the occupancy of ‘the long house’, when first visited by the white man, are all involved in darkness, too deep, probably, for human penetration. According to the early French historians and tourists of America, - among whom Charlevoix is probably the best authority, - the Iroquois were occupying the country along the St Lawrence, in the neighbourhood of Hochelaga, at the time of the discovery of Canada by Jacques Cartier. ‘When Cartier went to Hochelaga, now Montreal, in 1535, he discovered a town of the Iroquois, or Hurons, containing about fifty huts.’ Cartier landed about six miles from the town, to which the way was well beaten and frequented. ‘It was situated in the midst of large fields of Indian corn, and from the description, it must even then have been a considerable place, and the metropolis of the neighbouring country. It was encompassed by palisades, or probably a picket fence in three rows, one within the other, well secured and put together. A single entrance was secured with piles and stakes; and every precaution adopted against sudden attack or siege. The town consisted of about fifty houses, each fifty feet in length by fourteen in breadth, built of wood and covered with bark, ‘well and cunningly joined together’. Each house contained small chambers, built round an open court in the centre, in which the fire was kindled.’

The inhabitants were devoted to husbandry and fishing, and the lands of the island were well cultivated to the base of the mountain, three miles from the present city of Montreal. In a word, according to the history of Cartier’s voyage, the Indians of Hochelaga were more than usually civilized, for barbarians, and greatly in advance of the Iroquois a century afterward. It has also been held that the war in which the Iroquois were engaged with the Adirondacks, a powerful division of the Hurons, - now generally known by the name of Wyandots, - at the time when Champlain ascended the St Lawrence, in 1603, was the same in which they conquered the territory of the Mohawk Valley, and that lying south of Lake Ontario, in the possession of which they were found by the Dutch and English. Such is, moreover, the received opinion of various writers, European and American, who have glanced superficially at this question.

“But this supposition, though entertained by Governor Colden, and afterward by Governor Clinton, is beyond doubt erroneous. At the time of Cartier’s discovery the five Huron nations occupied the Island of Orleans, below Quebec, and the country of the St Lawrence and the Ottawa. The Adirondacks, the most powerful clan of that people, then lived chiefly upon the Ottawa; and it is more than probable that those were the occupants of Hochelaga. The town at Hochelaga, described by Cartier, had dwindled into insignificance at that time of Champlain’s visit, having probably been destroyed by the Iroquois – a body of whom were met by Champlain, while voyaging upon the lake since bearing his name, on their way against the Hurons, with hostile intent. Champlain was accompanied during his voyage by a war party of the latter, with whom he fought in alliance against the Iroquois, who were struck with amazement at the reports and the execution of the fire-arms used against them, - engines of death which they had never seen before, - and defeated, of course.”

Life and Times of Red-Jacket, Or Sa-go-ye-wat-ha: Being the Sequel to the History of the Six Nations

1842: Bonnycastle, Richard-Henry

Richard-Henry Bonnycastle; The Canadas in 1841; Vol 28647 of CIHM/ICMH Microfiche series; Henry Colburn; 1842

Richard-Henry Bonnycastle writes: “Those singular fish, the milk-white porpoises of the St Lawrence, also now shewed themselves close to the vessel, playing about and turning up their silver coats of the bright sun.”

The Canadas in 1841

1843: Davenport, Bishop

Bishop Davenport; A History and New Gazetteer: Or, Geographical Dictionary, of North America and the West Indies; SW Benedict; 1843

Bishop Davenport writes: “ST LAWRENCE, one of the largest rivers of North America, which rises near the sources of the Mississippi, and passing through the great lakes Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario, falls into the gulf of St Lawrence by a mouth 90 miles wide. That part of it only between its mouth and

Montreal, is commonly called St Lawrence. Between lake Erie and lake Ontario, it is called Niagara river, and the parts between the other lakes have other names. It forms a communication of more than 2,000 miles in extent. It is navigable for ships of the line 400 miles to Quebec, and for ships drawing 14 feet water to Montreal, 580 miles.

“ST LAWRENCE, Gulf of, a gulf at the mouth of the river St Lawrence, inclosed between Newfoundland, Labrador, Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Island of Cape Breton. It is 350 miles longer, and 150 broad. Longitude 57 degrees to 65 degrees west. Latitude 47 degrees 51 minutes north.”

A History and New Gazetteer: Or Geographical Dictionary, of North America and the West Indies

1844: Martin, Robert Montgomery

Robert Montgomery Martin; History, statistics and geography of Upper and Lower Canada; 2nd edition; Whittaker & Co; 1844

Robert Montgomery Martin writes: “WALRUS (sea-Horse or sea-Cow), which has now deserted the shores of the gulph of St Lawrence, and is only to be met with on the north coast of Labrador and about Hudson’s Bay. In shape, the walrus is somewhat like the seal, but of great size, a full grown male weighing 4,000 lbs. They are gregarious, extremely attached to their young, in defence of whom, or when wounded, they will use their formidable tusks with terrible effect; but they are unable to defend themselves out of the water, and when attacked in the situation, set up a most piteous and heart-rending cry, or rather howl.”

History, statistics and geography of Upper and Lower Canada

1844: Stone, William Leete

William Leete Stone; Life of Joseph Brant-Thayendanegea: Including the Border Wars of the American Revolution, and Sketches of the Indian Campaigns of Generals Hamar, St Clair and Wayne; and Other Matters Connected with the Indian Relations of the United States and Great Britain, from the Peace of 1783 to the Indian Peace of 1795; Vol 2; H&E Phinney; 1844

William Leete Stone writes: “In the mouth of November, 1781, the prisoners were transferred from Chamblee to an island in the St Lawrence, called at that time Prison Island – situated in the rapids some distance above Montreal. Sammons was compelled to travel in hand-cuffs, but the other prisoners were not thus encumbered. There were about two hundred prisoners on the island, all of whom were very closely guarded. In the Spring of 1782, Sammons organised a conspiracy with nine of his fellow prisoners, to make their escape, by seizing a provision boat, and had well-nigh effected their object. Being discovered, however, their purpose was defeated, and Sammons, as the ringleader, once more placed in irons. But at the end of five weeks the irons were removed, and he was allowed to return to his hut.

“Impatient of such protracted captivity, Frederick was still bent on escaping, for which purpose he induced a fellow-prisoner, by the name of McMullen, to join him in the daring exploit of seeking an opportunity to plunge into the river, and taking their chance of swimming to the shore. A favorable moment for attempting the bold adventure was afforded on the 17th of August. The prisoners having, to the number of fifty, been allowed to walk on the foot of the island, but around the whole of which a chain of sentinels was extended, Sammons and McMullen, without having conferred with any one else, watching an opportunity when the nearest sentinel turned his back upon them, quietly glided down beneath a shelving rock, and plunged into the stream – each holding up and waving a hand in token of farewell to their fellow-prisoners, as the surge swept them rapidly down the stream. The sentinel was distant about six rods when they threw themselves into the river, and did not discover their escape until they were beyond the reach of any molestation he could offer them. Three-quarters of a mile below the island, the rapids were such as to heave the river into swells too large for boats to encounter. This was a frightful part of their voyage. Both, however, were expert swimmers, and by diving as they approached each successive surge, both succeeded in making the perilous passage – the distance of this rapid being about one hundred and fifty rods. As they plunged successively into these rapids, they had little expectation of meeting each other again in this world. But a protecting Providence ordered it otherwise, and they emerged from the frightful billows quite near together. ‘I am glad to see you,’ said Sammons to his friend; ‘I feared we should not meet again.’ ‘We have had a merry ride of it,’ replied the other; ‘but we could not have stood in much longer.’

“The adventurous fellows attempted to land about two miles below the island, but the current was so violent as to baffle their purpose, and they were driven two miles farther, where they happily succeeded in reaching the land, at a place on the north side of the St Lawrence, called by the Canadians ‘The Devil’s Point’. A cluster of houses stood near the river, into some of which it was necessary the fugitives should go to procure provisions. They had preserved each a knife and tinderbox in their waistcoast pockets, and one of the first objects, after arming themselves with substantial clubs, was to procure a supply of timber. This was effected by boldly entering a house and rummaging an old lady’s work-basket. The good woman, frightened at the appearance of the visiters, ran out and alarmed the village – the inhabitants of which were French. In the meantime they searched the house for provisions, fire-arms, and ammunition, but found none of the latter, and only a single loaf of bread. They also plundered the house of a blanket, blanket-coat, and a few other articles of clothing. By this time the people began to collect in such numbers, that a precipitate retreat was deemed advisable. McMullen, being seized by two Canadians, was only released from their grasp by the well-directed blows of Frederick’s club. They both then commenced running for the woods, when Sammons, encumbered with his luggage, unluckily fell, and the loaf rolled away from him. The peasants now rushed upon them, and their only course was to give battle, which they prepared to do in earnest; whereupon, seeing their resolution, the pursuers retreated almost as rapidly as they had advanced. This demonstration gave the fugitives time to collect and arrange their plunder, and commence their travels anew. Taking to the woods, they found a resting-place, where they halted until night-fall. They then sallied forth once more in search of provisions, with which it was necessary to provide themselves before crossing to the south side of the river, where, at that day, there were no settlements. The cattle fled at their approach; but they at length came upon a calf in a farm-yard, which they captured, and appropriating to their own use and behoof a canoe moored in the river, they embarked with their prize, to cross over to the southern shore. But alas! when in the middle of the stream their paddle broke, and they were in a measure left to the mercy of the flood, which was hurrying them onward, as they very well knew, toward the rapids or falls

of the Cedars. There was an island above the rapids, from the brink of which a tree had fallen into the river. Fortunately, the canoe was swept by the current into the branches of this tree-top, among which it became entangled. While struggling in their predicament, the canoe was upset. Being near shore, however, the navigators got to land without losing the calf. Striking a fire, they now dressed their veal, and on the following morning, by towing their canoe along shore round to the south edge of the island, succeeded in crossing to their own side of the river. They then plunged directly into the unbroken forest, extending from the St Lawrence on the Sacondaga, and after a journey of twelve days of excessive hardship, emerged from the woods within six miles of the point for which, without chart or compass Sammons had laid his course. Their provisions lasted but a few days, and their only subsequent food consisted of roots and herbs. The whole journey was made almost in a state of nudity – both being destitute of pantaloons. Having worn out their hats upon their feet, the last three days they were compelled to travel bare-footed. Long before their journey was ended, therefore, their feet were dreadfully lacerated and swollen. On arriving at Schenectady the inhabitants were alarmed at their wild and savage appearance – half naked, with lengthened beards and matted hair. The people at length gathered round them with strange curiosity; but when they made themselves known, a lady named Ellis rushed through the crowd to grasp the hand of Frederick, and was so much affected at his altered appearance that she fainted and fell. The welcome fugitives were forthwith supplied with whatever of food and raiment was necessary; and young Sammons learned that his father and family had removed back to Marbletown, in the country of Ulster, whence he had previously emigrated to Johnstown.”

… -Thayendanegea: Including the Border Wars of the American Revolution, and Sketches of the Indian Campaigns of Generals Harmar, St. Clair, and Wayne; …

1846: Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft; Notes on the Iroquois, or, Contributions to the statistics, aboriginal history, antiquities and general ethnology of western New York; Bartlett & Welford; 1846

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft writes: “Ancient Shipwreck. – After many years a body of Eagwehoewe people encamped on the bank of a majestic stream, and was named Kanawage, now St Lawrence. After a long time a number of foreign people sailed from a port unknown; but unfortunately, before reaching their destination the winds drove them contrary; at length their ship wrecked somewhere on the southern part of the Great Island, and many of the crews perished; a few active persons were saved; they obtained some implements, and each of them was covered with a leather bag, the big hawks carried them on the summit of a mountain and remained there but a short time. The hawks seemed to threaten them, and were compelled to leave the mountain. They immediately selected a place for residence and built a small fortification in order to provide against the attacks of furious beasts; if there should be any made. After many years the foreign people became numerous, and extended their settlements; but afterwards they were destroyed by the monsters that overrun the country.”

Notes on the Iroquois, or, Contributions to the statistics, aboriginal history, antiquities and general ethnology of western New York

1847: Barham, William

William Barham; Descriptions of Niagara: Selected from Various Travellers, with Original Additions; 1847

William Barham writes: “The current for more than a mile above the Falls is so swift, that accidents not unfrequently happen from the foolhardiness of persons attempting to cross the river in small boats, near that part of it where the rapids commence. Many sad recitals were given us; but we took more pleasure in turning to the account of the almost miraculous escape of Chateaubriand from being thrown over the precipice, above the Falls themselves, - an instance of good fortune not unworthy of being noticed. ‘On his arrival he had repaired to the Fall, having the bridle of his horse twisted round his arm. While he was stopping to look down, a rattlesnake stirred among the neighbouring bushes, the horse was startled, reared, and ran back towards the abyss. He could not disengage his arm from the bridle, and the horse, more and more frightened, dragged him after him. His fore-legs were all but off the ground, and squatting on the brink of the precipice, he was upheld merely by the bridle. He gave himself up for lost, when the animal astonished at this new danger, threw himself forward with a pirouette, and sprang to a distance of ten feet from the edge of the precipice.’ Those who had dreamed that they were on the point of being thrown over a perpendicular cliff, and who awaking, find themselves well, and comfortably in bed, will be able to form some idea of the sensation of this celebrated person at such a time. The great lakes of the St Lawrence contain a mass more than one-half the fresh water on this planet – the solid contents being, according to Darby, 1,547,011,792,360,000, and the superficial area in square miles being 72,930, a quantity, which would form a cubic column of nearly twenty-two miles on each side.”

Descriptions of Niagara: Selected from Various Travellers, with Original Additions

1847: Gesner, Abraham

Abraham Gesner; New Brunswick: With Notes for Emigrants. Comprehending the Early History, an Account of the Indians, Settlement …; Simmonds & Ward; 1847

Abraham Gesner writes: “During this miserable state of the country, two pirates appeared at Port Royal, where their crews pillaged the country, set fire to the buildings, and burned one whole family in their dwelling. Port Royal was shortly afterwards taken possession of by Chevalier Villabon, who captured the place by pulling down the English flag, and hoisting French colours in its place. Villabon, who was commissioned by the French Government to take the command of Nova Scotia, recovered a considerable sum of money that had been buried by one Des Gautius previous to the landing of Sir William Phipps, and then proceeded to attack the fort on the River St John; but on his passage thither he was overtaken by a pirate, who captured his vessel, which contained, besides a large sum of money, the presents intended to secure the alliance of the savages.

“The old Charter of Massachusetts having been forfeited, a new one was granted by William and Mary. One of the provisos in the new charter was, that no longer should be granted between the Sagadahock

and the Gulf of St Lawrence without the special permission of the King, whereby a plain distinction was made between Nova Scotia and Massachusetts.”

New Brunswick: With Notes for Emigrants. Comprehending the Early History, an Account of the Indians, Settlement...

1847: Willson, Marcius

Marcius Willson; American History: Comprising Historical Sketches of the Indian Tribes: A Description of American Antiquities, with an Inquiry Into Their Origin and the Origin of the Indian Tribes; History of the United States, with Appendices Showing Its Connection with European History; History of the Present …; WH Moore & Co; 1847

Marcius Willson writes: “3. ‘While Roberval was delayed in making extensive preparations for his intended settlement, Cartier, whose services could not be dispensed with, received a subordinate command, and, in 1541, sailed with five ships already prepared. The Indian king had in the mean time died in France; and on the arrival of Cartier in the St Lawrence, he was received by the natives with jealousy and distrust, which soon broke out into open hostilities. The French then built for their defence, near the present site of Quebec,* a fort which they named Charlesbourg, where they passed the winter.

“4. ‘Roberval arrived at Newfoundland in June of the following year, with three ships, and emigrants for founding a colony; but a misunderstanding having arisen between him and Cartier, the latter secretly set sail for France. Roberval proceeded up the St Lawrence to the place where Cartier had abandoned, where he erected two forts and passed a tedious winter. After some unsuccessful attempts to discover a passage to the East Indies, he brought his colony back to France, and the design of forming a settlement was abandoned. In 1549 Roberval again sailed on a voyage of discovery, but he was never again heard of.

“*Quebec, a strongly fortified city of Canada, is situated on the northwest side of the St Lawrence, on a promontory formed by that river and the St Charles. The city consists of the Upper and the Lower Town, - the latter on a narrow strip of land near the water’s edge; and the former on a plain difficult of access, more than 200 feet higher. Cape Diamond, the most elevated point of the Upper Town, is 345 feet above the level of the river, and commands a grand view of an extensive tract of country. (See Map, p 280)”

American History: Comprising Historical Sketches of the Indian Tribes; a Description of American Antiquities, with an Inquiry Into Their Origin and the Origin of …

1848: Cusick, David

David Cusick; David Cusick’s Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations: Comprising First – a Tale of the Foundation of the Great Island, (now North America,) the Two Infants Born, and the Creation of the

Universe. Second – a Real Account of the Early Settlers of North America, and Their Dissensions. Third …; 3rd edition; Turner & McCollum, printers; 1848

David Cusick writes: “At a time another Ronnongwetowanea attacked a small town located on the bank of Kanawage, (St Lawrence). This occurred in a season when the people were out to hunt, and there was no person in the town except an old chief and an attendant named Yatatonwatea: while they were enjoying repose in their houses were suddenly attacked by the Ronnongwetowanea; but the Yatatonwatea escaped, went out the back door and deserted the aged chief to the fate; however the enemy spared no time, the chase was soon prosecuted which caused the Yatatonwatea to retreat as fast as possible; he attempted to make resistance in various places, but was compelled to retire at the appearance of the enemy; in vain he endeavored to gain retreat by traversing various creeks and hills; he undertook a new method of giving little effect upon the progress of the enemy; after running some distance he discovered which would promptly cherish the imposition, he drove a flock of pigeons in the way to amuse the until he could hide himself under the bank of the river, unfortunately the flattering hope seemed to fail; after remaining there but a short time before he saw the enemy was coming in full speed, and was soon obliged to abandon the position and continue the flight; again he tried to conceal himself among the rocks of the mountain, but in a mean time the enemy advanced at the moment, of which he became dismayed, finding that nothing could resist the impetuosity of the pursuer, but determined not to surrender as long as he was capable to keep out of the reach; he immediately took the path which leads to the hunting grounds in search of some people; fortunately at a short distance met two warriors and he was instantly supported and made vigorous resistance; after terrible combat the Ronnongwetowanea was exterminated; during the time the warriors conducted themselves as heroes, which gained the triumph, notwithstanding one of them received a severe wound by the club. The Yatatonwatea with alarm whoop hastened to the encampment and advised the people of the substance and the dangers which the enemy might commit upon the vacant towns. As soon as the people received the intelligence immediately returned to their settlements, and a convention were held by the chieftains in order to take some measures to defend their country. As the Ronnongwetowanea tribe were not numerous and deemed it inexpedient to raise a large force and therefore a few hundred warriors were sent to subdue them; after decisive contests the warriors gained the victory; and it was supposed that the Ronnongwetowanea tribe has ever since ceased to exist. (This fate happened probably about two thousand five hundred winters before Columbus discovered the America.) The depredations of the enemy which so often exercised upon the inhabitants were now terminated; and the country enjoyed without disturbance many winters. About this time a mischievous person named Shotyerronsgwea, while visiting the people at first distinguished himself of a good character and in mean time gained the confidence of the people; by doing this he was fairly concealed from being discovered of his real designs, and in a short time began to injure the people; he assassinated two warriors secretly, and then violated six virgins, etc, etc. And the next he ventured to break the harmony of the nation and created dissensions among the people. At this the chiefs were so offended that the Shotyerronsgwea was banished from the village; when he received this treatment he deemed proper to desist from going back to any of the towns; he immediately crossed the river St Lawrence and moved towards the midday sun, and he came to a town situated south of the great lake (Ontario) and he was received with kindness; but his entertainment could not appease his evil designs; though he appeared reconciled, one night while at the dancing house he killed several warriors; this offense he discovered should prove fatal to his person, and was compelled to leave the town and went some other place to do mischief. The Shotyerronsgwea was the greatest mischievous person that ever existed on the continent.

He was considered an agent from bad spirit. About this time Big Quisquiss (perhaps the Mammoth) invaded the settlements south of Ontario lake; the furious animal push down the houses and made a great disturbance; the people was compelled to flee from the terrible monster; the warriors made opposition but failed; at length a certain chief warrior collected the men from several towns – a severe engagement took place, at least the monster retired, but the people could not remain long without being disturbed; Big Elk invaded the towns; the animal was furious and destroyed many persons; however the men were soon collected – a severe contest ensued and the monster was killed.

“About this time the northern nations formed a confederacy and seated a great council fire on river St Lawrence: the northern nations possessed the bank of the great lakes; the countries in the north were plenty of beavers, but the hunters were often opposed by the big snakes. The people live on the south side of the Big Lakes make bread of roots and obtain a kind of potatoes and beans found on the rich soil.

“Perhaps about two thousand two hundred years before the Columbus discovered the America, and northern nations appointed a prince, and immediately repaired to the south and visited the great Emperor who resided at the Golden City, a capital of the vast empire. After a time the Emporer built many forts throughout his dominions and almost penetrated the lake Erie; this produced an excitement, the people of the north felt that they would soon be deprived of the country on the south side of the Great Lakes they determined to defend their country against any infringement of foreign people: long bloody wars ensued which perhaps lasted about one hundred years: the people of the north were too skillful in the use of bows and arrows and could endure hardships which proved fatal to a foreign people; at last the northern nations gained the conquest and all the towns and forts were totally destroyed and left them in the heap of ruins.

“About this time a great horned serpent appeared on lake Ontario, the serpent produced diseases and many of the people died, but by the aid of thunderbolts the monster was compelled to retire. A blazing star fell into a fort situated on the St Lawrence and destroyed the people; this event was considered as a warning of their destruction. After a time a war broke out among the northern nations which continued until they had utterly destroyed each other, the island again become in possession of fierce animals.”

David Cusick's Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations: Comprising First--a Tale of the Foundation of the Great Island,(now North America,) the Two …

1849: Lyell, Sir Charles

Sir Charles Lyell; A Second Visit to the United States of North America; Harper & bros; 1849

Sir Charles Lyell writes: “At the very time when I had every day to give an answer to the question whether I really believed the great fossil skeleton from Alabama to be that of the sea serpent formerly seen on the coast near Boston, I received news of the reappearance of the same serpent, in a letter from my friend Mr JW Dawson, of Pictou, in Nova Scotia. This geologist, with whom I explored Nova Scotia in 1842, said he was collecting evidence for me of the appearance, in the month of August, 1845, at Merigomish, in the Gulf of St Lawrence, of a marine monster, about 100 feet long, seen by two intelligent observers, nearly aground in calm water, within 200 feet of the beach, where it remained in

sight about half an hour, and then got off with difficulty. One of the witnesses went up a bank in order to look down upon it. They said it sometimes raised its head (which resembled that of a seal) partially out of the water. Along its back were a number of humps or protuberances, which, in the opinion of the observer on the beach, were true humps, while the other thought they were produced by vertical flexures of the body. Between the head and the first protuberance there was a straight part of the back of considerable length, and this part was generally above water. The color appeared black, and the skin had a rough appearance. The animal was seen to bend its body almost into a circle, and again to unbend it with rapidity. It was slender in proportion to its length. After it had disappeared in deep water, its wake was visible for some time. There were no indications of paddles seen. Some other persons who saw it compared the creature to a long string of fishing-net buoys moving rapidly about. In the course of the summer, the fishermen on the eastern shore of Prince Edward’s Island, in the Gulf of St Lawrence, had been terrified by this sea monster, and the year before, October, 1844, a similar creature swam slowly past the pier at Arisaig, near the east end of Nova Scotia, and, there being only a slight breeze at the time, was attentively observed by Mr Barry, a millwright of Pictou, who told Mr Dawson he was within 120 feet of it, and estimated its length at sixty feet, and the thickness of its body at three feet. It had humps on the back, which seemed too small and close together to be bends of the body.”

A second visit to the United States of North America

1849: Rose, AWH

AWH Rose; Henry Christmas, editor; The emigrant churchman in Canada; Vol 2; R Bentley; 1849

AWH Rose writes: “The white porpoises, peculiar, I believe, to the estuary of St Lawrence, are very amusing to a new comer, as they gambol along in great numbers, looking at a little distance like pieces of ice or curling wreaths of foam tossing and rolling in the tide. Whilst entertaining ourselves with these, we passed Kamouraska, on the southern shore of the St Lawrence, here considerably wider, I should think, than the Thames at Southend. For some reason or other, this place is esteemed one of the coldest in Lower Canada; I know it was very chilly when we passed it early in September, though we afterwards had some extremely hot weather. In the greatest heats of summer coolness may be enjoyed here, which makes it a favourite place for the health and pleasure hunters to visit from Quebec (distant 96 miles), and elsewhere. This is the last place at which the water continues perfectly sea-salt, though it is brackish to 75 miles higher up, or within 21 of Quebec; and tide, however, at the latter city rises from 17 to 24 feet, the greatest depth of the water being 28 fathoms. All above this spot the clearings were abundant, and the dwellings numerous; in fact, I must beg entirely to protest against the accuracy of the sentiments put forth by some writers on Canada, who speak of the chilling effect upon the feelings of emigrants produced by the sight of the continuous line of deep unbroken forest, on approaching the shores of their future transatlantic home.”

The emigrant churchman in Canada

1850: Baird, Robert

Robert Baird; Impressions and Experiences of the West Indies and North America in 1849; Lea & Blanchard; 1850

Robert Baird writes: “The sail to Stonington is through the once famed and much dreaded strait which lies at the west end of Long Island Sound, about eight miles east of New York, and which is called by the more descriptive than polite name of Hell-gate. The passage is narrow and tortuous; and a bed of rocks below, which extends quite across the river, causes the water to boil and struggle with considerable violence. But Hell-gate, however useful to terrorists in days by, or advantageous to novelists as a weapon of excitement in latter days – or of however difficult navigation, even now, to sailing vessels – has to the traveller by steam, and in such a vessel as the good steamer Massachusetts, lost not only its danger, but all the romance of its interest. Whether it was my sense of security, or my recent introduction to the whirlpool of Niagara and the rapids of the St Lawrence, that produced the result, I know not; but the result certainly was, that, during the passage of the Hell-gate, or Hurl-gate, I felt neither an extraordinary shaking, nor any unusual sensation whatever, as, racing with another steamer, (which eventually outstripped us,) our steamship hurried through the turbulent waters, beating them down with her paddle-wheels, and tossing them aside, as if in her impatience to get into the more open sea.”

Impressions and experiences of the West Indies and North America in 1849

1850: Drake, Daniel

Daniel Drake; A Systematic Treatise, Historical, Etiological, and Practical, on the Principal Diseases of the Interior Valley of North America, as They Appear in the Caucasian, African, Indian, and Esquimaux Varieties of Its Population; Smith; 1850

Daniel Drake writes: “b. The St Lawrence begins, under the name of St Louis, in the same region with the Mississippi. By a rapid descent, it throws its water into the west end of Lake Superior, to issue from the opposite extremity under the name of St Mary’s. Lost in Lake Huron, it reappears under the name of St Clair River, which opens the lake of the same name; whence it emerges, with a new designation, the Detroit, to be absorbed by Lake Erie. Out of the eastern extremity of this lake, it emerges as the Niagara River, to precipitate itself, by the celebrated Falls, into Lake Ontario; from which, under the appellation of St Lawrence, it flows north eastwardly into the gulf which bears its name, about the forty-eighth degree of north latitude, and the sixty-fourth of west longitude, having a length of about two thousand miles.”

A systematic treatise, historical, etiological, and practical, on the principal diseases of the interior valley of North America, as they appear in the Caucasian, …

1850: Keefer, Thomas C

Thomas C Keefer; Prize Essay: The Canals of Canada: Their Prospects and Influence; AH Armour and Co; 1850

Thomas C Keefer writes: “CHARACTER OF THE ST LAWRENCE NAVIGATION.

“It is well known that there exists a broad difference between the scale of the improvements which connect Prescott and Montreal and those between Lakes Erie and Ontario. The locks upon the Welland Canal are 150 feet in length of chamber, by a width of 26 ½ feet, while those upon the St Lawrence Canals have 200 feet length of chamber, and a width not less than 45 feet: - the available draught of water in both navigations may be taken at nine feet. This difference has been the cause of some criticism, and regrets have been expressed that the locks upon the Welland had not been constructed upon a scale of equal magnitude with those on the St Lawrence Canals. These regrets we venture to say were premature; nor, with the experience of subsequent years, can any important improvement in this respect by now suggested. The locks upon the Cornwall Canal are fifty-five feet wide: - after the Union, this width for the other works was very properly reduced by ten feet; because every additional foot in width adds to the weakness, expense, and difficulty of management of the gates, besides delay in filling and passing the lock; while it also involves a corresponding increased of sectional area throughout the trunk of the canal. Upon the Welland Canal there is a towing path for the employment of horse power, but upon the St Lawrence the use of steam between the different canals became indispensable, on account of the current, and the distance of the channel (caused by the occasional intervention of islands and shoals) from the shore. A lock therefore which admits a serviceable tug-boat, of a sufficient size to afford space for engine and boilers, and reasonable proportion of freight and passengers, will fulfil the conditions required upon this route; and for this purpose we believe the present provision to be ample. To have proposed a navigation which should embrace all the requirements of perfected steam transportation, would have been as preposterous as vain. The model of the swiftest steamer is a problem yet unsolved in naval architecture; the dimensions have already exceeded 400 feet in length by seventy feet beam, and the extension seems limited only by the breadth of the waters on which they turn. In a few years Railroads will have superseded steamers for the transportation of mails, - and with the exception of a pleasure ride through the Rapids, the locomotive will have left nothing but emigrants, pork, flour, and lumber to the River.

“The dimensions of the locks upon the Welland Canal are admirably adapted to the class of vessels most suitable and profitable for the Western Lakes. They will easily pass the best models of the Buffalo and Chicago traders, a description of craft which had been adopted as best suited to the lake navigation without any reference to this canal. Larger sailing craft cannot always obtain full freight or be conveniently worked in all places upon the lakes; while the expense of construction, management and interest, while laid up or partially freighted, is proportionally greater. These locks are also adapted to a very efficient class of propellers, and a kind of paddle-wheel steamers, for freighting and immigrant passengers, known by the inelegant but descriptive name of ‘polly-wogs’. There does not here exist the same necessity for the use of powerful steamers and large locks as upon the St Lawrence; and inasmuch as the lockage of the Welland Canal is upwards of one hundred feet greater than that upon all the St Lawrence Canals combined, it would have been impolitic and extravagant to have constructed unwieldy steamboat locks, for a trade nine tenths of which will be carried on in craft which would not have half filled those locks. By reason of the great lockage (three hundred and thirty feet) the time now required, would, in filling and managing steamboat locks, have been doubled: while the confusion caused amongst so many smaller craft by the passage of these leviathans, and the precedence claimed by them, would be a standing nuisance to the navigation. The expense of gates, foundations, bridges, aqueducts, culverts, deep cuttings, and the whole excavated portion of the canal, would have been enhanced to an

amount beyond our utmost means in order to obtain a navigation practically inferior to the existing one. Neither passengers nor expensive steamers could long have afforded one or two days detention in the twenty-eight miles of canal between the lakes; and the result would have been, what will now take place whenever it may become desirable to employ steam generally for freighting business, - viz, the sailing craft will be towed to the termini of the canal, and thence be transferred from lake to lake by horse power. The steamers would not enter, because they are not profitable carriers of freight in a canal; nevertheless they will tow ten barrels where they only carry one.

“The depth of water provided for in the St Lawrence and Welland Canals is ample, being more than is afforded in many of the harbours upon the upper lakes, more than there is over the St Clair flats, and as much as the general features of the St Lawrence navigation will warrant.”

Prize Essay: The Canals of Canada: Their Prospects and Influence

1851: Poussin, Guillaume Tell

Guillaume Tell Poussin, Edmund L Du Barry; The United States; Its Power and Progress; Lippincott; 1851

Guillaume Tell Poussin and Edmund L Du Barry write: “From 1541 to 1542, James Cartier, appointed captain-general of five discovery ships, arrived at Cape Breton (Royal Island), fortified himself, and formed a first settlement there. He then pushed his exploration, up the St Lawrence, to a distance of two hundred miles beyond its mouth, where he founded a French colony, which, at a later period, received the protection of the Marquis of Roberval, under Charles the Ninth. But the severity of the climate checked the success of these first establishments; and France again forgot the importance it should have attached to the colonization of America.”

Guillaume Tell Poussin and Edmund L Du Barry continue: “In 1588, France, under the reign of Henry the Third, who had inherited the troubles and misfortunes heaped upon the kingdom by his predecessor, granted the exclusive trade of the Gulf of St Lawrence to Chaton and Noel, nephews of James Cartier; but this grant was soon revoked.

“In 1591, Ravillon repaired to the Gulf of St Lawrence, in order to explore the seal-fisheries which abounded in those latitudes.

“At last, Henry the Fourth revived those projects of colonization which had so often been abandoned, and, in 1598, the year in which the edict of Nantes had been issued in favor of the Protestants, he appointed the Marquis de la Roche his lieutenant-general for Canada, Hochelaga, Labrador, Rosembegue, Newfoundland, the River of the Great Bay and adjacent territory; authorized him to equip vessels, raise troops, and carry with him all persons necessary to the establishment of a colony; to build forts and cities, to concede lands, fiefs, other lordships under different titles; and to make such laws for the government of those countries as would be necessary for them.

“The Marquis de la Roche anchored off Sable Island, where he landed some of his crew, and sailed towards the main land; but, in returning to Sable Island, he encountered a heavy gale, which compelled him to make sail direct for France.

“Those whom he had left remained on Sable Island five years, during which time they lived upon the cattle that had been left there eighty years before by Baron Lery.

“The Sieur Chauvin, a gentleman of the chamber of Henry the Fourth, who, after the death of the Marquis de la Roche, had obtained the same terms, in 1601 made another fruitless attempt to form an establishment at Tadoussac, on the left shore of the River St Lawrence, ninety leagues above its mouth. This was the first post at which the French began the fur trade with the natives.

“In 1602, an English captain, Bartholomew Grosnold, equipped a vessel at his own expense, and sailed towards North America, hoping to make some discoveries. He examined the landing places as far north as latitude forty-three degrees; landed at Cape Cod, which he thus named from the quantity of cod fish in its vicinity; entered Buzzard’s Bay, and visited several islands, the largest of which he named Martha’s Vineyard, because of the number of its vines; treated and traded with the Indians; and returned to England with a large cargo of sassafras – a plant then considered a specific in certain diseases: but he derived no permanent advantage from his voyage.

“On the death of the Sieur Chauvin, Commander Chatte, Governor of Dieppe, obtained letters from Henry the Fourth to form a settlement in Canada. He engaged the services of the Sieur Champlain. This celebrated navigator made a voyage to America, which, in consequence of the extensive explorations he made in that country, was highly successful. Champlain was a native of Saintonge, and a captain in the French service. He constantly served in Canada, from 1603 to 1629, and had consequently been twenty-six years in making important discoveries in the interior, and upon the coast, from the Gulf of St Lawrence to New York, whose immense importance he had clearly recognized, by reason of the direct communication which the Hudson River opened with the Lakes, the head waters of the St Lawrence, and the sea. He took a large share in the colonization of Canada, and displayed great activity and remarkable sagacity in his intercourse with the natives. Champlain may justly be considered the founder of Canada, as well as one of its most able and interesting historians.”

The United States; its power and progress

1851: Simms, Jeptha Root

Jeptha Root Simms; Trappers of New York: Or a Biography of Nicholas Stoner & Nathaniel Foster; 2nd edition; J Munsell; 1851

Jeptha Root Simms writes: “Deer, bears and wolves were so numerous for years after Foster made his home on the borders of the forest, that he slaughtered them in great numbers. Indeed, it is believed, that he has killed more of those animals collectively, than any other individual in the state during the same period; having slain no less than seventy-six deer in one season, and ninety-six bears in three seasons. He has also been known to kill twenty-five wolves in one year; having a line of traps set for them from Salisbury to the St Lawrence. These animals were so great a pest among the sheep-folds when the country was new, that a liberal bounty was paid for their destruction by the state; increased at times by the liberality of certain counties and towns in which they were the most numerous. The avails of his hunting and trapping amounted in one year, when a liberal price was set upon wolves, to the sum of twelve hundred and fifty dollars. He occasionally killed a panther.”

Jeptha Root Simms continues: “‘The bald-eagle, which frequents this region, he would never disturb, for he thought those noble birds were made to live unmolested by man, ‘although,’ as he said, ‘the c—d Indians killed them.’ He seemed to feel as though he was lord of Brown’s tract, and that no one else, especially an Indian, had as good a right there. With the Indian he shot, I was well acquainted. He was indeed a noble looking fellow in appearance. He was of the St Regis tribe, with a cross of French blood. [Says Mr Graves, in a communication of the author, ‘I have often seen the Indian Foster killed. He was a very friendly, intelligent man, and belonged to the St Regis tribe on the St Lawrence.’] His wife was slender and very feminine. She was under the most perfect subjection to her husband, and was no doubt often ill treated by him when tipsy: in fact, I believe that his and Foster’s difficulties first commenced when they had both been drinking.”

Jeptha Root Simms continues: “When a sufficient length of time had transpired after this Indian’s death for intelligence of it to go to his friends near the river St Lawrence, a brother-in-law of his, who was a chief of the St Regis tribe, and a very likely man, came down to Brown’s tract to remove his sister. He said the deceased was at times a bad fellow, and had been expelled from their tribe for some misdemeanor. He had even threatened the life of this chief more than once; and he did not express any regret that he was killed; on the contrary, he said he thought Foster was justifiable in taking his life under the peculiar circumstances. Drid’s squaw was present when the body was brought down, but instead of manifesting sorrow she smiled, and with a pair of scissors she cut out a piece of his blanket or shirt, having in it a ball hole, and placed it carefully away in a work-pocket. Her brother had the body taken up and interred in Indian style; and before its reburial he cut out that part of the blanket having the remaining bullet holes in it; which he carried home with him. Foster had been sent to Martinsburg before this Indian arrived; but previous to leaving the tract, he advised the members of the Foster family still living there, to leave the place, as they were innocent of Drid’s death; and it was possible some of his blood might attempt to revenge his death. He took his sister and her children back with him, that he might provide for their wants.”

Trappers of New York: Or a Biography of Nicholas Stoner & Nathaniel Foster

1852: Bonnycastle, Sir Richard Henry

Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle; Sir James Edward Alexander, editor; Canada, as it Was, Is, and May be; Vol 1; Colburn and Co; 1852

Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle writes: “Just before the day, big with the fate of this rising city, we organized a regular system of signals from Fort Henry, by rockets and blue lights, so that the whole of the defending force knew exactly what to do; and, having heard from the usual sources that a man, who was formerly a skipper, or master of one of the American barges, plying with wood on the River St Lawrence, had enlisted as a private in the Militia, and was then doing duty in Fort Henry, and that he was a creature of Bill Johnson, the pirate, and was appointed to spike the cannon the night of the attack, to open the gates, and to blow up the outer magazine, in which the dreaded Congreve-rockets were stored, I took up my night’s abode in one of the casemates, and, without letting any one into the secret but an officer, I sent quietly for my friend.”

Canada, as it Was, Is, and May be

1853: Hough, Franklin Benjamin

Franklin Benjamin Hough; A History of St Lawrence and Franklin Counties, New York: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time; Little & Co; 1853

Franklin Benjamin Hough writes: “This voyage was succeeded by others under Sebastian Cabot, son of the preceding, in 1498; and by Gaspar Cortereal in 1590, to whom the discovery of the Gulf of St Lawrence is said to be due.* This adventurer returned to Lisbon in the month of October of that year, laden with timber and slaves, seized from among the natives of the coasts he visited.

“On a second voyage Cortereal perished at sea. In 1504, the French first attempted a voyage to the New World; and in that year, some Basque and Breton fishermen began to ply their calling on the bank of Newfoundland and along its adjacent coasts. From these the island of Cape Breton derived its name. The dreary picture of these bleak and foggy coasts, and the mystery which hung upon the fate of the second expedition of Verazzano, who had been sent out by Francis I from France, deterred for a time all efforts of the French to colonize this region. In 1525, Stefano Gomez sailed from Spain, and is supposed to have entered the Gulf of St Lawrence, and to have traded upon its shores. A Castilian tradition relates, that finding neither gold nor silver upon the coasts, nor any thing which conveyed to these sordid adventurers an idea of mines or wealth of any kind, they frequently exclaimed ‘Aca-nada’; (signifying ‘here is nothing’) and that the natives caught up the sound, which was repeated when other Europeans arrived, and thus gave origin to the designation of Canada. This origin of the word is also confirmed by Father Hennepin.

“A Geo de Lorimier, an intelligent half breed, residing at the Saut St Louis, and who is well acquainted with the native language, stated to the author that the word Canada was derived from the Indian word Ka-na-ta, which signifies, a village.

“In 1534, Francis I, king of France, listening to the urgent advice of Philip Chabot, admiral of France, who portrayed to him in glowing colors the riches and growing power of Spain, derived from her trans-atlantic, despatched Jacques Cartier, an able navigator of St Malmo, who sailed on the 20th of April, 1534, with two ships of only sixty tons each, and a hundred and twenty men, and reached Newfoundland in May. After coasting along for some time, without knowing that it was an island, he at length passed the straits of Belleisle, and traversed the Gulf of St Lawrence. Having spent a part of the summer on these coasts, he sailed on the 25th of July, highly pleased with the hospitable reception he had received from the natives, with whom he traded for furs and provisions.

“His report induced the French king to attempt a colony in the new discovered regions; and in May, 1535, Cartier again sailed with three small ships, with a numerous company of adventurers, which arrived on the coast of Newfoundland much scattered and weakened by a disastrous storm on the 26th of July.

“Having taken in wood and water, they proceeded to explore the gulf but were overtaken on the 1st of August by a storm, which obliged them to seek a port, difficult of access, but with a safe anchorage, near the mouth of the Great river. They left this harbor on the 7th, and on the 10th came to a gulf filled with

numerous and beautiful islands; Cartier gave this gulf the name of St Lawrence, having discovered it on that saint’s festival day.** From this, the Great river and our county derive their name.

“Proceeding on their voyage, they reached on the 15th, the isle since called Anticosti, and exploring both shores of the St Lawrence, at length they discovered another island of great extent, fertility and beauty, covered with woods and laden with thick clustering vines, which they named the Isle de Bacchus, now called Orleans. Pleased with the friendly disposition of the natives and the comfortable prospects for a winter sojourn, Cartier moored his vessels where a little river flowed into a ‘goodly and pleasant sound’, which stream he named the St Croix, near the Indian village of Stadacona, the site of the modern city of Quebec. Cartier subsequently during the autumn ascended the river to the populous village of Hochelaga, and was every where received in the kindest manner by the natives. To a hill, three miles from the village, from whose summit the river and country for thirty leagues around was spread out in great beauty, he gave the name of Mont Royal, which has since been applied to the populous city on that island, - the modern Montreal, which lies at its foot.

“*This discovery has been also ascribed to Jacques Cartier, who entered the gulf on the 10th of August, 1535, and gave it the name of the saint whose festival was celebrated on that day. – Charlevoix.

“**‘Cartier donna au golphe le nom de St Laurent, ou plutot il, le donna a une baye qui est entre l’isle d’Anticosti et la cote septentrionale, d’ou ce nom c’est etendu, a tout le golphe dout cette baye fait partie.’ – Hist de la Nouvelle France, Tome i, p 15.

“According to Catholic accounts, Saint Lawrence, or Saint Lorenzo, was a deacon to Pope Xystus, or Sistus II, who suffered martyrdom for the faith of Christ, by being boiled on a gridiron, AD 253. His festival is celebrated on the 10th of August, and his name occurs in the litany of the saints in the Catholic ritual.”

A History of   St .   Lawrence   and Franklin Counties, New York: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time

1855: Hardy, Campbell

Campbell Hardy; Sporting adventures in the New world, or, Days and nights of moose-hunting in the pine forest of Acadia; Hurst and Blackett; 1855

Campbell Hardy writes: “The Micmacs boast that they are the bravest and best of the Indian nations. They look down upon all others, and speak of them with contempt. With the Mohawks, who reside on the St Lawrence, they had long and bloody wars in the ancient times. The northern part of New Brunswick was their usual field of battle; and sometimes they have met as far south as the Miramichi.”

Sporting adventures in the New world, or, Days and nights of moose-hunting in the pine forest of Acadia

1855: Weld, Charles Richard

Charles Richard Weld; A Vacation Tour in the United States and Canada; Collection canadiana de Louis Melzack; Collections speciales; Travels in the Old South; Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans; 1855

Charles Richard Weld writes: “We arrived at Coburg in the afternoon, dined at the Globe Hotel, - a large establishment conducted on the United States system, - and at six were on our way to Kingston in the mail steamer. Here we changed boats, and at five in the morning commenced our descent of the St Lawrence. The hazy veil of smoke which had dimmed the river on my previous visit to Kingston had entirely disappeared, and the glorious river gleamed among the thousand isles like molten silver in the morning sun. Our passage among these was most picturesque; now winding through labyrinthine channels scarcely wider than the breadth of the steamboat, now crossing broad reaches of the river as large as our English lakes. The grand scale of nature in this country, always striking, is here almost overwhelming. Well did Moore write of this scenery, as on a scale

“‘- which man, / Caged in the bounds of Europe’s pigmy plan, / Can scarcely dream of; which the eye must see, / To know how beautiful this world can be!’

“The variety of wood, rock, and water is endless, and if the islands, which are of all dimensions, and considerably exceed one thousand in number, were not so uniform in height, the scenery would be perfect. Looking into the future, which in this part of Canada unfolds visions of boundless prosperity, I thought this time, probably, not far distant, when these islands will be the summer homes of merchant princes whose fleets will cover the St Lawrence.

“The contrast between the American and Canadian shores of this mighty river is very remarkable. On the left bank extensive farms, rivalling those in the old country are of frequent occurrence, while the right bank is clothed by the unbroken primeval forest, which comes down to the water’s edge.

“We passed numerous ships and smaller craft, besides rafts of enormous dimensions, on which curious plank structures were erected to catch the favouring breeze. A short distance below Prescott, the current, which above that town flows with majestic smoothness, becomes broken, affording evidence of the vicinity of the rapids. Happily the day was most propitious, for sunshine is essential to the enjoyment of the wonderful spectacle. Presently a long line of foam-crested waves appeared on the water horizon, and dashing on, for our speed was now excessive, we were soon battling with the first rapid. The might and majesty of the lordly St Lawrence is deeply impressed on the mind by the rushing waters; which, however, neither here, nor at the two next rapids, attain the fulness of their strength; for, grand as they are, the ‘Cedars’ far surpasses them in sublimity. Here, the river, confined between islands, seems to gather strength for its mightiest effort. The huge breakers roaring madly over the rocks, the delicious green tint of the water crested by snow-white foam, the surging tide dashing evermore against the shore, form a picture set in a frame of magnificent cedars clothing the banks, alike unequalled and wonderful. How the steamer lives in the strife is amazing. Standing at the bow, I saw and felt her plunge into the boiling caldron amidst rocks, collision with which would involve instant destruction; then, bounding upwards she rushed with reeling motion down for miles. The excitement is considerably enhanced by a sense of risk which cannot be cast off.

“At the lower extremity of Lake St Francis – a magnificent expanse of the river forty miles long – a stone monument marks the boundary between Upper and Lower Canada. The neat houses of the French Canadians, with their red roofs and trim gardens, occupy both banks of the river. After running more formidable rapids, we arrived at the mouth of the magnificent Ottawa, whose dark tide rolls on unmixed

with the clear waters of the St Lawrence. Here is the scene of Moore’s undying ‘Canadian Boat Song’, which he wrote on the fifth day of his descent of the St Lawrence from Kingston.* Now the passage is made in one day; but the romance of the voyage is in a great measure destroyed by the mode of transport being a puffing steamer instead of a bark canoe. On arriving opposite the Iroquois settlement of Caughnawaga, or ‘The Village of the Rapids’ (in allusion to those a short distance below), we caught snatches of ‘La Claire Fontaine’, the national air of the Canadian inhabitants.

“The voices proceeded from voyageurs navigating a huge raft. As they dashed the ponderous oars in the water, they enlivened their toils by singing their favourite song. I procured a copy of it at Quebec. The following stanzas will sufficiently describe its nature:

“‘A la claire fontaine, / M’en allant promener, / J’ai trouve l’eau si belle / Que je me suis baigne. / Il y a long-temps que je t’aime, / Jamais je ne t’oublierai.

“‘Chante, rossignol chante, / Toi qui as le coeur gai; / Tu as le coeur a rire, / Moi je l’ai a pleurer; / Il y a, etc.

“‘Tu as le coeur a rire, / Moi je l’ai a pleurer; / J’ai perdu ma maltresse, / Sans pouvoir la trouver; / Il y a, etc’

“We were now approaching ‘La Chine’, the headquarters of the Hudson’s Bay Company, from which the voyageurs start in the spring, up the Ottawa, to the Company’s hunting-grounds. La Chine derives its name from a curious circumstance, related by Charlevoix. The unfortunate De Sales, who was murdered by his countrymen, was firmly persuaded a passage to China existed by the St Lawrence; but having been arrested in his progress at this place, his companions gave it the name which it retains. Another instance of the strong belief formerly entertained of the existence of a passage to India through the North American continent.

“*Thirty-three years after he wrote this song I had the pleasure of showing Moore the original MS [manuscript], which he had entirely forgotten. He had pencilled the lines, nearly as they stand in his works, in the blank page of a book which happened to be in his canoe, from whence he transcribed them at night. The sight of the original copy of these famous lines, recalling youthful days and happy associations, produced a great effect on the poet, who alluded, in a touching manner, to his passage down the rapids of life.”

A Vacation Tour in the United States and Canada

1856: Watson, Elkanah

Elkanah Watson; Winslow Cossoul Watson, editor; Men and times of the Revolution; or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson: including journals of travels in Europe and America, from 1777 to 1842, with his correspondence with public men and reminiscences and incidents of the Revolution; 2nd edition; Dana and Co; 1856

Elkanah Watson writes: “The Dutch chimes are so exceedingly musical and sweet, that I often stopped in the middle of the street to listen to their harmonious notes. The bells are clustered in great numbers, in niches around the towers of the churches. In the church of St Lawrence, we noticed graves, from which

bones and skulls were protruding. A horrid spectacle! An old sexton was busily employed in collecting the bones and arranging them in separate boxes, about three feet square, to be re-interred in this compact form. This I find in the ancient cities of the continent is the prevailing custom, and is less abhorrent to the human mind than the promiscuous and unhonoring mingling of them in the piles of the charnel-houses of England.

“There is a monument erected in the church of St Lawrence, which bears a Latin inscription of the following import:

“‘JOHN BRAAKEL, / The terror of the sea. To whom / Fire, earth and water submitted, / Is covered with this stone. / His spirit, even now, seems ready to burst into flame, / And to break from its earthly habitation, / As he broke the chains of iron.’”

Men and times of the Revolution; or, Memoirs of Elkanah Watson: including journals of travels in Europe and America, from 1777 to 1842, with his …

1859: Kirby, William

William Kirby; The UE [The Unity of the Empire]; a Tale of Upper Canada; 1859

William Kirby writes: “XXIX.

“‘The rapids passed, th’ eternal roar is still; / The birch and pine no longer crown each hill; / But nobler oaks and spreading maples throw / Their softer shadows on the earth below; / White westward, ever westward, speeding on / To seek his bourne beneath the setting sun, / The traveller forgets his toil and pain / When the broad river is at peace again; / And he surveys the fertile plains expand / Rich with the verdure of the upper land. / Again St Lawrence flows with even stream, / Smooth as the music of a lover’s dream; / Through waving meads and spreading groves, his tide / Reflects the verdant banks on either side. / Not greener pastures those, the Prophet king, / Divinely sang by Shiloh’s sacred spring, / Where he lay down forgetful of his woes, / His troubled throne, and Israel’s restless foes.’”

The UE; a Tale of Upper Canada

1859: MacGregor, John

John MacGregor; Our Brothers and Cousins: A Summer Tour in Canada and the States; Seeley, Jackson, and Halliday; 1859

John MacGregor writes: “The telegraph wires are carried even through these remote forests; and it was in one of these places we heard first of the successful laying of the Atlantic cable. The telegraphist could scarcely believe it; but in less than one minute he had asked and got an answer to his question through 500 miles of wire, which gave the assurance that it was even so, ‘all right’; and everyone appeared to have unmixed joy at the pleasant annihilation of the distance between their adopted land and their English ‘home’. A little beerhouse in such places elevates itself to an hotel, and paints ‘Gents’ Parlour’ over one door, while two doors off there is ‘The Commercial Bank’, a hut with only one window, and the whole of which would go into a bedroom. We came out on the St Lawrence at River de Loup, where on

Sunday a priest played polkas and waltzes on the seraphine in a huge Romish church. For the last four days I have not seen one negro; but the last we met, was a splendid specimen of a handsome man, and his wages were one dollar a day.

“The Pilgrim Islands on the St Lawrence are famed for the frequent mirage which glows around them, and causes an inverted image to be seen faithfully depicted in the sky above. So accurate is this image, that ships may be observed upon an upturned sea long before they are visible upon the natural horizon. We speed over this in a fast steamer, with deck piled over deck; and new faces and new subjects for talk amply fill up the time, until Quebec’s narrow streets and lofty citadel seem to assure us, that now at length we have reached old Europe again; but the British flag and red-coated soldiers with French-speaking shopkeepers again confound our ideas, and finally, the mind is made up that it is neither England nor the ‘Continent’, but Canada that can produce such an anomaly.”

Our brothers and cousins: a summer tour in Canada and the States

1861: Kohl, Johann Georg

Johann Georg Kohl; Mrs Percy Sinnett, translator; Travels in Canada, and Through the States of New York and Pennsylvania; Vol 1-2; Collections speciales; George Manwaring; 1861

Johann Georg Kohl writes: “With the same quiet but earnest manner, springing over the rocks like a chamois, and watching and sharing our enthusiasm, she led us to several other points, and waved her arms upwards to the clouds, and downwards to the bottom of the fall, and then she tripped along a narrow foot-path, along which we followed her, as soon as we had divined her intention, which was to show us the fall from below. This is the principal scene. You follow the path for about half a mile down to the shores of the St Lawrence, turn to the left, and find yourself in a little river, bay, or cove, surrounded by rocky walls, and filled by the waters of the St Lawrence, like a tranquil little lake. At the bottom of this cove, which is filled and emptied by the tide, you see the fall. It is said that this is most beautiful in the winter; the little bay then freezes completely over, and you can walk on the ice quite up to the fall. In that season, which is in general in Canada the season of leisure, of enjoyment, and social pleasure (the short summer, when the navigation is open, must be used for something better) – in the winter this rocky valley is filled with brilliant sledges, skaters, and promenaders from Quebec, who enjoy the fresh air and the beautiful scenery in their favourite fashion. Even the cataract itself in then partly frozen, and makes with its immense icicles and columns an imposing appearance.

“Exactly opposite the fall in the bay, lies a great black mass of rock, which has been thrown down in some convulsion, and round this the gorgeously-coloured clouds were forming a rainbow with most picturesque effect. In winter the spray settles as ice upon it, and then the block grows into a huge lofty glacier, and is sometimes turned to account by a gay party from Quebec, as a montagne Russe, or we might say Canadian – for this pleasure is just as much in vogue on the St Lawrence as at Moscow. The name it bears here is Toboggening, from an old Indian word, for the practice is also probably an Indian one. Small sledges made in the Indian fashion are called at Toboggen; they are made like their canoes, out of one piece, and barely afford room for a lady and gentleman.”

Travels in Canada, and through the states of New York and Pennsylvania

1861: McLachlan, Alexander

Alexander McLachlan; The Emigrant: And Other Poems; Rollo & Adam; 1861

Alexander McLachlan writes: “V.

“‘Hard was poor old Donald’s fate, / In a strange land desolate; / Scarcely had he crossed the sea, / When his son, the last of three, / He the beautiful and brave, / Found an exile’s nameless grave; / Then his wife, who was his pride, / Down at Point St Charles died, / And he made for her a grave, / By the lone St Lawrence wave; / And at last when all were gone, / Heartless, homeless, wandered on; / Still one comforter he found, / In poor Fleetfoot, his stag hound, / They had climbed the hills of heather, / They had chased the deer together, / And together they would mourn, / O’er days never to return.’”

The Emigrant: And Other Poems

1861: Spedon, Andrew Learmont

Andrew Learmont Spedon; Tales of the Canadian Forest; J Lovell; 1861

Andrew Learmont Spedon writes: “‘Yes, I was ship-wrecked in the St Lawrence gulf, when coming to this country. The ship ran against an iceberg, and sank. Several of the passengers were lost, among whom was one near and dear to me.”

Tales of the Canadian Forest

1861: Woods, Nicholas Augustus

Nicholas Augustus Woods; The Prince of Wales in Canada and the United States; 1861

Nicholas Augustus Woods writes: “His Royal Highness went outside to one of the openings in the masonry of the centre tower, and gazed down on the St Lawrence rushing past in one grand bluish-looking stream far below, sweeping under the bridge in eddies and whirlpools, or bursting into little spirts of angry foam as they touched the sharp edges of the granite masonry. None could glance below on this great river, and then look along the sides of the iron tube, which tapered away at each end in the distance till it seemed a mere reed of metal, without feeling astounded not only how such a design was carried out, but how it could ever have been conceived as practicable.

“The formality of completing the bridge was here gone through. Four rivets had been left unfinished, and these were closed with iron bolts by two workmen. The last, a silver rivet, was clinched by the Prince himself. The ceremony is nothing to describe, though it would have made a grand picture. The two workmen wielding their tremendous hammers with a din that was awful, the rich uniforms of the Prince and suite, half hidden in the gloom, and softened down by the wreaths of thick wood-smoke which curled from the funnel of the engine in the background – the little glimpse through the opening into the bright sunlight – the St Lawrence far beneath – the flaunting decorations and shining roofs of Montreal beyond the river – all made a striking subject for a picture.”

The Prince of Wales in Canada and the United States

1862: Spence (land surveyor), Thomas

Thomas Spence (land surveyor); The Settler’s Guide in the United States and British North American Provinces; Davis & Kent; 1862

Thomas Spence writes: “The principal sea-ports in Maine are Portland, situated on Casco Bay, and Bangor, the capital, on the Penobscot. The former of these is now the water terminus of the Grand Trunk Railroad, extending for 1,300 miles through the State of Maine and the Canadas, and crossing the St Lawrence River by the Victoria Bridge, that stupendous effort of engineering in this age of railroads, steam, etc, the bridge being three miles long. But here I must pause to describe the harbor and city of Portland, as it is the outlet of the European travel of the Canadas and their winter port for shipping and receiving goods when the St Lawrence is frozen up and totally ice-bound.”

The Settler's Guide in the United States and British North American Provinces

1863: Hind, Henry Youle

Henry Youle Hind; Explorations in the Interior of the Labrador Peninsula: The Country of the Montagnais and Nasquapee Indians; Vol 2; Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green; 1863

Henry Youle Hind writes: “The year preceding their wars with the Mohawks, in 1644, disease and famine had so reduced the number of Indians in the neighbourhood of the Lower St Lawrence, that in places where, eight years before, the missionaries had been accustomed to see from eighty to one hundred lodges at the different wintering stations, they then saw only five or six. Notwithstanding this great diminution in their numbers, Barthelmy Vimont, a Superior of the French Jesuit Missions in Canada, writing from Quebec, in 1644, an account of the state of the missions, refers to the vast population of Indians of Algonkin origin which peopled the valley of the St Lawrence. His account is, no doubt, greatly exaggerated. He speaks not of tens of thousands, but of hundreds of thousands, awaiting the zeal of the missionaries. Most of the other Jesuit fathers speak of the scarcity of aborigines belonging to the Algonkin races, although they represent the Hurons and Iroquois or Mohawks to have been very numerous. The different tribes which formed the Montagnais nation were many in number, and scattered over an immense extent of country. The Jesuits, among other insignificant bands, speak of a nation called the Oumamiwek, whose hunting-grounds were to the north-east of the Bersiamits, about 340 miles below Quebec. In 1652 Pere Jean de Quest visited a number of these people, who had come to the coast from the interior. They were at the time at war with the Gaspe Indians, who were in the habit of crossing the St Lawrence to hunt moose, bear, and beaver, with which their country abounded. He further says, ‘They are either Bersiamits (Montagnais) or some allies of the Esquimaux, who inhabit the northern coasts of the Gulf below Anticosti.’”

Explorations in the Interior of the Labrador Peninsula: the Country of the Montagnais and Nasquapee Indians

1864: De Gaspe, Philippe Aubert

Philippe Aubert De Gaspe; Georgiana M Ward Pennee, translator; The Canadians of old; G&GE Desbarats; 1864

Philippe Aubert De Gaspe writes: “It was a long and obstinate struggle between the powerful element, and the obstacle which impeded its course; but at length this immense lake, which was continually being fed by the principal river and its affluents, rose to the level of the bank of ice whose foundations it undermined at the same time. Under the pressure of this enormous weight, the embankment gave way with a crash that shook both shores. As the South River suddenly widens below the St Nicholas, this compact mass of ice, now freed from all hindrance, moved down as swiftly as an arrow, hurrying headlong towards the falls that it had to pass over before falling into the basin of the St Lawrence. Dumais had accepted his death with resignation; calm amidst the turmoil, his eyes raised to heaven and his hands folded on his breast, he appeared to be absorbed in deep meditation, as if he had already broken every tie that bound him to the material world.”

The Canadians of old

1865: Hunt, Thomas Sterry

Thomas Sterry Hunt; Canada Dept of Agriculture, contributor; Canada: A Geographical, Agricultural, and Mineralogical Sketch; printed at “Le Canadien” office; 1865

Thomas Sterry Hunt writes: “FISH MANURE.

“A most important and hitherto neglected source of valuable manure is to be found in the great fisheries of the Gulf of St-Lawrence. The use of fish for a manure is known in many parts of the world, and there are small and inferior kinds of fish which on the coast of the United States are taken in great quantities expressly for the purpose, and either applied directly to the fields, or converted into a concentrated manure nearly equal in value to Peruvian guano. For this purpose they are cooked by steam, pressed to remove the water, and in the case of some kinds of fish, a large quantity of valuable oil, and finally dried and ground to powder.”

Canada: A geographical, agricultural, and mineralogical sketch

1865: Murdoch, Beamish

Beamish Murdoch; A History of Nova-Scotia or Acadie; 1865

Beamish Murdoch writes: “1702. King William the third died in March, 1702, and was succeeded by queen Anne. On the 4th May, os [Old Style], 15th, ns [New Style], 1702, war was declared by queen Anne, the emperor of Germany, and the united provinces of Holland, etc, against France and Spain. The Indians of Acadie seized three fishing vessels belonging to Massachusetts, of which two, if not all three, were restored, through the interposition of M de Brouillan. [2 Hutch, Maine, 135.] The Bostonians had

captured many French vessels on the coast. The French prisoners they had made were said to be treated very severely; and it was stated that they had orders from the queen not to allow any of them to be exchanged; and further, that they intended to hang captain Baptiste, an officer of the garrison of Port Royal – who had been made prisoner in the previous time of peace, and who had then failed to recover his freedom, on the ground of his being a pirate, (corsair.) On hearing this, M de Brouillan sent an express messenger to Boston, to declare to the governor that he should exercise reprisals in case this menace was carried into effect. This saved Baptiste’s life. The messenger reported to Brouillan that vessels from England were expected at Boston, on whose arrival they meant to besiege Quebec, and to cruise in the Saint Lawrence, to stop the entrance of French vessels. Brouillan immediately sent off the same messenger to M de Callieres, the governor general of Quebec, to inform him of the intended invasion.”

A History of Nova-Scotia or Acadie

1866: Garneau, Francois-Xavier

Francois-Xavier Garneau; Andrew Bell (of Southampton), translator; History of Canada, from the Time of Its Discovery Till the Union Year 1840-41; Vol 1; 3rd edition; Lovell; 1866

Francois-Xavier Garneau writes: “The Hurons, whose real name has been variously written Yendats, Ouendats, Wyandots, and Yendots, but to whom the early French colonists gave the appellation we now know them by, and which is derived from our term hure, because of the rugged locks of unkempt hair of the people of that race; the Hurons, we say, lived amidst the Algonquins, on the margins of Lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario. The Sioux, whose vast country was to the west of the Mississippi, occupied a small country to the eastward of Lake Michigan. Thus, as New France comprehended the river St Lawrence and all the lakes out of which it flows, it included a part of three aboriginal ‘nations’, who spoke the Sioux, Algonquin, and Huron languages, or three mother tongues of the Indians. Originally, the Algonquin dialect was spoken in the Lake Champlain district, and in the southern Ottawa region extending to the north; but in the sequel, migrations of tribes speaking other dialects, spread these in divers parts of Canada.

“The principal tribes speaking Algonquin in New France were, to the south of the St Lawrence, the Micmacs or Souriquois, whom occupied Nova Scotia, Gaspe and islands adjacent: a small tribe, their number never exceeding 4000. The Etchemins, who inhabited the seaboard countries, and the territory watered by the rivers St John and St Croix. The Abenaquis, who were located between the Micmacs and the Etchemins, the river St Lawrence, New England, and the Iroquois. The Sosokis, a mongrel race, were refugees from English colonies, living under French protection.

“To the north of the St Lawrence, were: - The Montagnais, on the borders of the Saguenay and Lake St John; the Papinachois, the Bersiamites, the Hedgehogs, and several other tribes. The Algonquins, (properly, Lenni-Lenappes,) whose occupation extending from a point rather below Quebec to the river St Maurice; one of their tribes inhabiting the island of Montreal. The Ouataouais, or Ottawas, who ranged at first about the country watered by the river which still bears their name above the Montreal district; and who extended themselves afterwards as far as Lake Superior.”

Francois-Xavier Garneau continues: “It was while the country was agitated by these discords, that February 5, 1663, a violent earthquake-shock was felt in most regions of Canada, also in some parts of the New Netherlands and New England. The first shock was followed by others, of a weaker kind, in Canada, at intervals till August or September following. Notwithstanding the duration of these perturbations, so rare in our latitudes, the damage done was small; being confined to the fall of a few chimney-tops, and to the dislocation of some rocks in the St Lawrence, below Cape Torment.”

History of Canada, from the Time of Its Discovery Till the Union Year 1840-41

1866: Knight, Thomas F

Thomas F Knight; Descriptive Catalogue of the Fishes of Nova Scotia; Issue 1 of Pamphlets on the fishes and fisheries of Nova Scotia; A Grant; 1866

Thomas F Knight writes: “The white porpoise is found in large shoals in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It furnishes oil of a superior quality. An excellent quality of leather is made from its skin.”

Descriptive catalogue of the fishes of Nova Scotia

1867: Drinkwater, DF

DF Drinkwater; United Press Association, contributor; Letters to the Connecticut Courant, Pennsylvania Independent Republican, Washington Chronicle, North Carolina Union Banner, Nemaha Courier, Pittsburg Commercial, and Topeka Record; Selected Americana from Sabin’s Dictionary …; United Press Association; 1867

DF Drinkwater writes: “The site of Quebec was first visited three hundred and thirty years ago by Jacques Cartier, the celebrated navigator of St Malo, in France, who being in search of a northwest passage to China, entered the St Lawrence and made his way to Stadacona, a mere collection of Indian huts upon the Charles river, below and to the northward of the promontory upon which Quebec now stands. The City was founded in 1608, by Champlain, the agent of a company of merchants who had determined upon making settlements in Canada. There are churches and other buildings here, staunch and firm as ever, two hundred and fifty years old.

“The greatest object of interest to the tourist is the Citadel. We went through it day before yesterday. It is known as one of the most solid, ingenious and impregnable of modern fortifications in the world. Indeed, the whole town is now most strongly fortified and heavily armed. The Fenian excitement caused Johnny Bull to put everything in order in a military point hereabouts, you know.

“Yesterday afternoon we drove down to Montmorenci Falls, seven miles distant, and were well paid for the trouble and expense. The fall is two hundred and fifty feet. The Montmorenci river is not large, but narrow – fifty feet at the falls. It enters the St Lawrence one-fourth of a mile below. On the way we passed through the old French village of Beauport, and near the very house in which Montcalm lived. It is, like many others here, a one-story stone building, with steep roof and high chimneys.”

Letters to the Connecticut courant, Pennsylvania independent republican, Washington chronicle, North Carolina union banner, Nemaha courier, Pittsburg …

1868: Hind, Henry Youle

Henry Youle Hind; The Dominion of Canada: Containing a Historical Sketch of the Preliminaries and Organization of Confederation; Also the Vast Improvements Made … for the Past Eighty Years Under the Provincial Names. With a Large Amount of Statistical Information; L Stebbens; 1868

Henry Youle Hind writes: “SCALE OF NAVIGATION.

“In commencing the Lachine Canal, in 1821, on a larger scale than those in progress by New York, Lower Canada no doubt supposed she was undertaking all which the circumstances of the case required. In fact, both Upper and Lower Canada were under the delusion that equal facilities in the shape of artificial navigation would give the St Lawrence with its short canals the advantage over the Hudson with its long ones. They afterwards discovered that it was to be a competition between the attractions offered by rival seaports and their ocean aspect, rather than between the inland routes by which these were reached; that when the Canada route would have the patronage of one hundred thousand, the American would have that of one million; in short, that it would require the development of all the superiority of which the St Lawrence route was capable, to counterbalance its political and geographical disadvantages.

“In comparing Montreal with New York, the great superiority of the latter in shipping accommodation, in cheap export rates, ready sale of large quantities, and especially in the supply of back freights to the inland craft, as well as in the control which the capital of the Atlantic States exercises over the exports of the Western ones – are reasons sufficient to account for the preference which has been given to the latter. But another reason for the slight effect hitherto produced by our canal expenditure, is that all the great American public works were prospectively constructed in advance of the demands of the country; that they have hitherto been more useful for the purpose of expediting the settlement of the interior than as affording an outlet for an existing commerce; and that, until 1860, the carrying capacity of the canals and railways has generally exceeded the wants of the country. With this condition of affairs, railways, supported by a passenger traffic, and desirous of raising their stock quotations by swelling their gross receipts at any cost, have worn out their iron in carrying freights at non-paying rates. While the stream of commerce is weak it can easily be diverted; but when it overflows, capacity must exert its influence so long as there is intelligence and ability to make the proper use of it. If the competition had been confined to the water routes, that by the St Lawrence would ere this, from sheer necessity, have been better patronized; but the premature birth of a railway system before the existence of a legitimate railway business – a system which was hungering for the coarse staples of export – dissipated the traffic, before even the Eric Canal was overtaxed, by offering facilities which could not be equaled on the water, and rates which could not be afforded on the land. Moreover, a legitimate winter traffic – in exports to which an extra price obtained, or interest saved, counterbalanced extra freight – has enabled the railways to remove, during that season, much of the produce on which the canals relied.

“The further enlargement of the Welland Canal has been agitated for several years, but as the question has presented itself as one of convenience and economy of transport, rather than of insufficiency for tonnage, - it has made little progress. Larger locks would admit the larger class of vessels now excluded, and thereby somewhat cheapen freights; but until the capacity of the present canal is exhausted, and a better return on the investment guaranteed, it is not probable that any determined action will be taken. This question must be, moreover, mainly influenced by international relations; and by the probability of the St Lawrence becoming a route for western imports as well as exports. If Chicago outgrows her commercial vassalage to New York, so that the West is permitted to buy as well as sell in Montreal, Canada can afford to enlarge her avenues to the seaboard. Hitherto we have reaped little but a barren reputation for all our cosmopolitan exertions in delivering the West from the monopoly of the New York canals. Up to 1845, and before our St Lawrence canals were opened, foreign salt was excluded from western packing-houses, by a toll, on the Erie Canal, of nearly three dollars per barrel, and Nova Scotia plaster from Western canals by a toll of over three dollars per ton. Even now, New York, in order to protect her own products, charges foreign salt five times, and foreign gypsum three times as much as the domestic article. Millions of dollars have been saved to the Western country by the reduction of tolls on the Erie Canal since 1845, and though some of this is due to railway competition, - yet, on the quantity of wheat alone, which was shipped by canal from Buffalo in 1861, the reduction in tolls over those of 1845, amounts to nearly a million of dollars. The down toll upon a barrel of flour, is now 15 cents, and the up toll on 100 lbs maide, 26 cents, - less than in 1845.

“The St Lawrence canals were designed for side-wheel steamers; the Welland Canal for sail-vessels and screw steamers. The number of sail-craft employed on the lakes, American and Canadian, is one thousand two hundred, and the whole number of steamers is three hundred and seventy, of which about one hundred are tugs, and which may, therefore, properly be assigned to the sail fleet. Of the remaining two hundred and seventy, one hundred and fifty only are side-wheel boats, including ferry boats, and river and lake steamers which do not navigate canals. This proves that in a short canal connecting long lines of deep water and sail navigation, and with the great amount of lockage of the Welland Canal, provision for side-wheel steamers is as unnecessary as it would be inconvenient. The mammoth side-wheel steamers can not pay; they were the creation of rival railway routes as an attraction for passengers, - were sustained as long as possible by railway capital or railway receipts; but now they are, with two exceptions, either rotting at the railway docks or have gone to sea. Any attempt to accommodate such experimental or exceptional craft, either in the St Lawrence or Welland canals, would be as impracticable as absurd. They can not carry freight profitably; and, while railways are in existence, they could not retain their passengers in a canal. If our canals were enlarged for such boats they would not use them, except to shift their routes, or in case of a sale. It is desirable for the strength, safety, and facility of handling the gates, that the width of the locks should not be unnecessarily increased; and there is a great waste of time, as well as of water, in filling a large lock in order to pass a small vessel. Moreover, if the width of the lock is increased, the whole trunk of the canal should be widened proportionally.”

The Dominion of Canada: Containing a Historical Sketch of the Preliminaries and Organization of Confederation; Also the Vast Improvements Made... for the …

1869: Brown, Richard

Richard Brown; A history of the island of cape breton; 1869

Richard Brown writes: “The expedition against Quebec, comprising thirty-four ships and 2,000 volunteers, under the command of Sir William Phipps, sailed from Boston on August 19, but owing to contrary winds did not reach Quebec until October 16, just three days after the Governor, Frontenac, had received warning of the departure and destination of the expedition by an Abenaquis Indian from the Piscataqua. This short warning, however, gave Frontenac time to adopt such measures as were necessary for the defence of his post. The inhabitants gave all the help in their power to the few hundred irregulars which formed the garrison of Quebec, in repairing the walls and fortifications; and the militia flocked in so promptly from the out-settlements, that when Phipps, who had anchored his ships near Beauport, demanded the surrender of the place, Frontenac felt himself strong enough to peremptorily reject the summons. In fact, the force within the walls was quite equal in number to that of the enemy, with the advantage of a strong position protected by fortifications, and by a river not fordable except at low water. The chances were clearly in favour of the defence. Phipps landed 1,500 men on the 19th, upon the marshy ground at the mouth of the river St Charles, but their advance against the town was completely checked by the fire of the French Irregulars, concealed and sheltered by the rocks and bushes covering the sloping ground in their front. A constant fire was kept up during the two following days by the fleet, but without effect, whilst the ships sustained so much damage from the enemy’s guns that they were obliged to move higher up the river. On the 21st, six pieces of ordnance were landed at the mouth of the St Charles, and a second attempt was made to assault the walls; but in their passage across the marsh, such a heavy fire of musketry was opened upon the troops by a large body of Indians and militia concealed in the bushes, that they were compelled to retreat in great haste, leaving all their cannon in the hands of the enemy. In consequence of this decisive repulse, Phipps prudently gave up all hopes of reducing Quebec, re-embarked his troops, and dropped down the river. Unhappily, the misfortunes of the expedition did not end before Quebec, as the fleet encountered a violent storm in the mouth of the St Lawrence, in which one ship with sixty persons on board was wrecked on the desolate island of Anticosti; two others foundered with all hands, and some were driven as far to the southward as the West Indies. More than 1,000 men are said to have perished, in one way or the other, in this unfortunate expedition. The whole of the men wrecked upon Anticosti perished during the winter, except five brave hardy fellows, who left the island in a small boat as soon as the ice would permit, in which they made their way down the Gulf of St Lawrence, and round the Atlantic coast of Acadie, to their home in Boston, a distance of more than 900 miles, in forty-four days.”

A history of the island of Cape Breton

1869: Parkman, Francis

Francis Parkman, Rene Robert Cavelier La Salle (sieur de); The discovery of the great West; 1869

Francis Parkman and Rene Robert Cavelier La Salle (sieur de) write: “I have recounted the ferocious triumphs of the Iroquois in another volume. Throughout a wide semicircle around their cantons they had made the forest a solitude, - destroyed the Hurons, exterminated the Neutrals and the Eries, reduced the formidable Andastes to a helpless insignificance, swept the borders of the St Lawrence with

fire, spread terror and desolation among the Algonquins of Canada; and now, tired of peace, they were seeking, to borrow their own savage metaphor, new nations to devour. Yet it was not alone their homicidal fury that now impelled them to another war. Strange as it may seem, this war was in no small measure one of commercial advantage. They had long traded with the Dutch and English of New York, who gave them, in exchange for their furs, the guns, ammunition, knives, hatchets, kettles, beads, and brandy which had become indispensable to them. Game was scarce in their country. They must seek their beaver and other skins in the vacant territories of the tribes they had destroyed; but this did not content them. The French of Canada were seeking to secure a monopoly of the furs of the north and west; and, of late, the enterprises of La Salle on the tributaries of the Mississippi had especially roused the jealousy of the Iroquois, fomented, moreover, by Dutch and English traders. These crafty savages would fain reduce all these regions to subjection, and draw from thence an exhaustless supply of furs to be bartered for English goods with the traders of Albany. They turned their eyes first towards the Illinois, the most important, as well as one of the accessible, of the western Algonquin tribes; and among La Salle’s enemies were some in whom jealousy of a hatred rival could so far override all the best interests of the colony that they did not scruple to urge on the Iroquois to an invasion which they hoped would prove his ruin. The chiefs convened, war was decreed, the war-dance was danced, the war-song sung, and five hundred warriors began their march. In their path lay the town of the Miamis, neighbors and kindred of the Illinois. It was always their policy to divide and conquer; and these forest Machiavels had intrigued so well among the Miamis, working craftily on their jealousy, that they induced them to join in the invasion, though there is every reason to believe that they had marked these infatuated allies as their next victims.”

Francis Parkman and Rene Robert Cavelier La Salle (sieur de) continue: “After many adventures, wherein nearly all his companions came to a bloody end, Sagean, and the few others who survived, had the ill luck to be captured by English pirates, at the mouth of the St Lawrence. He spent many years among them in the East and West Indies, but would not reveal the secret of his Eldorado to these heretical foreigners.”

the discovery of the great West

1870: Holmes, George Frederick

George Frederick Holmes; A School History of the United States of America, from the Earliest Discoveries to the Year 1870: With Maps and Other Illustrations, and an Appendix Containing the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence; University Publishing Co; 1870

George Frederick Holmes writes: “2. Ten years later, Jacques Cartier (zhahk cart’ya) of St Malo’s proceeded to Newfoundland (20 April, 1534). He ascended the broad river of Canada, till its shores could be seen on either side. Next year he entered the gulf west of Newfoundland, on the day dedicated to St Lawrence, and bestowed on it the name of the Saint (10 Aug, 1535). From the gulf, the name was extended to the noble stream which brings down the waters of the inland seas. He passed up the river to the fair isle which faces Quebec, and thence by boat to the chief Algonquin settlement on the Island of Hochelaga, (hosh-e-lah’ga). He wintered at the Isle of Orleans (or’leenz), where he had left his ships, took possession of the country for France, and sailed home in the spring.”

George Frederick Holmes continues: “18. All hostilities had been closed in America several months before the Treaty of Paris was concluded. A suspension of arms had been proclaimed on the eighth anniversary of the skirmish at Lexington (19 April, 1783), and the armies in the field were rapidly thinned by liberal furloughs at the discretion of the commanders. On the 3d Nov the remnant of the American army was disbanded, the officers having previously formed an association among themselves under the name of the Society of the Cincinnati. Three weeks later the city of New York was evacuated by the British, after an occupation of more than seven years (25 Nov). The British posts in the South had been abandoned in the previous year. The whole country being thus freed from the invader, except the frontier posts along the St Lawrence and the lakes, Washington took an affectionate farewell of his officers and proceeded to Annapolis, where he surrendered to Congress the commission as commander-in-chief, which he had exercised with singular modesty, ability, purity, resolution, and success (23 Dec). The president of the Congress, in receiving the commission, commended him for having ‘conducted the great military contest with wisdom and fortitude, invariably regarding the rights of the civil power, through all disasters and changes’. He retired to his home at Mount Vernon, which he had visited only once during the continuance of active warfare.”

A School History of the United States of America, from the Earliest Discoveries to the Year 1870: With Maps and Other Illustrations, and an Appendix …

1870: Quackenbos, George Payn

George Payn Quackenbos; Elementary History of the United States; D Appleton; 1870

George Payn Quackenbos writes: “1. Other countries now began to send out ships to the new world, as well as Spain and England. In 1524, a navigator in the service of the King of France, explored the coast from Carolina to Newfoundland. He called the whole region New France. Ten years afterwards, a Frenchman named Cartier [car-te-a’] made several voyages to America. He entered the River St Lawrence, and sailed up to a large Indian village, which stood where Montreal has since been built. The Indians were at first very friendly, but he made them enemies by carrying off their chief.

“2. Shortly after this, a number of Frenchmen sailed to the new world, and settled on the St Lawrence River. They found it so cold and uninviting, however, that after passing one winter there they were glad to return. Several other settlements were attempted by the French in the south, but without success.”

Elementary history of the United States

1870: Webster, Thomas

Thomas Webster; History of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada; printed at the Canada Christian Advocate Office; 1870

Thomas Webster writes: “As the breaking out of the war had so entirely disarranged the work that it was impossible to proceed without new plans, Mr Ryan, Presiding Elder of the Upper Canada District, called a Conference of the preachers who remained in the country, which met at Mr Benjamin Corwyn’s, near

Lundy’s Lane, in the summer of 1812, and here they arranged the Upper Canadian work. There were present at this Conference, H Ryan, Thomas Whitehead, A Prindle, John Reynolds, E Burdock, GW Densmore, J Rhodes, E Pattie, and David Culp. It will be seen from the above that all the preachers remaining in the country were not present at this Conference; perhaps because in the then disturbed state of the country it was not possible for them to attend. Lower Canada, probably in consequence of the distance, as well as the danger of travelling in such troublesome times, was not represented at all. Indeed there were not many to represent, and scarcely any one to come. The Messrs Burch and Hibbard had, it is true, gone to their respective fields of labor, Mr Burch supplying the place of Mr Bangs in Montreal, and Mr Hibbard going to Ottawa; but unhappily, in October of the same year, while visiting the societies on the St Francis Circuit, which were without a preacher, in consequence of Mr Luckey not thinking it safe to come, he, in attempting to cross the St Lawrence on the ferry, by some mischance fell into the river and was drowned, though his horse escaped. Mr Hibbard was last seen with his arms extended to heaven and then sank to rise no more till he shall be summoned by the great archangel; thus adding another name of the list of faithful missionaries who have fallen while laboring to advance the interests of the Redeemer’s kingdom. Although diligent search was made, his body was never recovered.*

“*Another authority says that is was in the Richelieu River that Mr Hibbard was drowned, and that some time after that sad event a body was found, which being supposed to be that of Mr Hibbard his friends caused it to be buried.”

History of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada

1870: Willson, Marcius

Marcius Willson; History of the United States, from the Earliest Discoveries to the Close of the Great Rebellion, in 1865: Containing, Also, the Constitution of the United States, with Explanatory Notes and Questions; Ivison; 1870

Marcius Willson writes: “3. While Roberval was delayed in making extensive preparations for his intended settlement, Cartier, whose services could not be dispensed with, received a subordinate command, and, in 1531, sailed with five ships already prepared. The Indian king had in the mean while died in France; and on the arrival of Cartier in the St Lawrence, he was received by the natives with jealously and distrust, which soon broke out into open hostilities. The French then built for their defence, near the present site of Quebec*, a fort which they named Charlesbourg, where they passed the winter.

“4. Roberval arrived at Newfoundland in June of the following year, with three ships, and emigrants for founding a colony; but a misunderstanding having arising between him and Cartier, the latter secretly set sail for France. Roberval proceeded up the St Lawrence to the place which Cartier had abandoned, where he erected two forts and passed a tedious winter. After some unsuccessful attempts to discover a passage to the East Indies, he brought his colony back to France, and the design of forming a settlement was abandoned. In 1549 Roberval again sailed on a voyage of discovery, but he was never again heard of.

“*Quebec, a strongly fortified city of Canada is situated on the northwest side of the St Lawrence, on a promontory formed by that river and the St Charles. The city consists of the Upper and the Lower Town – the latter on a narrow strip of land near the water’s edge; and the former on a plain difficult of access more than 200 feet higher Cape Diamond, the most elevated point of the Upper Town is 345 feet above the level of the river, and commands a grand view of an extensive tract of country. (See Map p 189.)”

History of the United States, from the Earliest Discoveries to the Close of the Great Rebellion, in 1865: Containing, Also, the Constitution of the United States, …

1871: Brigham, William T

William T Brigham; Historical Notes on the Earthquakes of New England: 1638-1869. (Aus den Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol II, January 1781.); 1871

William T Brigham writes: “No contradiction followed the publication of this remarkable statement in Paris. The substance of Charlevoix’s account is as follows: About half past five in the evening, the heavens being very serene, there was suddenly heard a roar, like that of a great fire. Immediately the buildings were shaken violently, and doors opened and shut of themselves with a great slamming. Bells rung without being touched, and walls split asunder, while the floors separated and fell down. The fields were raised ‘like precipices’, and mountains seemed to be moving out of their place. Animals were terrified and uttered strange cries. For nearly half an hour the trembling lasted, a most unusual time, but it began to abate in a quarter of an hour after it first began. The same evening, about eight o’clock, there was another equally violent shock, and within half an hour two others less violent. The next day, ‘about three hours from the morning, there was a violent shock, which lasted a long time; and the next night some counted thirty-two shocks; of which many were violent.’ Nor did these earthquakes cease until the July following. New England and New York were shaken, as well as Canada, but in a less degree, and the whole territory convulsed, so far as can be learned, extended nearly three hundred miles from east to west, and half as many from north to south. Sometimes the shocks were sudden, at other times they came on gradually; some seemed to be vertical, others undulatory. Springs and brooks were dried up, or became sulphurous; and some had their channel so completely altered as hardly to be recognized. Between Tadoussac and Quebec ‘two mountains’ were shaken into the St Lawrence, and perhaps from a similar accession of material the Island Aux Coudres became larger than it was before. The course of all these waves was from the northwest when felt in New England, and the centre of disturbance was not far from the ancient volcano of Montreal. On the shores of Massachusetts Bay, houses were shaken so that pewter fell from the shelves, and the tops of several chimneys were broken; but as many of the latter were of rough stone, they were the more easily overthrown.”

William T Brigham continues: “In December, an earthquake was felt at St Paul’s Bay, on the St Lawrence, in Canada, about sixty miles northeast of Quebec. Walls were cracked and stones fell from the houses.”

Historical Notes on the Earthquakes of New England: 1638-1869.(Aus den Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. II. January 1871.)

1871: Philpot, Harvey John

Harvey John Philpot; Thomas Hughes, contributor; Guide Book to the Canadian Dominion: Containing Full Information for the Emigrant, the Tourist, the Sportsman, and the Small Capitalist; Collection Baby; Collections speciales; E Stanford; 1871

Harvey John Philpot writes: “I sincerely trust that the day may soon come when every poor man in England may have the opportunity given him of earning a glorious independence under the flag of old England across the big pond.

“‘In the West, in the West / In the land of the free, / Where the mighty St Lawrence rolls down to the sea, / where a man is a man, if he’s willing to toil, / And the humblest may gather the fruits of the soil.

“‘Where children are blessings, and he who hath most, / Hath aid to his fortunes, and riches to boast, / Where the young may rise up and the aged may rest, / Away, far away in the land of the West.’”

Guide Book to the Canadian Dominion: containing full information for the emigrant, the tourist, the sportsman, and the small capitalist

1871: Shurtleff, Nathaniel Bradstreet

Nathaniel Bradstreet Shurtleff; A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston; 2nd edition; request of the City Council; 1871

Nathaniel Bradstreet Shurtleff writes: “Very early in the eleventh century, Biarne or Biorne, sometimes called Biron in historical writings, an Icelander, who had visited many different countries with his father, Heriulf, for trading purposes, being accidentally separated from his parent on one of these voyages, in directing his course to Greenland was driven by a storm southwesterly to an unknown country, level in its formation, destitute of rocks, and thickly wooded, having an island near its coast. After the abatement of the storm, performing his intended voyage to Greenland, he sailed, in the year 1002, on a voyage of discovery in company with Leif (son of the Eric the Red), a person of adventurous disposition, whose desire he had awakened by a recital of his accidental discovery. In this expedition, Biron officiated as guide. It is supposed that the countries which these men visited on this voyage, and which they called Helluland on account of the rocky soil, Markland (the woody), and Vinland dat gode (the good wine country), were in the neighborhood of the island of Newfoundland and the gulf of St Lawrence; and that the inhabitants, which from their diminutive size they called Skraelings, were the aborigines of that region.”

A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston

1872: Fitton, James

James Fitton; Sketches of the Establishment of the Church in New England; ATLA monograph preservation program; P Donahoe; 1872

James Fitton writes: “Father Anne de Noue, after years of terrible toil, died, frozen stiff and cold by the wild February blasts, upon the banks of the St Lawrence. They found him, kneeling upright, with crucifix clasped to his breast, and calm eyes open, and fixed on heaven, on the Feast of the Purification of her whom he loved and served so well (1646). Charles Garnier, pierced by three Iroquois musket balls, when about to die, perceived a poor Christian Indian in the act of expiring. The sight awakened all the priest within him; he staggered to his feet, only to fall again. But though he could not rise, he could, and did, drag himself along the blood-stained ground, and, as he gave the last absolution, a tomahawk clove his skull, and he died on the eve of the Immaculate Conception, which gracious mystery he had early bound himself by a vow to defend, even unto death (1649).”

Sketches of the Establishment of the Church in New England

1872: Hatch, William Stanley

William Stanley Hatch; A Chapter of the History of the War of 1812 in the Northwest: Embracing the Surrender of the Northwestern Army and Fort, at Detroit, August 16, 1812; with a Description and Biographical Sketch of the Celebrated Indian Chief Tecumseh; Miami Printing and Publishing Co; 1872

William Stanley Hatch writes: “Finding that General Hull, instead of marching directly upon Malden with his overwhelming force, and occupying that post immediately on his invasion of that remote and defenceless portion of the upper province, as they and all other persons of military experience had expected, that he remained in his entrenched camp opposite Detroit without any apparent indications of a movement in that direction, they resolved upon a proposition of an armistice on the line of the St Lawrence and the Niagara frontier, as an expedient most likely to afford them an advantage, by giving them an opportunity to act against General Hull, and especially to gain time, which they so much needed.”

A Chapter of the History of the War of 1812 in the Northwest: Embracing the Surrender of the Northwestern Army and Fort, at Detroit, August 16, 1812; with a …

1872: Miles, Henry Hopper

Henry Hopper Miles; The History of Canada Under French Regime. 1535-1763: With Maps, Plans, and Illustrative Notes; Dawson brothers; 1872

Henry Hopper Miles writes: “17. AFTER the events recorded in the preceding chapter, about half a century elapsed before attempts to colonise Canada were renewed. In the interval, some slight intercourse of a commercial kind was maintained with the country by French merchants, as there were a few trading posts along the banks of the St Lawrence, whither these came, from time to time, in order to trade with the Indians in the skins of beavers and other wild animals. In the lower St Lawrence and Gulf, the vast abundance of marine animals and of fish, would of course serve to bring numbers of fishing vessels every season; and thus a constant communication would be maintained, while the interior of the country was left to the undisputed occupation of the Indian tribes.”

The History of Canada Under French Régime. 1535-1763: With Maps, Plans, and Illustrative Notes

1872: Nevin, Robert Peebles

Robert Peebles Nevin; Black-robes: Or Sketches of Missions and Ministers in the Wilderness and on the Border; Lippincott; 1872

Robert Peebles Nevin writes: “In 1646, having in the mean time sailed for Europe, visited Rome, and been honored by Pope Innocent XI, because of the tortures he had undergone, with the title of Martyr, Jogues was appointed by the Superior to revisit the scene of his captivity and establish a mission there among the Mohawks. To cross the St Lawrence, then, was to venture into the jaws of death. But he upon whom the agents of hell had done their cruelest already – the single living Martyr of all the dead – was not to be deterred from the mission. ‘Ibo,’ said he, as he wrapped his dark gown about him, kissed his crucifix, and started on his journey, - ‘Ibo – et non redibo!’ He went, and he never returned.”

Black-robes: Or Sketches of Missions and Ministers in the Wilderness and on the Border

1872: Shea, John Gilmary

John Gilmary Shea; A Child’s History of the United States; Vol 1; McMenamy, Hess & Co; 1872

John Gilmary Shea writes: “The Indians whom Cartier had found on the St Lawrence had disappeared. Its banks were lined by roving bands of the Montagnais, called by the New Yorkers in olden time Adirondacks. These brought in furs to the French posts to trade. Other tribes heard of it, and the Algonquins on the Ottawa came down in fleets of birch canoes, loaded with skins of beaver, moose, and deer, to trade with the bearded men who came in mighty ships from over the sea. Other Indians, still of a totally different race, living in palisaded towns, and raising corn and tobacco, beans and squashes, in great plenty on the shores of Lake Huron, and called Hurons by the French, also made their way to Quebec. Champlain made all these wild and savage tribes friends to his little colony. But to be their friend he had to help them against their great enemy. This was a nation occupying what is now New York, from the Hudson almost to Niagara. The French called them Iroquois; the English, when they came to know them, termed them Five Nations, for they comprised the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the Senecas.

“Against these the allies required Champlain to join them in war. So, in the early summer of 1609, he ascended the St Lawrence with a few Frenchmen in a shallop and a large force of Indians. He entered the Sorel River and ascended till the rapids prevented his further progress. Then, sending back his boat, he went on with the Indians and entered the lake which bears his name. On the 30th of July, as the sun was sinking behind the Adirondacks, they came in sight of a fleet of Iroquois canoes on the lake. The hills around echoed back the yells and cries of the foemen. Both parties made for the shore and prepared for battle on the morn. With the dawn the Iroquois sallied forth from their hastily made fort, led by chiefs with tall plumes. As they came on, Champlain stepped forth from the midst of his allies, in

his helmet and cuirass, his arquebuse in his hand. The Iroquois gazed in wonder at this new warrior, but his fire-arms soon laid one chief low and another beside him. Then his allies poured on the astonished Iroquois a shower of arrows. They stood their ground, sending volley after volley at the allies, till Champlain’s two comrades, who had approached under cover of bushes, opened fire. Then the Iroquois broke and fled in terror, pursued by Montagnais and Huron and Algonquin along the banks of the lake.”

John Gilmary Shea continues: “Montcalm occupied the fort at once, and turned the cannons on Fort Oswego, while Rigaud, with a detachment, crossed the river under fire, and gained a wooded height beyond the fort, cutting it off from another little work called Fort George. The next morning a furious fire was opened upon the fort, and at eight o’clock, Colonel Mercer was killed, and the wall was soon breached. Just as Montcalm was preparing to storm the place, Littlehates, at ten o’clock, hoisted the white flag. Montcalm gave them no time, but insisted on an immediate surrender, for he had intercepted a letter announcing that General Webb was on his way to relieve the fort, General Loudoun having at least concluded that there was some danger. By eleven o’clock the capitulation was signed, and Shirley’s and Pepperell’s regiments, sixteen hundred strong, marched out as prisoners of war, to be sent down the St Lawrence. More than a hundred cannon, six vessels of war, a large number of boats, and great quantities of ammunition and provisions remained with the forts in the hands of the prompt and energetic Montcalm. He planted the cross and the arms of France, then demolished the forts almost in sight of Webb, who, learning the full extent of the disaster, retreated with the haste he should have shown in coming.”

A Child's History of the United States

1873: Audubon, John James

John James Audubon; Lucy Green Bakewell Audubon, Robert Williams Buchanan, editors; The Life of John James Audubon, the Naturalist; American men of energy; GP Putnam’s sons; 1873

John James Audubon writes: “‘The land on each side now rose in the form of an amphitheatre, and on the Nova Scotia side to a considerable height; dwellings appeared here and there, but the country is too poor for comfort: the timber is small, and the land too stony; a small patch of ploughed land planted, or ready for potatoes, was all the cultivation we saw. Near one house we saw a few apples tree, which were not yet in bloom. The general appearance of this passage reminded me of some parts of the Hudson River, and, accompanied as we were of thirty sail of vessels, the time passed agreeably. Vegetation appeared as forward as at Eastport: saw a few chimney swallows, and heard a few blue jays. As we passed Cape Porcupine, a high rounding hill, we saw some Indians in birch-bark canoes, and clearing Cape George we were soon in the gulf of St Lawrence. From this place, on the 20th of May last year, the sea a sheet of ice as far as the eye could reach with the aid of a good spy-glass.

“‘We ran down the west coast of Cape Breton Island, and the country looked well in the distance; large undulating hills were covered with many hamlets, and patches of cultivated land were seen. It being calm when we neared Jestico Island, about three miles from Cape Breton, I left the vessel and landed on it. It was covered with well-grown grass, and filled with strawberry vines in full bloom. The sun shone brightly, the weather was pleasant, and we found many northern birds breeding there; the wild gooseberries were plentiful, about the size of a pea, and a black currant also. The wind arose, and we

hurried back to the vessel; on the way my son John and some of the sailors nearly killed a seal with their oars.

“‘June 13. This morning at four o’clock we came in sight of the Magdalene Islands, distant about twenty miles. The morning was dull, and by breakfast-time a thick fog obscured the horizon, and we lost sight of the islands; the wind rose sluggishly and dead ahead, and several ships and brigs loaded with timber from the Miramichie came near us beating their way to the Atlantic. At nine o’clock we dropped anchor, being partly landlocked between Breton Island and the Highlands, and within a quarter of a mile of an Island, which formed a part of the group. The pilot, who is well acquainted here, informed me that the islands are all connected by dry sand-bars, and with no channel between them except the one we are in, called Entrée Bay, which is formed by Entrée Island and a long sand-spit connecting it with the mainland. The island is forty-eight miles long, and three in breadth; the formation is a red rough sandy soil, and the north-west side is constantly wearing away by the action of the sea. Guillemots were seated upright along the projecting shelvings in regular order, resembling so many sentinels on the look-out; many gannets also were seen on the extreme points of the island. On one of the islands were many houses, and a small church, and on the highest land a large cross, indicating the religion of the inhabitants. Several small vessels lay in the harbor called Pleasant Bay, but the weather is so cold we cannot visit them until to-morrow.

“‘June 14, 1833. Magdalene Islands, Gulf of St Lawrence. It is one week since we left Eastport, and we breakfasted with the thermometer at 44 degrees in our cabin, and on deck it feels like mid-winter. We landed on the island next to us so chilled that we could scarcely use our hands; two large bluffs frowned on each side of us, the resort of many sea-birds, and some noble ravens which we saw. Following a narrow path we soon came upon one of God’s best finished jewels, a woman. She saw us first, for women are always keenest in sight and perception, in patience and fortitude and love, in faith and sorrow, and, as I believe, in everything else which adorns our race. She was hurrying towards her cottage, with a child in her arms having no covering but a little shirt. The mother was dressed in coarse French homespun, with a close white cotton nightcap on her head, and the mildest-looking woman I had seen in many a day. At a venture I addressed her in French, and it answered well, for she replied in an unintelligible jargon, about one-third of which I understood, which enabled me to make out that she was the wife of a fisherman who lived there.”

John James Audubon continues: “‘June 15. Day dawned with the weather dull, but the wind fair, and we pulled up anchor and left the Magdalene Islands for Labrador, the ultimatum of our present desires. About ten o’clock we saw on the distant horizon a speck, which I was told was the Rock; the wind now freshened, and I could soon see it plainly from the deck, the top apparently covered with snow. Our pilot said that the snow, which seemed two or three feet thick, was the white gannets which resort there. I rubbed my eyes, and took my spy-glass, and instantly the strange picture stood before me. They were indeed birds, and such a mass of birds, and of such a size as I never saw before. The whole of my party were astonished, and all agreed that it was worth a voyage across the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St Lawrence to see such a sight. The nearer we approached, the greater was our surprise at the enormous number of these birds, all calmly seated on their eggs, and their heads turned to the windward towards us. The air for a hundred yards above, and for a long distance around, was filled with gannets on the wing, which from our position made the air look as if it was filled with falling snowflakes, and caused a thick, foggy-like atmosphere all around the rock. The wind was too high to allow up to land, but we were so anxious to do so that some of the party made the attempt. The vessel was brought

to, and a small whale-boat launched, and young Lincoln and John pushed off with clubs and guns; the wind increased and rain set in, but they gained the lee of the rock, but after an hour’s absence returned without landing. The air was filled with birds, but they did not perceptibly diminish the numbers on the rock. As the vessel drifted nearer the rock, we could see that the birds sat so close as almost to touch one another in regular lines, looking like so many mole-hills. The discharge of a gun had no effect on those which were not touched by the shot, for the noise of the birds stunned all those out of reach of the gun. But where the shot took effect the birds scrambled and flew off in such multitudes and such confusion that, whilst eight or ten were falling in the water dead or wounded, others shook down their eggs, which fell into the sea by hundreds in all directions. The sea became rougher, and the boat was compelled to return, bringing some birds and some eggs, but without the party being able to climb the rock.”

John James Audubon continues: “‘We passed on, and soon came to the track of a good-sized bear in the road, and after a wearisome ride reached the breakfast ground, at a house situated on the margin of a lake called Grand Lake, which abounds with fine fish, and soles in the season. This lake forms part of the channel which was intended to be cut for connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Fundy with the Gulf of St Lawrence at Bay Verte. Ninety thousand pounds have been expended on the enterprise, and the canal is not finished, and probably never will be; for the government will not assist, and private efforts seem to have exhausted themselves. This point is seventeen miles from Halifax, and must afford a pleasant residence for summer.”

The Life of John James Audubon, the Naturalist

1873: Brown, Harvey Ellicott

Harvey Ellicott Brown, compiler; United States Surgeon-General’s Office, contributor; The Medical Department of the United States Army: From 1775 to 1873; Surgeon general’s office; 1873

Harvey Ellicott Brown writes: “While these events were transpiring, the concentration of troops on the northern frontier, for the projected invasion of Canada, rendered the creation of a separate department necessary, of which General Philip Schuyler was given the command. These forces were totally destitute of everything necessary for the comfort of the sick. Medicines and stores had been ordered, but owing to the difficulties of transportation through the wilderness between Albany and Lake Champlain, they had never reached the camp. General Schuyler thus describes the situation, in a letter to the Continental Congress, and although it refers more especially to the condition of affairs at Ticonderoga, yet his description applies equally to the command under Montgomery, then encamped near the St Lawrence river:

“‘TICONDEROGA, August 6th, 1775.

“(EXTRACT.)

“‘Out of about five hundred men that are here, near a hundred are sick, and I have not any kind of hospital stores, although I had not forgot to order them, immediately after my appointment. The little wine I had for my own table, I have delivered to the Regimental Surgeons. That being expended, I can no longer bear the distress of the sick, and impelled by a feeling of humanity, I shall take the liberty

immediately to order a physician from Albany, (if one can be got there, as I believe there may,) to join me, with such stores as are indispensably necessary. If Congress will approve of this measure, they will please to signify what allowance of pay shall be made. If not, I shall discharge the person whoever he be, paying him for the services he may have performed.’”

The Medical Department of the United States Army: From 1775 to 1873

1873: Thomson, John Lewis

John Lewis Thomson; History of the Indian Wars and War of the Revolution of the United States; JB Lippincott; 1873

John Lewis Thomson writes: “The fleet sailed from Boston on the 30th of July; and a fast was ordered by Dudley to be kept on the last Thursday of that, and each succeeding month, till the enterprise should be finished. This was an imitation of the conduct of the Long Parliament, during the civil wars in the previous century. But the sanguine hopes of success which had been entertained by the nation and the colonies, were all blasted in one fatal night; for, the fleet having advanced ten leagues into the river St Lawrence, in the night of the 23d of August, the weather being thick and dark, eight transports were wrecked on Egg Island near the north shore, and 1000 people perished; of whom there was but one man who belonged to New England. The next day the fleet put back, and were eight days beating down the river against an easterly wind, which would in two days have carried them to Quebec. After collecting together at Spanish river in the island of Cape Breton, and holding a fruitless consultation about annoying the French at Placentia, the expedition was broken up; the fleet returned to England, and the New England troops to their homes. Loud complaints and heavy charges were made on this occasion; the ignorance of the pilots – the obstinacy of the admiral – the detention of the fleet at Boston, - its late arrival there – the want of seasonable orders – and the secret intentions of the ministry, were all subjects of bitter altercation; but the miscarriage was never regularly inquired into, and the disasters of the voyage were finally completed by the blowing up of the admiral’s ship, with most of his papers, and 400 seamen, at Spithead.”

History of the Indian Wars and War of the Revolution of the United States

1885: Marcou, Jules

Jules Marcou, John Belknap Marcou; Mapoteca Geologica Americana: A Catalogue of Geological Maps of America (North and South) 1752-1881, in Geographic and Chronologic Order; Issue 7 of Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey; Vol 2, Issue 7 of Bulletin, Geological Survey (US); US Government Printing Office; 1885

Jules Marcou and John Belknap Marcou write: “Beginning at a stone monument, erected by Andrew Ellicot, esq, in the year 1817, on the south bank or shore of the said river Iroquois, or Cataraqui (now called the St Lawrence), which monument bears south 74 degrees 45 minutes west, and is 1,840 yards distant from the stone church in the Indian village of St Regis, and indicates the point at which the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude strikes the said river; thence running north 35 degrees 45 minutes west into the river, on a line at right angles with the southern shore, to a point 100 yards south of the

opposite island, called Cornwall Island; thence turning westerly and passing around the southern and western sides of said island, keeping 100 yards distant therefrom, and following the curvatures of its shores, to a point opposite to the northwest corner or angle of said island; thence to and along the middle of the main river until it approaches the eastern extremity of Barnhart’s Island; thence northerly along the channel which divides the last-mentioned island from the Canada shore, keeping 100 yards distant from the island, until it approaches Sheik’s Island; thence along the middle of the strait which divides Barnhart’s and Sheik’s Islands to the channel called the Long Sault, which separates the two last-mentioned islands from the lower Long Sault Island; thence westerly (crossing the center of the last-mentioned channel) until it approaches within 100 yards of the north shore of the Lower Sault Island; thence up the north branch of the river, keeping to the north of and near the Lower Sault Island, and also north of and near the Upper Sault, sometimes called Baxter’s Island, and south of the two small islands marked on the map A and B, to the western extremity of the Upper Sault and Baxter’s Island; thence, passing between the two islands called the Cats, to the middle of the river above; thence along the middle of the river, keeping to the north of the small islands marked C and D, and north also of Chrystler’s Island, and of the small island next above it, marked E, until it approaches the northeast angle of Goose Neck Island; thence the passage which divides the last-mentioned island from the Canada shore, keeping 100 yards from the island to the upper end of the same; thence south of and near the two small islands called the Nut Islands; thence north of and near the island marked F, and also of the island called Dry or Smuggler’s Island; thence passing between the islands marked G and H to the north of the island called Isle an Rapid Platt; thence along the north side of the last-mentioned island, keeping 100 yards from the shore, to the upper and thereof; thence along the middle of the river, keeping to the south of and near the islands called Coussin (or Tussin) and Presque Isle; thence up the river, keeping north of and near the several Gallop Isles numbered on the map 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, and also of Tick, Tibbits, and Chimney Islands, and south of and near the Gallop Isles numbered 11, 12, and 13, and also of Duck, Drummond, and Sheep Islands; thence along the middle of the river, passing north of island No 14, south of 15 and 16, north of 17, south of 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 28, and north of 26 and 27; thence along the middle of the river, north of Gull Island and of the islands Nos 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, Bluff Island, and Nos 39, 44, and 45, and to the south of Nos 30, 31, 36, Grenadier Island, and Nos 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47, and 48, until it approaches the east end of Well’s Island; thence to the north of Well’s Island, and along the strait which divides it from Rowe’s Island, keeping to the north of the small islands Nos 51, 52, 54, 58, 59, and 61, and to the south of the small islands numbered and marked 49, 50, 53, 55, 57, 60, and H, until it approaches the northeast point of Grindstone Island; thence to the north of Grindstone Island, and keeping to the north also of the small islands Nos 63, 65, 67, 68, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, and 78, and to the south of Nos 62, 64, 66, 69, and 71, until it approaches the southern point of Hickory Island; thence passing to the south of Hickory Island and of the two small islands lying near its southern extremity, numbered 79 and 80; thence to the south of Grand or Long Island, keeping near its southern shore, and passing to the north of Carlton Island, until it arrives opposite to the southwestern point of said Grand Island, in Lake Ontario; thence, passing to the north of Grenadier, Fox, Stony, and the Gallop Islands, in Lake Ontario, and to the south of and near the islands called the Ducks, to the middle of the said lake; thence westerly along the middle of said lake to a point opposite the mouth of the Niagara River; thence to and up the middle of the said river to the Great Falls; thence up the Falls through the point of the Horse Shoe, keeping to the west of Iris or Goat Island, and of the group of small islands at its head, and following the bends of the river so as to enter the strait between Navy and Grand Islands; thence along the middle of said strait to the head

of Navy Island; thence to the west and south of and near to Grand and Beaver Islands, and to the west of Strawberry, Squaw, and Bird Islands to Lake Erie; thence southerly and westerly along the middle of Lake Erie in a direction to enter the passage immediately south of Middle Island, being one of the easternmost of the group of islands lying in the western part of said lake; thence along the said passage, proceeding to the north of Cunningham’s Island, of the three Bass Islands, and of the Western Sister, and to the south of the islands called the Hen and Chickens, and of the Eastern and Middle Sisters; thence to the middle of the mouth of the Detroit River in a direction to enter the channel which divides Bois Blanc and Sugar Islands; thence up the said channel to the west of Bois Blanc Island, and to the east of Sugar, Fox, and Stony Islands, until it approaches Fighting or Great Turkey Island; thence along the western side and near the shore of said last-mentioned island to the middle of the river above the same; thence along the middle of said river, keeping to the southwest of and near Hog Island, and to the northwest of and near the island Isle a la Peche, to Lake Saint Clair; thence through the middle of said lake in a direction to enter that mouth or channel of the river St Clair, which is usually denominated the Old Ship Channel; thence along the middle of said channel, between Squirrel Island on the southeast and Herson’s Island on the northwest, to the upper end of the last-mentioned island, which is nearly opposite to Point au Chenes, on the American shore; thence along the middle of the river Saint Clair, keeping to the west of and near the islands called Belle Riviere Isle and the Isle aux Cerfs, to Lake Huron; thence through the middle of Lake Huron in a direction to enter the strait or passage between Drummond’s Island on the west and the Little Manitou Island on the east; thence through the middle of the passage which divides the two last-mentioned islands; thence, turning northerly and westerly, around the eastern and northern shores of Drummond’s Island, and proceeding in a direction to enter the passage between the island of Saint Joseph’s and the American shore, passing to the north of the intermediate islands Nos 61, 11, 10, 12, 9, 6, 4, and 2, and to the south of the those numbered 15, 13, 5, and 1; thence up the said last-mentioned passage, keeping near to the island Saint Joseph’s, and passing to the north and east of Isle a la Crosse and of the small islands numbered 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, and to the south and west of those numbered 21, 22, and 23, until it strikes a line (drawn on the map with black ink and shaded on one side of the point of intersection with blue and on the other with red) passing across the river at the head of Saint Joseph’s Island and at the foot of the Neebish Rapids, which line denotes the termination of the boundary directed to be run by the sixth article of the treaty of Ghent.”

Mapoteca Geologica Americana: A Catalogue of Geological Maps of America (North and South) 1752-1881, in Geographic and Chronologic Order

1902: Weeks, Fred Boughton

Fred Boughton Weeks; North American Geologic Formation Names: Bibliography, Synonymy, and Distribution; Issue 191 of US Geological survey bulletin; US Government Printing Office; 1902

Fred Boughton Weeks writes: “About the middle of last century there was considerable interest in the gold-bearing placers which had been discovered along the south bank of the St Lawrence River in what is known as the Eastern Townships of Quebec. A few minute scales and grains of platinum and

iridosmine were noted by TS Hunt in the gold of the Riviere du Loup. It is also stated that these minerals are likewise found with the gold of the Riviere des Plantes.”

North American geologic formation names: Bibliography, synonymy and distribution

1921: Murray, William Spencer

William Spencer Murray; A superpower system for the region between Boston and Washington; Issue 123 of US Geological Survey professional papers; Vol 42, Issue 883 of House Documents; Govt Print Off; 1921

William Spencer Murray writes: “ST LAWRENCE RIVER.

“The portion of St Lawrence River here considered lies between Lake Ontario and a point near Cornwall, where the international boundary diverges from the river in an easterly direction. An investigation is now being made by engineers of the United States and Canadian governments looking to the development of the river in the vicinity of Long Sault and Barnhardts Island. The fall available is about 80 feet, and it is estimated that generating capacity of about 1,200,000 kilowatts can be installed to yield an annual output of more than 10,000,000,000 kilowatt-hours. It is assumed that the ownership of one-half of this output will be allotted to the United States Government. The outstanding feature of this development is that the storage capacity of the Great Lakes, which drain an area of 278,700 square miles, furnishes almost complete regulation of the river flow. The lowest recorded average flow for a month is 186,000 second-feet, which is about 80 per cent of the average continuous flow.

“No estimate of the cost of development will be given here, as such an estimate is now being made by the engineers of the two governments. The cost, however, should be lower per unit than that of any of the developments on which estimates are given in this report, on account of the size of the development and because a large portion of the expenditure will be made for the improvement of navigation.”

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