Part 15

The Indians, as formerly observed, retain in general their original fashion of dress; but instead of composing it entirely of the skins of wild animals, they have adopted, as more commodious, materials of English manufacture. For the outer covering or great coat, a blanket is decidedly preferred; the shirt beneath is chiefly of calico or printed cotton; the leggings and pouches of common cloths. The gartering, of gaudy colours, serves for binding and ornamental borders. The moccasins only, an article so extremely suited to their habits, cannot be composed of any better material than their own deer-skin. When, however, any particular piece of finery strikes their fancy, they eagerly seek to procure it, and combine it, often fantastically, with their old habiliments. The vicinity of Europeans, where it does not induce the destructive habit of intoxication, affords them various means for bettering their condition. A ready sale for venison, wild ducks, and other feathered game, and for the fish which they spear, is found among settlers who have themselves little leisure for angling or the chase. The skins and furs also of the animals caught by them are readily bought by the merchants. The women make baskets, trays, and other utensils, of birch-bark, and sometimes of the inner rind of the bass-wood and white ash, which, when ornamented with porcupine quills, dyed in beautiful colours, form elegant articles of furniture. Their moccasins, similarly adorned, are often purchased by Europeans for winter use. They cannot, however, be depended upon for making or procuring any article to order. They produce and bring their commodities to market when it suits their own convenience; and they are disposed to drive a pretty hard bargain, especially the females, on whom that task usually devolves. The converted Indians are said to display a simple, fervent, and sincere devotion. They pay a particular regard to the sanctity of the sabbath; and while singing hymns on the evening of that day, their rich soft voices, rising on the still air, are extremely sweet. This principle of piety, having produced the valuable fruit of inducing them to renounce the ruinous habit of intoxication, has made a most happy change in their condition; and since the evils incident to the savage have thus been removed, perhaps the admirer of the picturesque in human life may not feel impatient for that thorough amalgamation with Europeans, which some of their friends ardently desire. They may be willing that some trace should still survive of the peculiar costume, aspect, and occupations of this remarkable aboriginal race.

The means of religious instruction in Lower Canada have long existed on a liberal scale. The great majority of the inhabitants, as formerly observed, are French Roman Catholics. They support their clergy by a contribution of a twenty-sixth part of the produce of their lands, which does not, however, as has been sometimes represented, form a compulsory assessment, since Protestant converts may discontinue payment. This affords to upwards of 200 _vicaires_ and _curés_ an average income of 300_l._ per annum, which, in Canada, is very liberal. They are described as respectable in character and attainments, very attentive to their parishioners, and extremely beloved by them. They have been accused as hostile to the diffusion of knowledge, yet no mention is made of any opposition made by them to the late remarkable spread of elementary schools. The bishop, who has under him two coadjutors and four vicars-general, receives from government a stipend of 1,000_l._ a-year. There are also monastic establishments, containing upwards of 300 monks and nuns. The English church has assigned for its support a seventh of all the lands unoccupied by the _habitans_, and formed into townships. This proportion appears large, and has even been complained of as such, yet it has not hitherto produced any great revenue. The clergy of this church are at present forty in number, at the head of whom is the bishop of Quebec, with a stipend of 1,000_l._ a-year. There are fourteen Presbyterian ministers connected with the church of Scotland, partly paid by government; and also twelve Methodists of the Wesleyan persuasion.

Upper Canada, as already hinted, was long miserably destitute of the means of religious instruction. In 1800, according to Mr. Talbot, there were only three clergymen in the country; in 1819 they had increased to ten; and in 1824 were still only sixteen. Since that time effective measures have been taken to supply this great deficiency. There are now forty-three clergymen belonging to the English established church; and two archdeacons, at Toronto and Kingston, subject to the bishop of Quebec, have each 300_l._ a-year. The remainder of the clergy received, in 1835, an income of 6,784_l._ 11_s._ 8_d._, of which 5,484_l._ 18_s._ was defrayed from the proceeds of the ecclesiastical reserves, which, as in Lower Canada, consist of one-seventh of the uncultivated lands; the rest was paid out of the crown revenue. The Catholics have twenty-four priests, of whom the bishop, bearing the title of Regiopolis, has 500_l._; the rest receive 1,000_l._ annually, divided among them, out of the public purse. From the same fund were paid, in 1835, to the ministers of the church of Scotland, 1,586_l._; to those of the Presbyterian synod of Upper Canada 700_l._; 171_l._ was granted to the fund for building Catholic churches; 550_l._ was given for the same purpose to the Scottish church; and 550_l._ to the Wesleyan Methodists. From this fund was also allowed 2,344_l._ 11_s._ 8_d._ for missionaries of the Church of England. There are said to be also twenty-eight Methodist and forty or fifty Baptist churches, which appear to be supported by the congregations.

The means even of the most common education were long extremely deficient in Canada. This want was equally felt in the lower province, where the Catholic clergy, though diligent in their religious ministrations, either opposed or did nothing to forward elementary instruction. They particularly interfered to prevent attendance on the schools organized in 1817, by what was termed the Royal Institution, as being chiefly under the management of Church of England clergymen. In 1829, however, the legislature voted for this object 6,439_l._, which was gradually increased to upwards of 20,000_l._ In that year the number of scholars was 14,753, of whom only about a third paid fees. In 1835, the number of free scholars had risen to 72,498, of those paying to 25,160; showing thus a wonderful increase both in the gross number and in the proportion of those who defrayed their own charges. In 1836, however, the vote of the House of Assembly for this patriotic purpose was negatived by the Legislative Council, a step which seems not unworthy of the severe animadversions made on it by the popular leaders. The council stated that their motive was to induce the people to contribute more towards the education of their families. This was admitted to be desirable as an ultimate object; but it could not justify the abrupt withdrawal of the means by which nearly 40,000 children were educated, without allowing time or even legal authority to substitute any other.

In Upper Canada, also, the government is making great exertions to remove that cloud of ignorance in which the country was once involved. A college at Toronto is supported on a liberal footing. There are also grammar schools in every district, to the teachers of which 100_l._ yearly is allowed by the legislature. The scholars attending them amount in all to about 350. The sum of 7,380_l._ also was granted in 1835 for the support of common schools, estimated to amount to several hundreds, and to educate about 20,000 children. In the same year, the legislature voted 180_l._ and 90_l._ to the Mechanics’ Institutes at Toronto and Kingston.

CHAP. V.

IMPRESSIONS OF CANADA ON TRAVELLERS.

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Among the various books on Canada, there is none which seems to us written with a more friendly, fair, and philanthropic spirit than that of Mr. Hodgson, who was there in 1822. A great part of his large volume is occupied with his rambles in the United States; but from that which is strictly Canadian, we extract the following interesting letters:—

“Soon after I had finished my letter on board the steam-boat, we stopped near the mouth of the Genessee river, to give us the opportunity of seeing Rochester and its vicinity. Stages had been previously sent for, in which we proceeded to Rochester, nine miles distant. On our way we stopped to see the lower falls of the Genessee river, and Carthage bridge. This wooden bridge is now in ruins. When perfect, it must have been extremely beautiful. It was a single arch, whose span was about 350 feet wide, and its extreme height above the surface of the river 196 feet. It gave way from the slightness of its materials, immediately after two children had crossed it. A short distance above it are the falls of the Genessee, which appeared to me to bear a strong resemblance to those of the Clyde. At Rochester we found a handsome mill, and every symptom of a thriving town. Instead of ‘cash store’ being painted over the shops, as in most towns of the United States, to tell the customers that the shopkeepers sell only for cash, while they may almost be induced to sell even a thimble on credit; ‘here cash _given_ for wheat,’ ‘cash _given_ for, &c. &c.’ was the usual motto. We learnt also, that the town was blessed by the absence of a bank, while in the smallest American town I had been accustomed to find banks the first objects which presented themselves—the Farmer’s Bank, the Merchant’s Bank, the Planter’s Bank, the Mechanic’s Bank, the Franklin Bank, the Patriotic Bank, &c. &c. with their various combinations, had met my eye more or less in every village. We embarked again about two o’clock, and in the morning by day-light found ourselves at Sacket’s Harbour, of which we heard so much during the war. It is a noble natural harbour, and the place where the American ships employed on the lakes were built so rapidly. Many of them are now rotting under wooden covers. There is one half finished, _said_ to be longer than our largest ship of the line, covered with a wooden shade, which itself, our conductor told us, cost 7,000_l._ This immense vessel, so far inland, on the banks of a lake, was a singular sight, and excited some incongruous ideas.

“We sailed again soon after breakfast, and in the morning (9th) found ourselves at Ogdensburgh, about 260 miles from Niagara, which we had left on the 6th. The preceding afternoon we had entered the St. Lawrence, and I had been much delighted with our sail through that expanse of it which is called the Lake of the Thousand Islands. In reality, there are more than 2,000, of every size and form, and a lovely afternoon exhibited them in all their beauty. As we glided past them, on the smooth surface of the St. Lawrence, I thought I had never beheld a scene which so nearly realized my ideas of enchantment. The banks of the river as we proceeded were rather less wild and interesting than I had expected.

“At Ogdensburgh, which is said to belong principally to Mr. Parish, who is endeavouring to settle a tract of land in the vicinity, we breakfasted at a large stone tavern, which he has built, and then prepared in high spirits to descend the Rapids. For this purpose we hired a long boat, which would accommodate the whole party, and which, with 25 people on board and their baggage, and 25 barrels of flour for ballast, was said to draw only eight inches of water. We set sail about ten o’clock, and in four hours and a few minutes had been carried 48 miles down the stream, in the course of which we had passed the first three rapids, one of which was half a mile, another two, and another about nine miles long. We always discerned them at a great distance, the dashing of the white foam resembling the tossing of the ocean; and as we approached them our velocity gradually increased, till we were carried by the stream at the rate of 14 or 15 miles an hour. When we got into the middle of the surges, our velocity, though still great, was checked by the eddies and by waves which frequently struck the bottom of the boat with great force; and from the appearance of the troubled waters, it seemed difficult for a boat to live. The confidence of the boatmen, however, checked our apprehensions, and our ladies behaved extremely well. The most alarming appearance was that of pointed rocks, which, from the transparency of the water, seemed to rise almost to the surface, and to threaten inevitable destruction. As I stood on the bow, I saw combinations of rocks, towards which we were hurried with impetuosity, and which it seemed impossible our boat could pass without striking. In some of the Rapids there were channels, called lost channels, from the accidents which had happened in them, and into which our boatmen had to guard against our being carried. The river varies from three-fourths of a mile to two miles in width; and although there are no mountains near, (the green mountains of Vermont were often in sight at a distance,) the white pine and cedar gave a picturesque appearance to its banks, and a resemblance to the river views in Norway or Sweden. One of the most singular sensations we experienced, was that of sailing many miles perceptibly _down hill_. Soon after passing the third rapid, the St. Lawrence expanded into a wide lake—the Lake of St. Francis. There we lost our wind and stream, and were obliged to have recourse to our oars. The evening was now closing in, and a violent thunder-storm brought on a premature darkness; but the ladies enlivened us by singing the Canadian Boat-Song, ‘Row, brothers, row, &c.’ which transported me to ——, where I have so often heard it.

“About ten o’clock, we made towards a light which we saw on the shore, and landed a committee of inquiry, who reported so unfavourably of the miserable cabin from which it issued, that we determined to proceed, tired as the ladies were. Our scouts informed us, that they had found in the cabin four or five Canadians, dancing to a sleeping fiddler, whose music ceased as soon as they awoke him. A mile or two further, we found a better house, where we called the family up, and, with the help of our well-bred and efficient ladies, some gunpowder tea they had with them, some milk that was obtained from a cow that was awakened for the purpose, and the services of my servant, we sat down, a party of twenty, to a tolerably comfortable meal. When the ladies were about to retire, they found there was no door to their chamber, but they supplied the deficiency with a sheet. The gentlemen lay on blankets, in a sort of barrack room; but I found the fleas so annoying, that I got up and sat at the door of the house. I should have enjoyed the clear night after the storm, and the placid lake, if I had been less tired and sleepy; but wearied as I was, I was very glad to see the day break. Our gunpowder tea made its appearance again at five o’clock; after which we embarked, passing the remaining rapids, (the Cedars, the Split Rock, and the Cascades, as they are called,) and the mouth of the Ottawa River; and, being becalmed in the fine lake, St. Louis, we arrived at night at La Chine, about 150 miles from Ogdensburgh, which we had left the preceding morning. As we approached La Chine, the houses and villages on the banks of the river and lake assumed a much more comfortable appearance; but of the Canadians in my next letter.

“Some of our party staid all night at La Chine, but several of my friends and myself proceeded to Montreal in a wretched vehicle, for which I was obliged to apologize to my American companions, by reminding them that it was only a colonial, and that there were parts of our colonial system which none of us attempted to defend. We met some miserable _calèches_, of which I was ashamed even as colonials; and I was compelled to repress the rising smiles of the party, by suggesting to their recollection, that, after all, we were still in America and not in England. After riding nine miles, almost in the dark, we entered the faubourg of Montreal, and jolted along a narrow street a mile long, which my companions, accustomed to the spacious streets in America, supposed to be an alley, though it is the principal street. At the end of it we stopped at the Mansion-house, a very fine inn; and here I was not ashamed to welcome my companions to the dominions of his Britannic Majesty.

“The Mansion-house is situated on the banks of the St. Lawrence, which its handsome apartments overlook, and which is here almost two and a half miles broad. The windows of our room open upon a fine terrace, from which there is a charming and extensive view of the distant country. In the evening this is a very favourite promenade with the inmates of the house.

“I am delighted to sit down once more under the British flag, which is waving over us, for Lord Dalhousie, the governor, is staying in the house; and I am gratified by the sight of our own red coats, who have mounted guard.”

“_Montreal, 23d August, 1822._

“I have just received your letter of the 19th ult. The uncommon cold of the last winter, and the unusual heat of the present summer, appear, in some degree, to have extended to you. Individually, I am not sorry to have the opportunity of experiencing, in the course of the year I have passed in America, a range of temperature beyond even the ordinary limits of the country. The great and sudden changes, however, continue to strike me more than even extremes of cold and heat, so much beyond those we experience in England. After a week of the hottest weather they have had here this summer, (the other morning the thermometer was currently reported, and I believe correctly, to be 98° of Fahrenheit in the shade,) thin clothes of every description have disappeared; and last night, when I sat down to write to you, I found it too cold to proceed. The oppressive heat of the summer here, and in the United States, is alleviated, in some degree, by the liberal use of ice. We see it in every form, and use it with the utmost profusion. The butter regularly comes to table with a fine thick transparent piece of ice upon it; large pieces are generally floating in the water jugs at dinner, or in your chambers; and it is often handed round on plates, in small pieces, to be used at dinner. The plan of preserving ice in this country, and the United States, is much more simple than with us, and, I have no doubt, more judicious, as, notwithstanding the superior heat of the climate, it is so much more cheap and plentiful. Almost every farmer has his ice-house.

“I have already given you some account of our sail down the Rapids. It was extremely pleasant; and although we were becalmed for many hours, we descended on the St. Lawrence in less than two days, a distance which the boatmen seldom reascend in less than nine or ten, even with the occasional assistance of locks at the side of the river. I am surprised we hear so little of this noble river. It is computed, I do not know with what accuracy, to discharge one-half more water than the Mississippi. Its depth between Ogdensburgh and La Chine (130 miles) seldom varies more than three feet in the course of a year; while the Mississippi was falling one foot each day when I ascended it. The St. Lawrence is much clearer than the Mississippi, and its current much more rapid; so rapid, indeed, that the Lake Erie steam-boat, which has been in operation for three years, has not been able to ascend from Black Rock to Lake Erie more than twice without twelve oxen. The banks of the St. Lawrence do not present the rich and beautiful cultivation which adorns the banks of the Mississippi in Louisiana; but if they do not exhibit extensive and highly-dressed plantations of sugar and cotton, or the magnificent forest trees peculiar to the south and west, the prospect is never blackened by a range of miserable slave-cabins, or gangs of negroes working like cattle in the field. I cannot describe to you the pleasure I derived from contrasting the various scenes through which I am passing with each other, they have so many peculiar features, and all so highly interesting.

“It is remarkable, that, rising from the same table-land, and so intimately connected by intersecting branches, which occasionally flow into each other during periods of inundation, the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence present the most striking contrast in their general features. Many of these are mentioned in the observations I will copy for you from Darby; but others, not much less interesting, might be added.