Part 5

The importance of the back country trade, and the trade to the lakes is in fact the back country trade, has already been demonstrated; and it has been shewn, that every seaport town in the United States has increased in size in proportion to the quantum it enjoyed of this trade; and that those towns most conveniently situated for carrying it on, were those that had the greatest share of it; as, therefore, the shores of the lake increase in population, and of course as the demand for European manufactures increases amongst the inhabitants, we may expect to see Montreal, which of all the sea-ports in North America is the most conveniently situated for supplying them with such manufactures, increase proportionably in size; and as the extent of back country it is connected with, by means of water, is as great, and also as fertile as that with which any of the large towns of the United States are connected, it is not improbable but that Montreal at a future day will rival in wealth and in size the greatest of the cities on the continent of North America.

_LETTER _ XXX.

_Description of the Town of Kingston.—Formerly called Fort Cadaraqua.—Extensive Trade carried on here.—Nature of it.—Inhabitants very hospitable.—Harbours on Lake Ontario.—Ships of War on that Lake.—Merchant Vessels.—Naval Officers.—Expence of building and keeping up Vessels very great.—Why.—No Iron Mines yet opened in the Country.—Copper may be more easily procured than Iron.—Found in great Quantities on the Borders of Lake Superior.—Embark in a Trading Vessel on Lake Ontario.—Description of that Lake.—A Septennial Change in the Height of the Waters said to be observable—also a Tide that ebbs and flows every Two Hours.—Observations on these Phenomena.—Voyage across the Lake similar to a Sea Voyage.—Come in Sight of Niagara Fort.—Land at Mississaguis Point.—Mississaguis Indians.—One of their Chiefs killed in_ _an Affray.—How treated by the British Government.—Their revengeful Disposition.—Mississaguis good Hunters.—How they kill Salmon.—Variety of Fish in the Lakes and Rivers of Canada.—Sea Wolves.—Sea Cows.—Description of the Town of Niagara or Newark.—The present Seat of Government.—Scheme of removing it elsewhere.—Unhealthiness of the Town of Niagara and adjacent Country.—Navy Hats.—Fort of Niagara surrendered pursuant to Treaty.—Description of it.—Description of the other Forts surrendered to the People of the United States.—Shewn not to be so advantageous to them as was expected.—Superior Position of the new British Posts pointed out._

Niagara, September.

[Sidenote: KINGSTON.]

KINGSTON is situated at the mouth of a deep bay, at the north eastern extremity of Lake Ontario. It contains a fort and barracks, an English episcopalian church, and about one hundred houses, the most of which, last were built, and are now inhabited by persons who emigrated from the United States at the close of the American war. Some few of the houses are built of stone and brick, but by far the greater part of them are of wood. The fort is of stone, and consists of a square with four bastions. It was erected by M. le Comte de Frontinac, as early as the year 1672, and was for a time called after him; but insensibly it lost his name, and received instead of it that of Cadaraqui, the name of a creek which falls into the bay. This name remained common to the fort and to the town until a few years ago, when it was changed to that of Kingston. From sixty to one hundred men are usually quartered in the barracks.

Kingston is a place of very considerable trade, and it is consequently increasing most rapidly in size. All the goods brought up the St. Lawrence for the supply of the upper country are here deposited in stores, preparatory to their being shipped on board vessels suitable to the navigation of the lake; and the furs from the various posts on the nearer lakes are here likewise collected together, in order to be laden on board bateaux, and sent down the St. Lawrence. Some furs are brought in immediately to the town by the Indians, who hunt in the neighbouring country, and along the upper parts of the St. Lawrence, but the quantity is not large. The principal merchants resident at Kingston are partners of old established houses at Montreal and Quebec. A stranger, especially if a British subject, is sure to meet with a most hospitable and friendly reception from them, as he passes through the place.

During the autumn the inhabitants of Kingston suffer very much from intermittent fevers, owing to the town being situated on a low spot of ground, contiguous to an extensive morass.

[Sidenote: KINGSTON BAY.]

The bay adjoining to Kingston affords good anchorage, and is the safest and most commodious harbour on all Lake Ontario. The bay of Great Sodus, on the south side of the lake, and that of Toronto, situated on the north side of the lake, nearly in the same meridian with Niagara, are said to be the next best to that of Kingston; but the entrance into each of them is obstructed by sand banks, which in rough weather cannot be crossed without imminent danger in vessels drawing more than five or six feet water. On the borders of the bay at Kingston there is a King’s dock yard, and another which is private property. Most of the British vessels of burthen on Lake Ontario have been built at these yards. Belonging to his Majesty there were on Lake Ontario, when we crossed it, three vessels of about two hundred tons each, carrying from eight to twelve guns, besides several gun boats; the last, however, were not in commission, but laid up in Niagara River; and in consequence of the ratification of the treaty of amity and commerce between the United States and his Britannic Majesty, orders were issued, shortly after we left Kingston, for laying up the other vessels of war, one alone excepted[10]. For one King’s ship there would be ample employment on the lake, in conveying to the upper country the presents for the Indians and the stores for the troops, and in transporting the troops across the lake when they changed quarters. Every military officer at the outposts enjoys the privilege of having a certain bulk, according to his rank, carried for him in the King’s vessels, free of all charges. The naval officers, if their vessels be not otherwise engaged, are allowed to carry a cargo of merchandize when they sail from one port to another, the freight of which is their perquisite; they likewise have the liberty, and are constantly in the practice, of carrying passengers across the lake at an established price. The commodore of the King’s vessels on Lake Ontario is a French Canadian, and so likewise are most of the officers under him. Their uniform is blue and white, with large yellow buttons, stamped with the figure of a beaver, over which is inscribed the word, “Canada.” The naval officers are under the controul of the military officer commandant, at every post where their vessels happen to touch; and they cannot leave their vessels to go up into the country at any time without his permission.

Footnote 10:

Subsequent orders, it was said, were issued, during the summer of 1797, to have one or more of these vessels put again in commission.

[Sidenote: MERCHANT VESSELS.]

Several decked merchant vessels, schooners, and sloops, of from fifty to two hundred tons each, and also numberless large sailing bateaux, are kept employed on Lake Ontario. No vessels are deemed proper for the navigation of these lakes but complete sea boats, or else flat bottomed vessels, such as canoes and bateaux, that can safely run ashore on an emergency. At present the people of the United States have no other vessels than bateaux on the lake, and whether they will deem it proper to have larger vessels, as their harbours are all so indifferent, remains yet to be determined. The large British vessels ply mostly between Kingston and Niagara, and but very rarely touch at any other place.

The expence of building, and equipping vessels on Lake Ontario, is very considerable; and it is still greater on the more distant lakes, as the larger part of the iron implements, and all the cordage wanted for that purpose, are imported from Great Britain, through the medium of the lower province. There can be no doubt, however, but that when the country is become more populous, an ample supply of these necessary articles will be readily procured on the spot; for the soil of the upper province is well adapted to the growth of hemp, and iron ore has been discovered in many parts of the country. Hemp already begins to be cultivated in small quantities; but it has hitherto been the policy of government to direct the attention of the people to agriculture, rather than to any other pursuit, so that none of the iron mines, which, together with all other mines that are, or that may hereafter be discovered, are the exclusive property of the crown, have yet been opened. The people of the United States, however, alive to every prospect of gain, have already sent persons to look for iron ore in that part of their territory situated conveniently to the lakes. These persons have been very successful in their searches; and as works will undoubtedly be established speedily by them in this quarter for the manufacture of iron, and as they will be able to afford it on much better terms than that which is brought all the way from Lower Canada, it is probable that government will encourage the opening of mines in our own dominions, rather than suffer the people of the States to enjoy such a very lucrative branch of trade as they must necessarily have, if the same policy is persisted in which has hitherto been pursued.

[Sidenote: COPPER ORES.]

Copper, in the more remote parts of Upper Canada, is found in much greater abundance than iron, and as it may be extracted from the earth with considerably less trouble than any of the iron ore that has yet been discovered, there is reason to imagine, that at a future day it will be much more used than iron for every purpose to which it can be applied. On the borders of a river, which falls into the south-west side of Lake Superior, virgin copper is found in the greatest abundance; and on most of the islands on the eastern side it is also found. In the possession of a gentleman at Niagara I saw a lump of virgin copper of several ounces weight, apparently as pure as if it had passed through fire, which I was informed had been struck off with a chisel from a piece equally pure, growing on one of these islands, which must at least have weighed forty pounds. Rich veins of copper are visible in almost all the rocks on these islands towards the shore; and copper ore, resembling copperas, is likewise found in deep beds near the water: in a few hours bateaux might here be filled with ore, and in less than three days conveyed to the Straits of St. Mary, after passing which the ore might be laden on board large vessels, and conveyed by water without any further interruption as far as Niagara River. The portage at the Straits of St. Mary may be passed in a few hours, and with a fair wind large vessels, proper for traversing Lakes Huron and Erie, may come down to the eastern extremity of the latter lake in six days.

Not only the building and fitting out of vessels on the lakes is attended with considerable expence, but the cost of keeping them up is likewise found to be very great, for they wear out much sooner than vessels employed commonly on the ocean; which circumstance, according to the opinion of the naval gentlemen on the lakes, is owing to the freshness of the water; added to this, no sailors are to be hired but at very high wages, and it is found necessary to retain them at full pay during the five months of the year that the vessels are laid up on account of the ice, as men cannot be procured at a moment’s notice. The sailors, with a few exceptions only, are procured from sea-ports, as it is absolutely necessary on these lakes, the navigation of which is more dangerous than that of the ocean, to have able and experienced seamen. Lake Ontario itself is never frozen out of sight of land, but its rivers and harbours are regularly blocked up by the ice.

The day after that on which we reached Kingston, we took our passage for Niagara on board a schooner of one hundred and eighty tons burthen, which was waiting at the merchant’s wharf for a fair wind. The established price of the passage across the lake in the cabin is two guineas, and in the steerage one guinea, for each person: this is by no means dear, considering that the captain, for the money, keeps a table for each respective set of passengers. The cabin table on board this vessel was really well served, and there was abundance of port and sherry wine, and of every sort of spirits, for the use of the cabin passengers. The freight of goods across the lake is dearer in proportion, being thirty-six shillings British per ton, which is nearly as much as was paid for the transportation of a ton of goods across the Atlantic previous to the present war; it cannot, however, be deemed exorbitant, when the expence of building and keeping the vessels in repair, and the high wages of the sailors, &c. are taken into consideration.

[Sidenote: FREIGHTAGE.]

On the 7th of September, in the afternoon, the wind became favourable for crossing the lake; notice was in consequence immediately sent round to the passengers, who were dispersed in different parts of the town, to get ready; all of them hurried on board; the vessel was unmoored, and in a few minutes she was wafted out into the lake by a light breeze. For the first mile and a half, in going from Kingston, the prospect is much confined, on account of the many large islands on the left hand side; but on weathering a point on one of the islands, at the end of that distance, an extensive view of the lake suddenly opens, which on a still clear evening, when the sun is sinking behind the lofty woods that adorn the shores, is extremely grand and beautiful.

[Sidenote: LAKE ONTARIO.]

Lake Ontario is the most easterly of the four large lakes through which the boundary line passes, that separates the United States from the province of Upper Canada. It is two hundred and twenty miles in length, from east to west, and seventy miles wide in the broadest part, and, according to calculation, contains about 2,390,000 acres. This lake is less subject to storms than any of the others, and its waters in general, considering their great expanse, are wonderfully tranquil. During the first evening of our voyage there was not the least curl even on their surface, they were merely agitated by a gentle swell; and during the subsequent part of the voyage, the waves were at no time so high as to occasion the slightest sickness amongst any of the passengers. The depth of the water in the lake is very great; in some parts it is unfathomable. On looking over the side of a vessel, the water, owing to its great depth, appears to be of a blackish colour, but it is nevertheless very clear, and any white substance thrown overboard may be discerned at the depth of several fathoms from the surface; it is, however, by no means so clear and transparent as the water of some of the other lakes. Mr. Carver, speaking of Lake Superior, says, “When it was calm, and the sun shone bright, I could sit in my canoe, where the depth was upwards of six fathoms, and plainly see huge piles of stone at the bottom, of different shapes, some of which appeared as if they had been hewn; the water was at this time as pure and transparent as air, and my canoe seemed as if it hung suspended in that element. It was impossible to look attentively through this limpid medium, at the rocks below, without finding, before many minutes were elapsed, your head swim, and your eyes no longer able to behold the dazzling scene.”

The water of Lake Ontario is very well tasted, and is that which is constantly used on board the vessels that traverse it.

[Sidenote: RISING OF THE WATER.]

It is very confidently asserted, not only by the Indians, but also by great numbers of the white people who live on the shores of Lake Ontario, that the waters of this lake rise and fall alternately every seventh year; others, on the contrary, deny that such a fluctuation does take place; and indeed it differs so materially from any that has been observed in large bodies of water in other parts of the globe, that for my own part I am somewhat tempted to believe it is merely an imaginary change; nevertheless, when it is considered, that according to the belief of the older inhabitants of the country, such a periodical ebbing and flowing of the waters of the lake takes place, and that it has never been clearly proved to the contrary, we are bound to suspend our opinions on the subject. A gentleman, whole habitation was situated close upon the borders of the lake, not far from Kingston, and who, from the nature of his profession, had more time to attend to such subjects than the generality of the people of the country, told me, that he had observed the state of the lake attentively for nearly fourteen years that he had resided on the borders of it, and that he was of opinion the waters did not ebb and flow periodically; yet he acknowledged this very remarkable fact, that several of the oldest white inhabitants in his neighbourhood declared, previously to the rising of the lake, that the year 1795 would be the high year; and that in the summer of that year, the lake actually did rise to a very uncommon height. He said, however, that he had reason to think the rising of the lake on this occasion was wholly owing to fortuitous circumstances, and not to any regular established law of nature; and he conceived, that if the lake had not risen as it had done, yet the people would have fancied, nevertheless, that it was in reality higher than usual, as he supposed they had fancied it to be on former occasions. He was induced to form this opinion, he said, from the following circumstance: When the lake had risen to such an unusual height in the year 1795, he examined several of the oldest people on the subject, and questioned them particularly as to the comparative height of the waters on this and former occasions. They all declared that the waters were not higher than they usually were at the time of their periodical rising; and they affirmed, that they had themselves seen them equally high before. Now a grove of trees, which stood adjoining to this gentleman’s garden, and must at least have been of thirty years growth, was entirely destroyed this year by the waters of the lake, that flowed amongst the trees; had the lake, therefore, ever risen so high before, this grove would have been then destroyed. This circumstance certainly militated strongly against the evidence which the people gave as to the height of the waters; but it only proved that the waters had risen on this occasion higher than they had done for thirty years preceding; it did not prove that they had not, during that term, risen periodically above their ordinary level.

What Mr. Carver relates concerning this subject, rather tends to confirm the opinion that the waters of the lake do rise. “I had like,” he says, “to have omitted a very extraordinary circumstance relative to these straits;” the Straits of Michillimakinac, between lakes Michigan and Huron. “According to observations made by the French, whilst they were in possession of the fort there, although there is no diurnal flood or ebb to be perceived in these waters, yet from an exact attention to their state, a periodical alteration in them has been discovered. It was observed, that they arose by gradual but almost imperceptible degrees, till they had reached the height of three feet; this was accomplished in seven years and a half; and in the same space of time they as gently decreased, till they had reached their former situation; so that in fifteen years they had completed this inexplicable revolution. At the time I was there, the truth of these observations could not be confirmed by the English, as they had then been only a few years in possession of the fort; but they all agreed that some alterations in the limits of the straits was apparent.” It is to be lamented that succeeding years have not thrown more light on the subject; for since the fort has been in our possession, persons competent to determine the truth of observations of such a nature, have never staid a sufficient length of time there to have had it in their power to do so.

[Sidenote: LAKE ONTARIO.]

A long series of minute observations are necessary to determine positively whether the waters of the lake do or do not rise and fall periodically. It is well known, for instance, that in wet seasons the waters rise much above their ordinary level, and that in very dry seasons they sink considerably below it; a close attention, therefore, ought to be paid to the quantity of rain that falls, and to evaporation; and it ought to be ascertained in what degree the height of the lake is altered thereby; otherwise, if the lake happened to be higher or lower than usual on the seventh year, it would be impossible to say with accuracy whether it were owing to the state of the weather, or to certain laws of nature that we are yet unacquainted with. At the same time, great attention ought to be paid to the state of the winds, as well in respect to their direction as to their velocity, for the height of the waters of all the lakes is materially affected thereby. At Fort Erie, situated at the eastern extremity of the lake of the same name, I once observed the waters to fall full three feet in the course of a few hours, upon a sudden change of the wind from the westward, in which direction it had blown for many days, to the east-ward. Moreover, these observations ought not only to be made at one place on the borders of anyone of the lakes, but they ought to be made at several different places at the same time; for the waters have encroached, owing to some unknown causes, considerably and gradually upon the shores in some places, and receded in others. Between the stone house, in the fort at Niagara, and the lake, for instance, there is not at present a greater space than ten yards, or thereabouts; though when first built there was an extensive garden between them. A water battery also, erected since the commencement of the present war, at the bottom of the bank, beyond the walls of the fort, was sapped away by the water in the course of two seasons, and now scarcely any vestige of it remains. At a future day, when the country becomes more populous and more wealthy, persons will no doubt be found who will have leisure for making the observations necessary for determining whether the lakes do or do not undergo a periodical change, but at present the inhabitants on the borders of them are too much engaged in commercial and agricultural pursuits to attend to matters of mere speculation, which, however they might amuse the philosopher, could be productive of no solid advantages to the generality of the inhabitants of the country.

[Sidenote: OBSERVATIONS.]