Part 6

It is believed by many persons that the waters of Lake Ontario not only rise and fall periodically every seventh year, but that they are likewise influenced by a tide, which ebbs and flows frequently in the course of twenty-four hours. On board the vessel in which I crossed the lake there were several gentlemen of the country, who confidently assured me, that a regular tide was observable at the Bay of Canti; that in order to satisfy themselves on the subject, they had stood for several hours together, on more than one occasion, at a mill at the head of the bay, and that they had observed the waters to ebb and flow regularly every four hours, rising to the height of fourteen inches. There can be no doubt, however, but that the frequent ebbing and flowing of the water at this place must be caused by the wind; for no such regular fluctuation is observable at Niagara, at Kingston, or on the open shores of the lake; and owing to the formation of the Bay of Canti, the height of the water must necessarily vary there with, every slight change of the wind. The Bay of Canti is a long crooked inlet, that grows narrower at the upper end, like a funnel; not only, therefore, a change of wind up or down the bay would make a difference in the height of the water at the uppermost extremity of it; but owing to the waters being concentrated there at one point, they would be seen to rise or fall, if impelled even in the same direction, whether up or down the bay, more or less forcibly at one time of the day than at another. Now it is very seldom that the wind, at any part of the day or night, would be found to blow precisely with the same force, for a given space of two hours, that it had blown for the preceding space of two hours; an appearance like a tide must therefore be seen almost constantly at the head of this bay whenever there was a breeze. I could not learn that the fluctuation had ever been observed during a perfect calm: were the waters, however, influenced by a regular tide, during a calm the tide would be most readily seen.

To return to the voyage. A few hours after we quitted Kingston, on the 7th of September, the wind died away, and during the whole night the vessel made but little way; early on the morning of the 8th, however, a fresh breeze sprang up, and before noon we lost sight of the land. Our voyage now differed in no wise from one across the ocean; the vessel was steered by the compass, the log regularly heaved, the way marked down in the log book, and an exact account kept of the procedures on board. We continued sailing, out of sight of land, until the evening of the 9th, when we had a view of the blue hills in the neighbourhood of Toronto, on the northern side of the lake, but they soon disappeared. Except at this place, the shores of the lake are flat and sandy, owing to which circumstance it is, that in traversing the lake you are generally carried out of sight of land in a very few hours.

[Sidenote: NIAGARA.]

At day-break on the 10th the fort and town of Niagara appeared under the lee bow, and the wind being favourable, we had every prospect before us of getting up to the town in a few hours; but scarcely had we reached the bar, at the mouth of Niagara River, when the wind suddenly shifted, and after endeavouring in vain to cross it by means of tacking, we were under the necessity of casting anchor at the distance of about two miles from the fort. The fort is seen to great advantage from the water; but the town being built parallel to the river, and no part of it visible to a spectator on the lake, except the few shabby houses at the nearest end, it makes but a very poor appearance. Having breakfasted, and exchanged our _habits de voyage_, for such as it was proper to appear in at the capital of Upper Canada, and at the center of the beau monde of the province, the schooner’s yawl was launched, and we were landed, together with such of the passengers as were disposed to go on shore, at Mississaguis Point, from whence there is an agreeable walk of one mile, partly through woods, to the town of Niagara.

[Sidenote: MISSISSAGUIS.]

This point takes its name from the Mississaguis Indians, great numbers of whom are generally encamped upon it. The Mississaguis tribe inhabits the shores of Lake Ontario, and it is one of the most numerous of this part of the country. The men are in general very stout, and they are esteemed most excellent hunters and fishers; but less warlike, it is said, than any of the neighbouring nations. They are of a much darker complexion than any other Indians I ever met with; some of them being nearly as black as negroes. They are extremely dirty and slovenly in their appearance, and the women are still more so than the men; such indeed is the odour exhaled in a warm day from the rancid grease and fish oil with which the latter daub their hair, necks, and faces profusely, that it is offensive in the highest degree to approach within some yards of them. On arriving at Niagara, we found great numbers of these Indians dispersed in knots, in different parts of the town, in great concern for the loss of a favourite and experienced chief. This man, whose name was Wompakanon, had been killed, it appeared, by a white man, in a fray which happened at Toronto, near to which place is the principal village of the Mississaguis nation. The remaining chiefs immediately assembled their warriors, and marched down to Niagara, to make a formal complaint to the British government. To appease their resentment, the commanding officer of the garrison distributed presents amongst them to a large amount, and amongst other things they were allowed no small portion of rum and provisions, upon which the tribe feasted, according to custom, the day before we reached the town; but the rum being all consumed, they seemed to feel severely for the loss of poor Wompakanon. Fear of exciting the anger of the British government would prevent them from taking revenge openly on this occasion; but I was informed by a gentleman in the Indian department, intimately acquainted with the dispositions of the Indians, that as nothing but blood is deemed sufficient in their opinion to atone for the death of a favourite chief, they would certainly kill some white man, perhaps one perfectly innocent, when a favourable and secret opportunity offered for so doing, though it should be twenty years afterwards.

The Mississaguis keep the inhabitants of Kingston, of Niagara, and of the different towns on the lake, well supplied with fish and game, the value of which is estimated by bottles of rum and loaves of bread. A gentleman, with whom we dined at Kingston, entertained us with a most excellent haunch of venison of a very large size, and a salmon weighing at least fifteen pounds, which he had purchased from one of these Indians for a bottle of rum and a loaf of bread[11], and upon enquiry I found that the Indian thought himself extremely well paid, and was highly pleased with having made such a good bargain.

Footnote 11:

Both together probably not worth more than half a dollar.

The Indians catch salmon and other large fish in the following manner. Two men go together in a canoe at night; the one sits in the stern and paddles, and the other stands with a spear over a flambeau placed in the head of the canoe. The fish, attracted by the light, come in numbers around the canoe, and the spearsman then takes the opportunity of striking them. They are very expert at this business, seldom missing their aim.

Lake Ontario, and all the rivers which fall into it, abound with excellent salmon, and many different kinds of sea-fish, which come up the River St. Lawrence; it also abounds with such a great variety of fresh water fish, that it is supposed there are many sorts in it which have never yet been named. In almost every part of the River St. Lawrence, fish is found in the greatest abundance; and it is the opinion of many persons, that if the fisheries were properly attended to, particularly the salmon fishery, the country would be even more enriched thereby than by the fur trade. Sea wolves and sea cows, amphibious animals, weighing from one to two thousand pounds each, are said to have been found in Lake Ontario: of the truth of this, however, there is some doubt; but certain it is, that in sailing across that lake animals of an immense size are frequently seen playing on the surface of the water. Of the large fishes, the sturgeon is the one most commonly met with, and it is not only found in Lake Ontario, but also in the other lakes that have no immediate communication with the sea. The sturgeon caught in the lakes is valuable for its oil, but it is not a well flavoured fish; indeed, the sturgeon found north of James River in Virginia is in general very indifferent, and seldom or never eaten.

[Sidenote: NIAGARA RIVER.]

Niagara River runs nearly in a due south direction, and falls into Lake Ontario on the southern shore, about thirty miles to the east-ward of the western extremity of the lake. It is about three hundred yards wide at its mouth, and is by far the largest body of water flowing into Lake Ontario. On the eastern side of the river is situated the fort, now in the possession of the people of the States, and on the opposite or British side the town, most generally known by the name of Niagara, notwithstanding that it has been named Newark by the legislature. The original name of the town was Niagara, it was afterwards called Lenox, then Nassau, and afterwards Newark. It is to be lamented that the Indian names, so grand and sonorous, should ever have been changed for others. Newark, Kingston, York, are poor substitutes for the original names of these respective places, Niagara, Cataragui, Toronto. The town of Niagara hitherto has been, and is still the capital of the province of Upper Canada; orders, however, had been issued, before our arrival there, for the removal of the seat of government from thence to Toronto, which was deemed a more eligible spot for the meeting of the legislative bodies, as being farther removed from the frontiers of the United States. This projected change is by no means relished by the people at large, as Niagara is a much more convenient place of resort to most of them than Toronto; and as the governor who proposed the measure has been removed, it is imagined that it will not be put in execution. The removal of the seat of government from Niagara to Toronto, according to the plan laid down, was only to have been a preparatory step to another alteration: a new city, to have been named London, was to have been built on the river formerly called La Trenche, but since called the Thames, a river running into Lake St. Clair; and here the seat of government was ultimately to have been fixed. The spot marked out for the site of the city possesses many local advantages. It is situated in a healthy fertile country, on a fine navigable river, in a central part of the province, from whence the water communication is extensive in every direction. A few settlements have already been made on the banks of the river, and the tide of emigration is setting in strongly towards that quarter; at a future day, therefore, it is by no means improbable but that this spot may be deemed an eligible one for the capital of the country; but to remove the seat of government immediately to a place little better than a wilderness, and so far from the populous parts of the province, would be a measure fraught with numberless inconveniencies to the public, and productive apparently of no essential advantages whatsoever.

[Sidenote: NIAGARA TOWN.]

The town of Niagara contains about seventy houses, a court house, gaol, and a building intended for the accommodation of the legislative bodies. The houses, with a few exceptions, are built of wood; those next the lake are rather poor, but at the upper end of the town there are several very excellent dwellings, inhabited by the principal officers of government. Most of the gentlemen in official stations in Upper Canada are Englishmen of education, a circumstance which must render the society of the capital agreeable, let it be fixed where it will. Few places in North America can boast of a more rapid rise than the little town of Niagara, nearly every one of its houses having been built within the last five years: it is still advancing most rapidly in size, owing to the increase of the back country trade along the shores of the upper lakes, which is all carried on through the place, and also owing to the wonderful emigrations, into the neighbourhood, of people from the States. The motives which lead the citizens of the United States to emigrate to the British dominions have already been explained. So sudden and so great has the influx of people, into the town of Niagara and its vicinity, been, that town lots, horses, provisions, and every necessary of life have risen, within the last three years, nearly fifty per cent. in value.

[Sidenote: SICKNESS.]

The banks of the River Niagara are steep and lofty, and on the top, at each side of the river, are extensive plains. The town stands on the summit of the western bank, about fifty yards from the water’s edge. It commands a fine view of the lake and distant shores, and its situation is in every respect pleasing to the eye. From its standing on a spot of ground so much elevated above the level of the water, one would imagine that it must also be a remarkably healthy place, but it is, in fact, lamentably the reverse. On arriving at the town, we were obliged to call at no less than four different taverns, before we could procure accommodations, the people at the first places we stopped at being so severely afflicted with the ague, that they could not receive us; and on enquiring, it appeared that there was not a single house in the whole town but where one or more of the inhabitants were labouring under this perplexing disorder; in some of the houses entire families were laid up, and at the fort on the opposite side of the river, the whole of the new garrison, except a corporal and nine men, was disqualified for doing duty. Each individual of our party could not but entertain very serious apprehensions for his own health, on arriving at a place where sickness was so general, but we were assured that the danger of catching the disorder was now over; that all those who were ill at present, had been confined many weeks before; and that for a fortnight past not a single person had been attacked, who had not been ill in the preceding part of the season. As a precaution, however, each one of the party took fasting, in the morning, a glass of brandy, in which was infused a teaspoonfull of Peruvian bark. This mixture is deemed, in the country, one of the most certain preventatives against the disorder, and few that take it, in time, regularly, and avoid the evening dews, suffer from it.

Not only the town of Niagara and its vicinity are unhealthy places, but almost every part of Upper Canada, and of the territory of the States bordering upon the lakes, is likewise unhealthy. The sickly season commences about the middle of July, and terminates about the first week of September, as soon as the nights become cold. Intermittent fevers are the most common disorders; but in some parts of the country the inhabitants suffer from continual fevers, of which there are different kinds, peculiar to certain districts. In the country, for instance, bordering upon the Genesee River, which falls into Lake Ontario on the southern side, a fever is common amongst the inhabitants of a malignant nature, vulgarly called the Genesee fever, of which many die annually: and in that bordering upon the Miami River, which falls into Lake Erie, within the north-western territory of the United States, a fever of a different kind, again, is common. It does not appear that the exact nature of these different fevers has ever been accurately ascertained. In the back parts of North America, in general, medical men are rarely to be met with, and indeed if they were, the settlements are so far removed from each other, that they could be of little service.

[Sidenote: EMIGRATIONS.]

It is very remarkable, that notwithstanding that medical assistance is so rarely to be had in case of sickness in the back country, yet the Americans, when they are about to change their place of abode, seldom or ever consider whether the part of the country to which they are going is healthy or otherwise, at least they are scarcely ever influenced in their choice of a place of residence either by its healthiness or unhealthiness. If the lands in one part of the country are superior to those in another in fertility; if they are in the neighbourhood of a navigable river, or situated conveniently to a good market; if they are cheap, and rising in value, thither the American will gladly emigrate, let the climate be ever so unfriendly to the human system. Not a year passes over, but what numbers of people leave the beautiful and healthy banks of the Susquehannah River for the Genesee country, where nine out of every ten of the inhabitants are regularly seized, during the autumn, with malignant fevers; but the lands bordering upon the Susquehannah are in general poor, whereas those in the Genesee country are in many places so rich, that until reduced by successive crops of Indian corn, wheat, to use the common phrase, “will run wholly to straw:” where it has been sown in the first instance, the stalks have frequently been found fourteen or fifteen feet in length, two thirds of them lying on the ground.

On the margin of Niagara River, about three quarters of a mile from the town, stands a building called Navy Hall, erected for the accommodation of the naval officers on the lake during the winter season, when their vessels are laid up. Opposite to it there is a spacious wharf to protect the vessels from the ice during the winter, and also to facilitate the landing of merchandize when the navigation is open. All cargoes brought up the lake, that are destined for Niagara, are landed here. Adjoining the wharf are very extensive stores belonging to the crown, and also to private persons. Navy Hall is now occupied by the troops; the fort on the opposite side of the river, where they were formerly stationed, having been delivered up pursuant to the late treaty between his Majesty and the United States. The troops, however, are only to remain at the hall until a blockhouse is erected on the top of the banks for their accommodation; this building is in a state of forwardness, and the engineer hopes to have it finished in a few months.

[Sidenote: NIAGARA FORT.]

[Sidenote: FEDERAL ARMY.]