Books: Life in Canada Fifty Years Ago
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Canniff Haight >> Life in Canada Fifty Years Ago
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But time rolled on. The openings in the forest grew larger and wider.
The log cabins began to multiply, and the curling smoke, rising here and
there above the woods, told a silent but more cheerful tale. There dwelt
a neighbour--miles away, perhaps--but a neighbour, nevertheless. If you
would like an idea of the proximity of humanity, and the luxury of
society in those days, just place a few miles of dense woods between
yourself and your nearest neighbour, and you will have a faint
conception of the delights of a home in the forest.
There are persons still living who have heard their parents or
grandparents tell of the dreadful sufferings they endured the second
year after the settlement of the Bay of Quinte country. The second
year's Government supply, through some bad management, was frozen up in
the lower part of the St. Lawrence, and, in consequence, the people were
reduced to a state of famine. Men were glad, in some cases, to give all
they possessed for that which would sustain life. Farms were given in
exchange for small quantities of flour, but more frequently refused. A
respectable old lady, long since gone to her rest, and whose
grandchildren are somewhat aristocratic, was wont in those days to go
away to the woods early in the morning to gather and eat the buds of the
basswood, and then bring an apronfull home to her family. In one
neighbourhood a beef bone passed from house to house, and was boiled
again and again in order to extract some nutriment from it. This is no
fiction, but a literal fact. Many other equally uninviting bills of fare
might be given, but these no doubt will suffice. Sufficient has been
said to show that our fathers and mothers did not repose upon rose-beds,
nor did they fold their hands in despair, but with strong nerves and
stout hearts, even when famine was in the pot, they pushed on and lived.
The forest melted away before them, and we are now enjoying the happy
results.
The life of the first settler was for a long time one of hardship and
adventure. When this Utopia was reached he frequently had difficulty in
finding his land. He was not always very particular as to this, for land
then was not of very much account, and yet he wished, if possible, to
strike somewhere near his location. This involved sometimes long trips
into the forest, or along the shores. After a day's paddling he would
land, pull up his canoe, and look around. The night coming on, he had to
make some preparation for it. How was it to be done in this howling
wilderness? Where was he to sleep, and how was he to protect himself
against the perils that surrounded him? He takes his axe and goes to
work. A few small trees are cut down. Then he gathers some limbs and
heaps them up together. From his pocket he brings a large knife; then a
flint and a bit of punk. The punk he places carefully under the flint,
holding it in his left hand, and then picks up his knife and gives the
flint a few sharp strokes with the back of the blade, which sends forth
a shower of sparks, some of which fall on the punk and ignite, and soon
his heap is in a blaze. Now, this labour is not only necessary for his
comfort, but for his safety. The smoke drives the flies and mosquitoes
away, and keeps the wolves and bears from encroaching on his place of
rest. But the light which affords him protection subjects him to a new
annoyance.
"Loud as the wolves in Oroa's stormy steep
Howl to the roaring of the stormy deep,"
the wolves howled to the fire kindled to affright them away. Watching
the whole night in the surrounding hills, they keep up a concert which
truly "renders night hideous;" and bullfrogs in countless numbers from
adjacent swamps, with an occasional "To-whit, to-whoo!" from the sombre
owl, altogether make a native choir anything but conducive to calm
repose. And yet, amid such a serenade, with a few boughs for a bed, and
the gnarled root of a tree for a pillow, did many of our fathers spend
their first nights in the wilderness of Canada.
The first settlers of Upper Canada were principally American colonists
who adhered to the cause of England. After the capitulation of General
Burgoyne, many of the royalists, with their families, moved into Canada,
and took up land along the shores of the St. Lawrence, the Bay of
Quinte, and the lakes. Upon the evacuation of New York at the close of
the war a still greater number followed, many of whom were soldiers
disbanded and left without employment. Many had lost their property, so
that nearly all were destitute and depending upon the liberality of the
Government whose battles they had fought, and for whose cause they had
suffered. They were not forgotten. The British Government was not tardy
in its movement, and at once decided to reward their loyalty. Immediate
steps were taken to provide for their present wants, and also to provide
means for their future subsistence.
These prompt measures on the part of the Government were not only acts
of justice and humanity, but were sound in policy, and were crowned with
universal success. Liberal grants of land were made free of expense on
the following scale: A field officer received 5,000 acres; a captain,
3,000; a subaltern, 2,000, and a private, 200. Surveyors were sent on to
lay out the land. They commenced their work near Lake St. Francis, then
the highest French settlement, and extended along the shores of the St.
Lawrence up to Lake Ontario, and thence along the lake, and round the
Bay of Quinte. Townships were laid out, and then subdivided into
concessions and lots of 200 acres. These townships were numbered, and
remained without names for many years. Of these numbers there were two
divisions: one, including the townships below Kingston in the line east
to the St. Francis settlement; the other, west from Kingston to the head
of the Bay of Quinte. They were known by the old people as first,
second, third, fourth town, etc. No names were given to the townships by
legal enactment for a long time, and hence the habit of designating them
by numbers became fixed.
The settlement of the surveyed portion of the Midland District, which
then included the present counties of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington,
Hastings, and the county of Prince Edward, commenced in the summer of
1784. The new settlers were supplied with farming implements, building
materials, provisions, and some clothing for the first two years, at the
expense of the nation, "And in order," it was stated, "that the love of
country may take deeper root in the hearts of those true men, the
government determined to put a mark of honour," as the order of the
Council expresses it, "upon the families who had adhered to the unity of
the Empire, and joined the royal standard in America, before the treaty
of separation in the year 1783." A list of such persons was directed in
1789 to be made out and returned, "to the end that their posterity might
be discriminated from the future settlers." From these two emphatic
words--The Unity of the Empire--it was styled the U.E. list, and they
whose names were entered therein were distinguished as U.E. Loyalists.
This, as is well known, was not a mere empty distinction, but was
notably a title of some consequence, for it not only provided for the
U.E. Loyalists themselves, but guaranteed to all their children, upon
arriving at the age of twenty-one years, two hundred acres of land free
from all expense. It is a pleasing task to recall these generous acts on
the part of the British Government towards the fathers of our country,
and the descendants of those true and noble-hearted men who loved the
old Empire so well that they preferred to endure toil and privation in
the wilderness of Canada to ease and comfort under the protection of the
revolted colonies. We should venerate their memory, and foster a love of
country as deep and abiding as theirs.
In order further to encourage the growth of population, and induce other
settlers to come into the country, two hundred acres of land were
allowed, upon condition of actual settlement, and the payment of
surveying and office fees, which amounted in all to about thirty-eight
dollars.
In 1791 the provinces were divided, and styled Upper Canada and Lower
Canada--the one embracing all the French seigneuries; the other all the
newly-settled townships. The first Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves
Simcoe, arrived in 1792, and took up his residence at Newark (Niagara),
then the capital of the Province. Here the first Parliament of Upper
Canada met and held five successive sessions, after which it was moved
to York. Governor Simcoe laboured hard and successfully to promote the
settlement of the Province.
Kingston is the oldest town in Upper Canada by many years. The white man
found his way here more than a century before any settlement in the west
was made or thought of. Small expeditions had from time to time
penetrated the vast wilderness far to the west, either for the purpose
of trading with the Indians, or led by some zealous priest who sought
for the glory of God to bring the wandering tribes into the fold of the
Roman Church. The untiring energy and zeal displayed by these early
Fathers, together with the hardships, dangers and privations they
endured, form one of the most interesting pages of adventure in our
country's history. The crafty and industrious French Governor, De
Courcelles, in order to put a stop to the encroachments of the Five
Nations, despatched a messenger from Quebec to their chief to inform him
that he had some business of great importance to communicate, and wished
them to proceed to Cataraqui, where he would meet them. As soon as the
Indian deputies arrived, a council was held. The Governor informed them
that he was going to build a fort there, to serve principally as a depot
for merchandise; and to facilitate the trade that was springing up
between them. The chiefs, ignorant of the real intention of the wily
Governor readily agreed to a proposition which seemed intended for their
advantage. But the object was far from what the Indians expected, and
was really to create a barrier against them in future wars.
While measures were being completed to build the fort Courcelles was
recalled, and Count de Frontenac sent out in his place. Frontenac
carried out the designs of his predecessor; and in 1672 completed the
fort, which received and for many years retained his name.
Father Charlevoix, who journeyed through Western Canada in the year
1720, thus describes Fort Cataraqui. "This fort is square, with four
bastions built with stone, and the ground it occupies is a quarter of a
league in compass. Its situation is really something very pleasant. The
sides of the view present every way a landscape well varied, and it is
the same at the entrance of Lake Ontario, which is but a small league
distant. It is full of islands of different sizes, all well wooded, and
nothing bounds the horizon on that side. The Lake was sometimes called
St. Louis, afterwards Frontenac, as well as the fort of Cataraqui, of
which the Count de Frontenac was the founder, but insensibly the Lake
has regained its ancient name Ontario, which is Huron or Iroquois, and
the fort that of the place where it is built. The soil from this place
to la Sallette appears something barren, but this is only in the
borders, it being very good further up. There is over against the fort a
very pretty island in the middle of the river. They put some swine into
it, which have multiplied, and given it the name of Isle du Porcs.
"There are two other islands somewhat smaller, which are lower, and half
a league distant from each other. One is called Cedars, the other Hart's
Island. The Bay of Cataraqui is double; that is to say, that almost in
the middle of it there is a point that runs out a great way, under which
there is a good anchorage for large barks. M. de la Salle, so famous for
his discoveries and his misfortunes, who was lord of Cataraqui, and
governor of the fort, had two or three of them, which were sunk in this
place, and remain there still. Behind the fort is a marsh, where there
is a great plenty of wild fowl. This is a benefit to and employment for
the garrison. There was formerly a great trade here, especially with the
Iroquois, and it was to entice them to, as well as to hinder their
carrying their skins to the English and keep these savages in awe, that
the fort was built. But the trade did not last long, and the fort has
not hindered the barbarians from doing us a great deal of mischief. They
have still families here, in the outside of the place, and there are
also some Missisaguas, an Algonquin nation, which still have a village
on the west side of Lake Ontario, another at Niagara, and a third in the
strait." Such is the description we have of Kingston a century and a half
ago. The Mohawk name for it is Gu-doi-o-qui, or, "Fort in the Water."
I am unable, from any information I can get, to give the origin of the
name of our beautiful bay. It seems to have borne its present name at a
very early date in the history of the country. It is supposed by some to
be an Indian name with a French accent. I am disposed, however, to think
that it came from the early French voyageurs, from the fact that not
only the bay, but an island, are mentioned by the name of Quinte. The
usual pronunciation until a few years ago was _Kanty._
In the year 1780, on the 14th day of October, and again in July, 1814, a
most remarkable phenomenon occurred, the like of which was never before
witnessed in the country. "At noonday a pitchy darkness completely
obscured the light of the sun, continuing for about ten minutes at a
time, and being frequently repeated during the afternoon. In the
interval between each mysterious eclipse, dense masses of black clouds
streaked with yellow drove athwart the darkened sky, with fitful gusts
of wind. Thunder, lightning, black rain, and showers of ashes added to
the terrors of the scene, and when the sun appeared its colour was a
bright red." The people were filled with fear, and thought that the end
of the world was at hand. These two periods are known as the "dark
days."
Many years after this, another phenomenon not less wonderful occurred,
which I had the satisfaction of seeing; and although forty-five years
have elapsed, the terrifying scene is as firmly fixed in my memory as
though it had happened but an hour ago. I refer to the meteoric shower
of the 13th of November, 1833. My father had been from home, and on his
return, about midnight, his attention was arrested by the frequent fall
of meteors, or stars, to use the common phrase. The number rapidly
increased; and the sight was so grand and beautiful that he came in and
woke us all up, and then walked up the road and roused some of the
neighbours. Such a display of heaven's fireworks was never seen before.
If the air had been filled with rockets they would have been but match
strokes compared to the incessant play of brilliant dazzling meteors
that flashed across the sky, furrowing it so thickly with golden lines
that the whole heaven seemed ablaze until the morning's sun shut out the
scene. One meteor of large size remained sometime almost stationary in
the zenith, emitting streams of light. I stood like a statue, and gazed
with fear and awe up to the glittering sky. Millions of stars seemed to
be dashing across the blue dome of heaven. In fact I thought the whole
starry firmament was tumbling down to earth. The neighbours were terror
struck: the more enlightened of them were awed at contemplating so vivid
a picture of the Apocalyptic image--that of the stars of heaven falling
to the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is
shaken by a mighty wind; while the cries of others, on a calm night like
that, might have been heard for miles around.
Young and poor as Canada was half a century ago, she was not behind many
of the older and more wealthy countries in enterprize. Her legislators
were sound, practical men, who had the interest of their country at
heart. Her merchants were pushing and intelligent; her farmers frugal
and industrious. Under such auspices her success was assured. At an
early day the Government gave material aid to every project that was
calculated to foster and extend trade and commerce, as well as to open
up and encourage the settlement of the country. Neither was individual
enterprize behind in adopting the discoveries and improvements of the
time, and in applying them not only to their own advantage but to that
of the community at large. Four years after Fulton had made his
successful experiment with steam as a propelling power for vessels on
the Hudson, a small steamer was built and launched at Montreal; and in
1815 the keel of the first steamer that navigated the waters of Upper
Canada was laid at Bath. She was named the _Frontenac_.
The village of Bath, as you all know, is situated on the Bay of Quinte,
about thirteen miles west of Kingston. It was formerly known as
Ernesttown. Those of you who have passed that way will remember that
about a mile west of the village there is a bend in the shore round
which the road leads, and that a short gravelly beach juts out,
inclosing a small pond of water. At the end of this, west, stands an old
frame house, time-worn and dilapidated. Behind this house the steamer
already mentioned was built, and three years later another known as the
_Charlotte_ was launched here. [Footnote: I have often heard my
father tell about going to see the launch of the _Charlotte_. He
went on foot a round distance of over thirty miles.] Thousands of people
were present, and the event was long remembered. They were, no doubt,
marvellous things in those days--much more so, perhaps, than that huge
mammoth of steam craft of later days, the _Great Eastern_, is to
us. I cannot give the dimensions of these boats, but it is safe to say
that they were not large. Their exploits in the way of speed were
considered marvellous, and formed the topic of conversation in many a
home. A trip in one of them down the bay to Kingston was a greater feat
then than a voyage to Liverpool is now; and they went but little faster
than a man could walk.
Early travellers predicted that Ernesttown would be a place of
importance, but their predictions have come to naught. It reached many
years ago the culminating point in its history. Still, in the progress
of our country the above must give it more than a passing interest.
Gourlay speaks of Bath in 1811, and says, "The village contains a
valuable social library"--a thing at that date which could not be found
probably in any other part of the Province.
Previous to the introduction of steamers, which gave a wonderful impetus
to trade, and completely revolutionized it, the traffic of the country
was carried on under great disadvantages. Montreal and Quebec, the one
the depot of merchandise and the other the centre of the lumber trade,
were far away, and could only be reached during six months in the year
by the St. Lawrence, whose navigation, on account of its rapids, was
difficult and dangerous. There was but little money, and business was
conducted on an understood basis of exchange or barter. During the
winter months the farmer threshed his grain and brought it with his pork
and potash to the merchant, who gave him goods for his family in return.
The merchant was usually a lumberman as well, and he busied himself in
the winter time in getting out timber and hauling it to the bay, where
it was rafted and made ready for moving early in the spring. As soon as
navigation was open, barges and batteaux were loaded with potash and
produce, and he set sail with these and his rafts down the river. It was
always a voyage of hardship and danger. If good fortune attended him, he
would, in the course of three or four weeks make Montreal, and Quebec
with his rafts two or three weeks later. Then commenced the labour of
disposing of his stuff, settling up the year's accounts, and purchasing
more goods, with which his boats were loaded and despatched for home.
The task of the country merchant in making his selections then, was much
more difficult than it is now. Moreover, as he could reach his market
but once in the year, his purchases had to be governed by this fact. He
had to cater to the entire wants of his customers, and was in the
letter, as well as the spirit, a general merchant, for he kept dry
goods, groceries, crockery, hardware, tools, implements, drugs--
everything, in fact, from a needle to an anchor. The return trip with
his merchandise was slow and difficult. The smooth stretches of the
river were passed with the oar and sail, the currents with poles, while
the more difficult rapids were overcome by the men, assisted with ox-
teams. Thus he worried his way through, and by the time he got home two
or three months had been consumed. During the winter months, while the
western trader was busy in collecting his supplies for the spring, the
general merchant of Montreal, a veritable nabob in those days, locked up
his shop and set off with a team for Upper Canada, and spent it in
visiting his customers. The world moved slowly then. The ocean was
traversed by sailing ships--they brought our merchandise and mails. In
winter, the only communication with Montreal and Quebec was by stage,
and in the fall and spring it was maintained with no small difficulty.
One of the wonders of swift travelling of the day was the feat of
Weller, the mail contractor and stage proprietor, in sending Lord Durham
through from Toronto to Montreal in thirty-six hours. Many a strange
adventure could be told of stage rides between Toronto and Quebec, and
of the merchants in their annual trips down the St. Lawrence, on rafts
and in batteaux; and it seems a pity that so much that would amuse and
interest readers of the present day has never been chronicled.
There was one thing brought about by those batteaux voyages for which
the farmer is by no means thankful. The men used to fill their beds with
fresh straw on their return, and by this means the Canadian thistle
found its way to Upper Canada.
As Canada had not been behind in employing steam in navigation, so she
was not behind in employing it in another direction. Stephenson built
the first railroad between Liverpool and Manchester in 1829. Some years
later, 1836, we had a railway in Canada, and now we have over 5,000
miles in the Dominion. These two agencies have entirely changed the
character both of our commerce and mail service. The latter, in those
early days, in the Midland district, was a private speculation of one
Huff, who travelled the country and delivered papers and letters at the
houses. This was a very irregular and unsatisfactory state of things,
but was better than no mail at all. Then came the wonderful improvement
of a weekly mail carried by a messenger on horseback; and as time wore
on, the delivery became more frequent, post-offices multiplied, postage
rates were reduced, and correspondence increased. There were two other
enterprises which the country took hold of very soon after their
discovery. I refer to the canals and the telegraph. The first, the
Lachine Canal, was commenced in 1821, and the Welland in 1824. The
Montreal Telegraph Company was organized in 1847. So that in those four
great discoveries which have revolutionized the trade of the world, it
will be seen that our young country kept abreast with the times, and her
advance, not only in those improvements, but in every branch of science
and art, has been marvellous.
The Midland District, so named because of its central position, was one
of the largest districts in the Province; but county after county was
cut away from it on all sides, until it was greatly shorn of its
proportions. Before this clipping had begun, the courts were held
alternately in Kingston and Adolphustown. The old Court-House still
stands [Footnote: It has been taken down since, and a town hall for the
use of the township, erected on its site.] and is as melancholy a
monument of its former importance as one could wish to see. The town
which the original surveyors laid out here, and which early writers
mention, I have never been able to find more of than the plot. It must
have flourished long before my day.
But what about Prince Edward county? Of course you know that it was set
off in 1833, and that the first Court of Assize was held in this town--
then Hallowell--in 1834. I am not able to say much about its early
history; though I am sure there are many incidents of very great
interest connected with it, probably lost for the want of some friendly
hand. Land was taken up in this neighbourhood by Barker, Washburn,
Spencer, Vandusen, and others about the year 1790. Patents were issued
by the Government in 1802-3-4. At a meeting held at Eyre's Inn, on the
14th of February, 1818, at which Ebenezer Washburn, Esq., presided, I
learn that there was in the township of Hallowell at that time but two
brick-houses, one carding, and fulling mill, one Methodist Chapel--now
known as the old Chapel at Conger's Mill--one Quaker Meeting House.
Preparations were being made to build a church. [Footnote: Known as St.
Mary Magdalene. The Rev. W. Macaulay, I think, was the first rector, and
he lived to a good old age.] Orchards were beginning to be planted, and
other improvements. The first settlers paid at the rate of one shilling
per acre for their land. Four-fifths of the entire Midland district, in
1818, was a dense forest. We can hardly realise the fact that seventy
years ago there was probably not a soul living in this fair county.
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