The Conquest of Canada, Vol. 1

131

"The channel of the St. Lawrence is here so spacious that it is called the Lake of the Thousand Islands. The vast number implied in this name was considered a vague exaggeration, till the commissioners employed in fixing the boundary with the United States actually counted them, and found that they amounted to 1692. They are of every imaginable size, shape, and appearance; some barely visible, others covering fifteen acres; but, in general, their broken outline presents the most picturesque combinations of wood and rock. The navigator, in steering through them, sees an ever-changing scene: sometimes he is inclosed in a narrow channel; then he discovers before him twelve openings, like so many noble rivers; and, soon after, a spacious lake seems to surround him on every side."—Bouchette, vol. i., p. 156; Howison's Sketches of Canada, p. 46.

132

"The St. Lawrence traverses the whole extent of Lower Canada, as the lakes every where border and inclose Upper Canada. There is a difficulty in tracing its origin, or, at least, which of the tributaries of Lake Superior is to be called the St. Lawrence. The strongest claim seems to be made by the series of channels which connect all the great upper lakes, though, strictly speaking, till after the Ontario, there is nothing which can very properly be called a river. There are only a number of short canals connecting the different lakes, or, rather, separating one immense lake into a number of great branches. It seems an interesting question how this northern center of the continent, at the precise latitude of about 50°, should pour forth so immense and overwhelming a mass of waters; for through a great part of its extent it is quite a dead flat, though the Winnepeg, indeed, draws some tributaries from the Rocky Mountains. The thick forests with which the surface is covered, the slender evaporation which takes place during the long continuance of cold, and, at the same time, the thorough melting of the snows by the strong summer heat, seem to be the chief sources of this profuse and superabundant moisture."—H. Murray's Historical Account of Discoveries and Travels in North America, vol. ii., p. 459, 1829.

133

"The statements laid before Parliament thus enumerate and describe the five rapids of the St. Lawrence, which are impassable by steam, and occur between Montreal and Kingston, a distance, by the St. Lawrence River, of 171 miles, and by the Rideau Canal, 267 miles. The rapids vary in rapidity, intricacy, depth and width of channel, and in extent, from half a mile to nine miles. The Cedar Rapid, twenty-four miles from La Chine, is nine miles long, very intricate, running from nine to twelve miles an hour, and in some places only from nine to ten feet water in the channel. The Coteau du Lac Rapid, six miles above the former, is two miles long, equally intricate in channel, and in some places only sixteen feet wide. Long Sault, forty-five miles above the preceding, is nine or ten miles long, with generally the same depth of water throughout. It is intersected by several islands, through whose channels the water rushes with great velocity, so that boats are carried through it, or on it, at the rate of twenty-seven miles an hour; at the foot of the rapid the water takes a sudden leap over a slight precipice, whence its name. From the Long Sault to Prescot is forty-one miles shoal water, running from six to eight miles an hour, and impassable by steamboats. Then the Rapid du Plas, half a mile long, and Rapid Galoose, one and half a mile long, intervene."

134

"According to Mr. M'Gregor (Brit. Amer., vol. ii., p. 525), the Ottawa, or Grand River, is said to have its source near the Rocky Mountains, and to traverse in its windings a distance of 2500 miles. The more sober statement of Bouchette attributes to the Ottawa a course of about 450 miles before joining the St. Lawrence."—Bouchette, vol. i., p. 187.

"A tremendous scene is presented at the eastern part of Lake St. Louis, where the St. Lawrence and its grand tributary, the Ottawa, rush down at once and meet in dreadful conflict. The swell is then equal to that produced by a high gale in the British Channel, and the breakers so numerous, that all the skill of the boatmen is required to steer their way. The Canadian boatmen, however, are among the most active and hardy races in the world, and they have boats expressly constructed for the navigation of these perilous channels. The largest of these, called, it is not known why, the Durham boat, is used both here and in the rapids of the Mohawk. It is long, shallow, and nearly flat-bottomed. The chief instrument of steerage is a pole ten feet long, shod with iron, and crossed at short intervals with small bars of wood like the feet of a ladder. The men place themselves at the bow, two on each side, thrust their poles into the channel, and grasping successively the wooden bars, work their way toward the stern, thus pushing on the vessel in that direction. At other times, by the brisk and vigorous use of the oar, they catch and dash through the most favorable lines of current. In this exhausting struggle, however, it is needful to have frequent pauses for rest, and in the most difficult passages there are certain positions fixed for this purpose, which the Canadians call pipes."—H. Murray's Hist. Descr. of America, vol. ii., p. 473.

135

"From the sea to Montreal, this superb river is called the St. Lawrence; from thence to Kingston, in Upper Canada, the Cataraqui or Iroquois; between Lakes Ontario and Erie, the Niagara; between Lakes Erie and St. Clair, the Detroit; between Lakes St. Clair and Huron, the St. Clair; and between Lakes Huron and Superior, the distance is called the Narrows, or Falls of St. Mary. The 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 discharged before the thaw comes on, being 4512 millions of tons 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 being duly considered: hence a ton of water being nearly equal to 55 cubic yards of pure snow, the St. Lawrence frees a country of more than 2000 miles square, covered to the depth of three feet. The embouchure of this first-class stream is that part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence where the island of Anticosti divides the mouth of the river into two branches. According to Mr. M'Taggart, a shrewd and humorous writer, the solid contents in cubic feet of the St. Lawrence, embracing Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario, is estimated at 1,547,792,360,000 cubic feet, and the superficial area being 72,930 square miles, the water therein would form a cubic column of nearly 22 miles on each side!"—Montgomery Martin's History of Canada.

136

"Kinnel Lodge, the residence of the celebrated Highland chieftain M'Nab, is romantically situated on the south bank of the lake, about five miles above the head of the Chats Rapids, which are three miles long, and pass amid a labyrinth of varied islands, until the waters of the Ottawa are suddenly precipitated over the Falls of the Chats, which, to the number of fifteen or sixteen, form a curved line across the river, regularly divided by woody islands, the falls being in depth from sixteen to twenty feet."—M. Martin's History of Canada.

137

See Appendix, No. XIX. (vol. II.)

138

"At Quebec, the River St. Lawrence narrows to 1314 yards; yet the navigation is completely unobstructed, while there is formed near the city a capacious harbor. About twenty-one miles lower, its waters, beginning to mingle with those of the sea, acquire a saline taste, which increases till, at Kamauraska, seventy-five miles nearer its mouth, they become completely salt. Yet custom, with somewhat doubtful propriety, considers the river as continued down to the island of Anticosti, and bounded by Cape Rosier on the southern, and Mingau settlement on the northern shore."—Bouchette's Top. and Stat. Descr. of Canada, vol. i., p. 164-169.

139

See Appendix, No. XX. (vol. II.)

140

"The Falls of the Rideau are about fifty feet in height and 300 in breadth, being, at the time we saw them, more magnificent than usual, by reason of the high state of the waters. It is from their resemblance to a curtain that they are distinguished by the name of Rideau, and they also give this name to the river that feeds them, which again lends the same appellation to the canal that connects the Ottawa with Lake Ontario."—Simpson, vol. i., p. 16.

141

Modern alluvial accumulations are rapidly increasing on some points of this coast, owing to the enormous mass of fresh water, charged with earthy matter, that here mingles with the sea. The surface of the water at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, where the depth is 100 fathoms, is stated by Bayfield to be turbid from this cause: yet that this discoloration is superficial is evident, for in the wake of a ship moving through the turbid surface, the clear blue waters of the sea are seen below.

142

"The neighborhood of Quebec, as well as Canada in general, is much characterized by bowlders, and the size and position of some of them is very striking. There are two crowning the height which overlooks the domain farm at Beauport, whose collective weight is little short, by computation, of forty tons. The Heights of Abraham also are, or rather were, crowded with them; and it should never be forgotten that it was upon one of these hoary symbols, the debâcles of the deluge, as they are supposed to be, that the immortal and mortal parts of two heroes separated from each other. It has often occurred to us, that one of the most suitable monuments to the memory of Wolfe and Montcalm might have been erected with these masses, in the form of a pyramid or pile of shot, instead of burying them, as in many instances has been done, in order to clear the ground."—Picture of Quebec, p. 456.

143

Gray says, in 1809, that "no coal has ever yet been found in Canada, probably because it has never been thought worth searching after. It is supposed that coal exists in the neighborhood of Quebec; at any rate, there can be no doubt that it exists in great abundance in the island of Cape Breton, which may one day become the Newcastle of Canada."—P. 287.

"No idea can be formed of the importance of the American coal seams until we reflect on the prodigious area over which they are continuous. The elliptical area occupied by the Pittsburg seam is 225 miles in its largest diameter, while its maximum breadth is about 100 miles, its superficial extent being about 14,000 square miles.

"The Apalachian coal-field extends for a distance of 720 miles from northeast to southwest, its greatest width being about 180 miles.

"The Illinois coal-field is not much inferior in dimensions to the whole of England."—Lyell's America, vol. ii., p. 31.

"It was the first time I had seen the true coal in America, and I was much struck with its surprising analogy in mineral and fossil characters to that of Europe; … the whole series resting on a coarse grit and conglomerate, containing quartz pebbles, very like our millstone grit, and often called by the Americans, as well as the English miners, the 'Farewell Rock,' because, when they have reached it in their borings, they take leave of all valuable fuel."—Ibid., vol. i., p. 61.

144

See Appendix, No. XXI. (vol. II.)

145

Professor Kalm visited the iron-works of St. Maurice in 1748, eleven or twelve years after their first establishment. "The iron-work, which is the only one in the country, lies three miles to the west of Trois Rivières. Here are two great forges, besides two lesser ones to each of the great ones, and under the same roof with them. The bellows were made of wood, and every thing else as in the Swedish forges. The ore is got two and a half miles from the iron-works, and is carried thither on sledges. It is a kind of moor-ore (Tophus Tubalcaini: Linn. Syst. Nat., lib. iii., p. 187, note 5), which lies in veins within six inches or a foot from the surface of the ground. Each vein is from six to eighteen inches deep, and below it is a white sand. The veins are surrounded with this sand on both sides, and covered at the top with a thin mold. The ore is pretty rich, and lies in loose lumps in the veins of the size of two fists, though there are a few which are near eighteen inches thick. These lumps are full of holes which are tilled with ocher. The ore is so soft that it may be crushed between the fingers. They make use of a gray limestone, which is broke in the neighborhood, for promoting the fusibility of the ore; to that purpose they likewise employ a clay marl, which is found near this place. Charcoals are to be had in great abundance here, because the country round this place is covered with wood which has never been stirred. The charcoals from evergreen trees, that is, from the fir kind, are best for the forge, but those of deciduous trees are best for the smelting-oven. The iron which is here made was to me described as soft, pliable, and tough, and is said to have the quality of not being attacked by rust so easily as other iron. This iron-work was first founded in 1737 by private persons, who afterward ceded it to the king; they cast cannon and mortars here of different sizes, iron stoves, which are in use all over Canada, kettles, &c. They have likewise tried to make steel here, but can not bring it to any great perfection, because they are unacquainted with the best method of preparing it. Here are many officers and overseers, who have very good houses built on purpose for them. It is agreed on all hands that the resources of the iron-work do not pay the expenses which the king must every year be at in maintaining it. They lay the fault on the bad state of population, and say that the few inhabitants in the country have enough to do with agriculture, and that it therefore costs great trouble and large sums to get a sufficient number of workmen. But, however plausible this may appear, yet it is surprising that the king should be a loser in carrying on this work, for the ore is easily broken, being near the iron-work, and very fusible. The iron is good; and this is, moreover, the only iron-work in the country, from which every body must supply himself with tools, and what other iron he wants. But the officers and servants belonging to the iron-work appear to be in very affluent circumstances. A river runs down from the iron-work into the River St. Lawrence, by which all the iron can be sent in boats throughout the country at a low rate."—Kalin in Pinkerton, vol. xiii., p. 631.

"M. Dantic, after a number of experiments to class the different kinds of iron, discovered that the iron of Styria was the best, and that the iron of North America, of Danemara in Sweden, of Spain, Bayonne, Roussillon, Foix, Berri, Thierache in Sweden, the communes of France, and Siberia, was the next class."—Abbé Raynal, vol. iii., p. 268.

Weld and Heriot mention that the bank of iron ore at the forges of St. Maurice was nearly exhausted in their time; new veins, however, have been since discovered.

Charlevoix says, in 1720: "Il est certain que ces mines de fer, que l'œil perçant de M. Colbert et la vigilance de M. Talon avoit fait découvrir, après avoir presqú entièrement disparu pendant plus de soixante dix ans, viennent d'être retrouvées par les soins de ceux qui occupent aujourd'hui leur place."—Charlevoix, tom. ii., p. 166.

146

Henry and others speak of a rock of pure copper, from which the former out off 100 lbs. weight. W. Schoolcraft examined the remainder of the mass in 1820, and found it of irregular shape; in its greatest length three feet eight inches, greatest breadth three feet four inches, making about eleven cubic feet, and containing, of metallic matter, about 2200 lbs.; but there were many marks of chisels and axes upon it, as if a great deal had been carried off. The surface of the block, unlike most metals which have suffered a long exposure to the atmosphere, presents a metallic brilliancy.—Martin's History of Canada, p. 175.

Weld mentions having seen in the possession of a gentleman at Niagara a lump of copper, of several ounces weight, apparently as pure as if it had passed through the fire, which had been struck off with a chisel from a piece equally pure, growing on one of the islands in Lake Superior. Rich veins of copper are visible in almost all the rocks on these islands near the shore; and copper ore, resembling copperas, is likewise found in deep beds near the water.—Weld, p. 346.

In Charlevoix's time (1720), "on trouvoit sur les bords du Lac Supérieur et autour de certains isles, de grosses pièces de cuivre qui sont l'objet de cette superstition des sauvages; ils les regardent avec vénération comme un présent des Dieux qui habitent sous les eaux; ils en ramassent les plus petits fragmens et les conservent avec soin, mais ils n'en font aucune usage. J'ai connu un de nos frères lequel étoit orfévre de son métier, et qui, pendant qu'il étoit dans la mission du Sault Sainte Marie, en étoit allé chercher là, et en avoit fait des chandeliers, des croix, et des encensoirs, car ce cuivre est souvent presque tout pur."—Tom. v., p. 415.

Kalm says that the copper found is so pure that it does not require melting over again, but is fit for working immediately.—Kalm in Pinkerton, vol. xiii., p. 691 (1748).

"Before saying good-by to Lake Superior, let me add, that since the date of my visit, the barren rocks which we passed have become an object of intense interest, promising to rival, in point of mineral wealth, the Altai chain and the Uralian Mountains. Iron had long been known to abound on the northern shore, two mines having been at one time worked and abandoned, chiefly on account of temporary obstacles, which the gradual advance of agriculture and civilization was sure to remove; and, more recently, the southern shore, though of a much less favorable character in that respect, was found to possess rich veins of copper and silver. Under these circumstances, various enterprising persons in Canada have prosecuted investigations which appear to have satisfactorily proved that, in addition to their iron, the forbidding wastes of the northern shore contain inexhaustible treasures, both of the precious and of the useful metals, of gold and of silver, of copper and tin, and already have associations been formed to reap the teeming harvest."—Sir G. Simpson's Journey round the World, vol. i., p. 35 (1841).

The following extract is from a Quebec newspaper, bearing date 25th June, 1848:

"The Copper Region: Singular Discovery.—A correspondent of the Buffalo Express, writing under date June 14, from Ontonagon, Lake Superior, says:

"'Mr. Knapp, of the Vulcan Mining Company, has lately made some very singular discoveries here in working one of the veins which he lately found. He worked into an old cave which has been excavated centuries ago. This led them to look for other works of the same sort, and they have found a number of sinks in the earth which they have traced a long distance. By digging into those sinks they find them to have been made by the hand of man. It appears that the ancient miners went on a different principle from what they do at the present time. The greatest depth yet found in these holes is thirty feet: after getting down to a certain depth, they drifted along the vein, making an open cut. These cuts have been filled nearly to a level by the accumulation of soil; and we find trees of the largest growth standing in this gutter, and also find that trees of a very large growth have grown up and died, and decayed many years since; in the same places there are now standing trees of over three hundred years' growth. Last week they dug down into a new place, and about twelve feet below the surface found a mass of copper that will weigh from eight to ten tons. This mass was buried in ashes, and it appears they could not handle it, and had no means of cutting it, and probably built fire to melt or separate the rock from it, which might be done by heating, and then dashing on cold water. This piece of copper is as pure and clean as a new cent; the upper surface has been pounded clear and smooth. It appears that this mass of copper was taken from the bottom of a shaft, at the depth of about thirty feet. In sinking this shaft from where the mass now lies, they followed the course of the vein, which pitches considerably: this enabled them to raise it as far as the hole came up with a slant. At the bottom of a shaft they found skids of black oak, from eight to twelve inches in diameter: these sticks were charred through, as if burned: they found large wooden wedges in the same situation. In this shaft they found a miner's gad and a narrow chisel made of copper. I do not know whether these copper tools are tempered or not, but their make displays good workmanship. They have taken out more than a ton of cobble-stones, which have been used as mallets. These stones were nearly round, with a score cut around the tenter, and look as if this score was cut for the purpose of putting a withe round for a handle. The Chippewa Indians all say that this work was never done by Indians. This discovery will lead to a new method of finding veins in this country, and may be of great benefit to some. I suppose they will keep finding new wonders for some time yet, as it is but a short time since they first found the old mine. There is copper here in abundance, and I think people will begin to dig it in a few years. Mr. Knapp has found considerable silver during the past winter.'"

147

Acosta is the first philosopher who endeavored to account for the different degrees of heat in the Old and New Continents by the agency of the winds which blow in each, (Hist. Moral., lib. ii. and iii.) M. de Buffon adopted the same theory, and illustrated it with many new observations. "The prevailing winds, both in Upper and Lower Canada, are the northeast, northwest, and southwest, which all have a considerable influence on the temperature of the atmosphere and the state of the weather. The southwest wind is the most prevalent, but it is generally moderate, and accompanied by clear skies; and the northeast and easterly winds usually bring with them continued rain in summer, and snow in winter; the northwest is remarkable for its dryness and elasticity, and, from its gathering an intense degree of frigor as it sweeps over the frozen plains and ice-bound hills in that quarter of the continent, invariably brings with it a perceptible degree of cold. Winds from due north, south, or west are not frequent. At Quebec, the direction of the wind often changes with the tide, which is felt for nearly sixty miles higher up the stream of the St. Lawrence."—Bonchette, vol. i., p. 343.

"The northwest wind is uncommonly dry, and brings with it fresh animation and vigor to every living thing. Although this wind is so very piercing in winter, yet the people never complain so much of cold as when the northeast wind blows. The northeast wind is also cold, but it renders the air raw and damp. That from the southeast is damp, but warm. Rain or snow usually falls when the wind comes from any point toward the east. The northwest wind, from coming over such an immense tract of land, must necessarily be dry; and, coming from regions eternally covered with mounds of snow and ice, it must also be cold. The northeast wind, from traversing the frozen seas, must be cold likewise; but, from passing over such a large portion of the watery main afterward, it brings damp and moisture with it. All those from the northeast are damp, and loaded with vapors from the same cause. Southerly winds, from crossing the warm regions between the tropics, are attended with heats; and the southwest wind, from passing, like the northwest, over a great extent of land, is dry at the same time."—Weld's Travels in America, 4th ed., p. 184.

Kalm says, p. 748, that he was assured that "the northeast wind, when it is very violent in winter, pierces through walls of a moderate thickness, so that the whole wall on the inside of the house is covered with snow, or a thick hoar frost. The wind damages severely the houses that are built of stone, so that the owners are frequently obliged to repair them on the northeast side. In summer the north wind is generally attended with rain."—Kalm in Pinkerton, vol. xiii., p. 651.