Part 5 (1/2)

The following day, 23d August, all our company departed; my friend Tromp and myself alone reings at Forsyth's Hotel, where we found Sir Michael and Lady Clare, from Jamaica, where Sir Michael is aa tour of pleasure, with his lady, through the United States

I also becainia, as foreneral of the state of Louisiana, and is married to theof the late Governor Claiborne, a beautiful and wealthy creole As this fa on a tour to Canada, I hoped to travel with them Mrs Gryreeable on account of the facility hich I could converse with her I also found the son and adjutant of the governor, Sir Peregrine Maitland, who had been sent by his father, to await eneral came hie, fourday, I rode to Sir Peregrine's in company with Sir Michael and Lady Clare The road went over the battle-ground at Lundy's Lane, (25th July, 1814,) which is situated upon a gentle ee of Stamford The fields here are much better cultivated than in the United States, and there is not sois done with rine resides at his cottage, in summer, which was built by his father-in-law, the Duke of Richmond, and surrounded by a park His winter residence is at York, on the northern shore of Lake Ontario, the seat of the parliament of Upper Canada

CHAPTER VII

_Journey froround at Queenstown-- Newark-- Kingston-- Montreal_

On Thursday, the 25th of August, we took our final leave of the falls, in the forenoon, in company with the Grymes and Clare families, for the town of Newark, which is situated at the junction of the Niagara with Lake Ontario, on the Canada shore, about fourteen miles distant At first our road passed over sround at Queenstown, a steep hill, which is situated behind Queenstown, and co country From this, the country as far as Lake Ontario, is more level Opposite to Queenstown, on the American shore, is Len

The battle of Queenstown took place on the 13th of October, 1812 The English, under the co borders on the Niagara, having a deep ravine in front, and whose left wing gradually slopes towards other no less considerable ehtly fortified General Solomon Van Rensselaer, the present post-master in Albany, and cousin of General Van Rensselaer, the patroon, encaulars and militia, on the opposite shore, near Len General Van Rensselaer was apprised that General Brock, with the greatest part of his corps, had marched towards the west, and that there were but few troops left on the heights He determined therefore to cross the river, to ht he conveyed his regulars, about one thousand four hundred ave orders that the militia should follow on the return of the boats, and forhts, and nearly surprised the British, who, notwithstanding, made a bold resistance The Americans would, however, have remained masters of the field, had not General Brock returned with his detach that the troops whoerous position, he ile colorious andas possible; their a nearly exhausted, General Van Rensselaer sent orders to the eneral himself hastened to the opposite shore to accelerate their movements; he was answered that they were ready to defend the borders of the United States, but it was contrary to the laws of the country to take the exhausted their aed to retreat; they expected to e any boats, they were compelled, after a heroic defence to surrender as prisoners of war On the place where General Brock fell, the parliament of Canada has erected a monument to the memory of that brave and intrepid soldier It consists of a lofty column, which may be observed from every part of the adjacent country It was not yet completed, and wanted the inscription

We expected to meet the steaston, on the eastern extremity of Lake Ontario We missed it, however, and were afterwards infored to put in at another harbour on account of repairs We were compelled, therefore, to reularly built toith several handsoara into Lake Ontario, between Fort George and Missagua Fort Missagua is near the lake; Fort George lies south of Newark, and is in ruins During the last war, both these forts were occupied by the Ae towards the town, they had raised a bulwark so as to form a kind of intrenched to retreat to the right shore of the Niagara, the commander, General M'Clure, burnt the town of Newark, an act for which he has been severely censured by his country Since this occurred, the village has never properly recovered, and its future increase will also be slow, especially as govern a canal to the west of Newark, which is to connect Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario, which will probably hereafter withdraw all the transitory coreeably in this town, particularly through the attention of the worthy Sir Peregrine Maitland, who had coallant officers of the seventy-sixth regiment, of which four co of Mrs Grymes, who remained with her husband, while many others, e had expected to sail, went away

We visited Fort Niagara, which is situated on the American shore, and which, in consequence of its white houses, and its waving flag, presents a very handsome appearance The fort lies on a neck of land; it was erected by the French in the middle of the last century, and was shortly after taken by the British After the peace of Versailles in 1783, it fell into the possession of the United States, was retaken during the late war by the British, and at the peace of Ghent, was again obtained by the United States We saw all that was to be seen, and found every thing clean and comfortable I will only further remark on the present occasion, that the uniform of the United States' Infantry is very simple, and consists of dark blue cloth, with one rohite buttons, blue lace collars and cuffs of the same, white cord, and leather caps

We also visited the village of the Tuscarora tribe of Indians, who reside within the limits of the United States, about three le houses, or ams, and is handsomely situated in a valley surrounded by forests It contains a frame church, in which the service is perfor the winter, keeps school for their children Most of the houses are surrounded by gardens and orchards; and the fields, in which they ood condition We were conducted into the house of an Indian, about forty years of age, who had been educated in one of the schools in New York, who speaks and writes English fluently We found hi from an attack of rheumatism He inquired after our native countries, and was pretty well acquainted with their geography We examined his library, and found that it consisted chiefly of ious books, with a history of the United States He also had a collection of Indian i of a club of hickory wood, a battle-axe of stone, bows and arrows, the points of which are flint, very artificially es wear on their breasts during an engagelass beads and shells, which they wear around their waists in time of battle All these articles I wished to buy; but the Indian told ers, and that they were not for sale Instead of them, he sold me some mocassins, a kind of soft leather shoe, made of buckskin, which are ornast the Indians, the wo kind Mr Tromp, in order to see several articles more conveniently, had placed his hat on the floor, which was scarcely observed by the Indian, before he desired Mrs Gryrandson, a boy of eleven years, shot very expertly at an apple with his bow and arrow

The stea after our return, and was to sail on the following day for Kingston We went on board and exa-cabin there are six cha four births I was shown into one of these, in which I could lie at full length In the ladies cabin are fourteen births A great part of the deck was covered by an awning, so that passengers could enjoy the fresh air at the same time that they were protected from the sun or bad weather The boat carries seven hundred and fifty tons, and has an engine harine Maitland conveyed e She lay at anchor off Fort George Sir Peregrine had the great politeness to station one of the co, to fire a salute of twenty-one guns; and his attention was still farther shown in sending his son along, that I ston The Frontenac sailed at half past five o'clock In a few ht of land, and were apparently in the open sea There was but little wind, and the vessel, in consequence of its great size, produced no disagreeable rocking During the whole evening ere entertained by Mrs Gryuitar, and by her singing French and Spanish songs

The night passed quietly; but it was otherwise at break of day It rained repeatedly; the wind grew stronger; the vessel pitched, and several persons became sea-sick Lake Ontario is of an elliptical for, and fifty-five miles at its widest part It is everywhere very deep, in some places five hundred feet, and never freezes coood harbours, and the boundary line between Canada and the United States, divides it into two nearly equal parts

In the afternoona small peninsula towards the west, called Prince Edward's Island, and passed between a cluster of small islands, called the Ducks About nine o'clock in the evening we reached Kingston, the British harbour on Lake Ontario We cast anchor close by the town

I spent the night on board, and in the , as I awoke, I found one of the coarrison, uard of honour, accompanied by a band of music I dis received the visits of a few officers, we rode over the bay to the dock-yard, which lies opposite to Kingston, surrounded by a high wall and protected by a strong guard By the navy-list I ascertained that there are ten shi+ps here, with three hundred and six guns, in ordinary It appeared to reater, for the St Lawrence, one of these vessels, carried one hundred and twenty guns, and thich are yet on the stocks, the Montreal and Wolf, have three decks, and ports for one hundred and thirty guns each According to the stipulation of the treaty of Ghent, they are not per time of peace; so that the soldiers at the arsenal consisted merely of the necessary officers, besides twelve carpenters, who had scarcely any thing to do, but to work at an elegant little schooner, which was shortly to be launched to serve as a yacht The large vessels on the stocks were uncovered, and appeared to have suffered est vessel in the river, and is said also to be in a state of decay; her bottom especially has suffered from the effects of the fresh water and worms The wharves of the dock-yard are built of wood, and bear marks of the haste in which they were erected; they were in a bad condition Within a few years they have erected a h and one hundred and ninety-two feet long, with iron doors and shutters, for the preservation of the sails and cordage The partitions in the inside are azine the large iron door was locked and kept so, inasreatlyis a cellar, which is also occupied as a azine, and the floor of which consists of li The stairs are of stone, and are built into a tower; they intend also at some future period, to azine at Ply thees, and in a third the offices By the side of the offices is a large room, which contains the different articles used in shi+p-building Opposite to the dock-yard, on a neck of land, is Fort Frederick, which I had not tiht, stood a number of tents We were inforrants had encamped there, who had been sent to this country at the expense of the English government, to settle a piece of land on the north-western bank of Lake Ontario, whither they were soon to go The town of Kingston contains about two thousand inhabitants, and is built in the usual style

We left Kingston after eleven o'clock, on board the steaht ston, on the left bank of the St Lawrence Adjutant Maitland left us at Kingston, but the rest of the company remained We had scarcely left this place before we sailed round a promontory on which stands Fort Henry, into the St

Lawrence This river is here very wide, and forth, called the thousand islands The English and A the boundary line, took the pains to count these islands, and found that they amounted to sixteen hundred and ninety-two; in this calculation, however, they have included every projecting rock, even if it had but a single tree This archipelago presents a beautiful prospect; enerally cedars Here and there a fir reared his lofty head, which, generally growing upon the bare rocks, where the trees are less numerous, presents a picturesque appearance We observed so similar to the picture of Frederick, of which ere often rehteen e of Gananoqui, on the Canada shore, to take in wood I went for a e, in the neighbourhood of which the river of the same name falls into the St Lawrence The Gananoqui river has a rocky bed, and is crossed by a wooden bridge, beyond which, upon a s-house, the upper story of which was for the late war the Aazine, in consequence of which they built this block-house At the extreo of the thousands islands is a siation of the river

On the Canada shore, about fifty o tere of Brockville, where there are soht set in, which are, but they were so full of people, and had such a dirty appearance, that I preferred spending the night on board the steam-boat, and my example was followed by the families of Messrs Clare and Grymes The steam-boat carried one hundred tons, and was of twenty-five horse power, but she was by no means so convenient and comfortable as the Frontenac

At this place commence the rapids of the St Lawrence They are formed by rocks, which extend obliquely across the river, over which the water rushes with tremendous force, so that between this place and Montreal, a distance of one hundred and thirteen miles, the steam-boats can run only a part of the way On this account, therefore, there is a line of stage-coaches and steam-boats between Prescott and Montreal, which take the passengers alternately, and produce e The rapids may be descended in bateaux, or Durham-boats, which are small, flat vessels of about forty tons, have but half deck, and draw eighteen inches of water The Durhaoes of goods We were anxious to undertake the passage, in order to see the rapids, and to ascertain the danger of which so much has been spoken We therefore went on board a Durha Dutcher, and were assured by the captain, that, if the wind should be good, we should be at Montreal in a day Sir Michael resolved to attempt the enterprise, and his lady accompanied him, in spite of her fears Mrs Grymes, however, was so e and partly by stea Dutchust The htful, and as ere much pleased with the beautiful prospect of Prescott, in the neighbourhood of which is Fort Wellington, a redoubt, which was built during the late war

On the Ah, which was fortified by the A the late war, but soon fell into the hands of the British The coreat It was open, a few barrels of potash served us as a floor; and boards laid across our trunks as seats Six miles below Prescott we arrived at a few islands called the Gallop Islands, and the first rapids As we approached, the water appeared to be boiling, and high foa billows arose, over which our boat passed rapidly They are not so high as the swells at sea, but they are very short and rapid in their , it divided thereeable motion Scarcely had we passed the rapids before the river becaress was but slow Another set of rapids, nine er than the preceding We were assured, however, that a branch of these rapids, froerous It is called the least channel; and Duncan, in his Journal, gives a beautiful description of a shi+pwreck that occurred here, in which many lives were lost Our vessel was not only flat at the bottom, like all the others that pass these rapids, but had also an ingenious false keel, which could be lowered and raised as the water was either shallow or deep Our passengers were principally of the lower class of Canadians, who spoke bad French, so black bear, three sault, we reached the village of Cornwall, on the Canada shore The as so feeble that we had no hopes of reaching a good tavern before dark, we deter, Mr Grys at the sae is sles, and contain several new stone houses It appears to be a place of little business The country is pretty flat, and the plain near the village is used by the British as a race-ground A race was to take place in a few days, horses had already arrived and lodgings were bespoken The British governrants into this part of the country

Our departure on the followingwas delayed two hours by the ladies; and it was not until about 7 o'clock that we left Cornwall in our Durha was very pleasant, and in consequence of a rather strong southerly wind, we glided rapidly along Five e of St Regis, the last belonging to the United States The American line here leaves the St

Lawrence, both shores of which belong to Canada as far as its outlet into the sea On the left bank of the river we descried a new Scotch village, called Glengary Settlement Farther on, you reach a lake, called Lac St Francois, through which the St Lawrence flows, and through which the boundary line between Upper and Lower Canada is drawn

This lake, which is about forty , and six broad, contains a nuis we passed one of these islands, which is inhabited by some Indians, who have been baptized by a Catholic ood state of cultivation One of the Indians, with his wife, ca side of us in a canoe, and sold us some fish At the point where Lac St Francois terain coe of Coteau de Lac, on the left bank of the river At this village is a pretty strong rapid, stronger than those we passed yesterday In order that this rapid may be avoided, and that vessels overn the river, which has two locks, and is covered by a small fort, Fort du Coteau

Our captain had business at the custo which I had time to look at the fort; after which we continued our course in a strong hich was brought on by a thunder-storenerally covered with cedar trees, and ast theht tin roofs At the village of Coteau des Cedres, ere obliged to encounter the last and erous rapid, called the Cascades The waves were uncoerous parts with incredible velocity Along these rapids there is also a canal provided with locks, and intended to facilitate the ascent of vessels If these rapids are viewed from the shore, it appears incredible that a canoe should venture in without being sed up