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Canadian Scenery, Volume 1 (of 2)

by Nathaniel Parker Willis · English · Gutenberg #47690 · 412,520 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: Canadian Scenery, Volume 1 (of 2)

Author: Nathaniel Parker Willis

Illustrator: W. H. Bartlett


        
Release date: December 17, 2014 [eBook #47690]

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47690

Credits: Produced by Marcia Brooks, Cindy Beyer, Ross Cooling and
        the Project Gutenberg team at
        http://www.pgdpcanada.net


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CANADIAN SCENERY, VOLUME 1 (OF 2) ***




Produced by Marcia Brooks, Cindy Beyer, Ross Cooling and
the Distributed Proofreaders Canada team at
http://www.pgdpcanada.net





[Illustration: _The Chaudière Falls, near Quebec._]




                            CANADIAN SCENERY

                              ILLUSTRATED.


                    FROM DRAWINGS BY W. H. BARTLETT.


                       THE LITERARY DEPARTMENT BY

                           N. P. WILLIS, ESQ.

   AUTHOR OF “PENCILLINGS BY THE WAY,” “INKLINGS OF ADVENTURE,” ETC.


                 *        *        *        *        *
                                VOL. I.
                 *        *        *        *        *


                                LONDON:
                 VIRTUE & CO., CITY ROAD AND IVY LANE.




                                CONTENTS

              I. CANADIAN SCENERY.
              II. THE DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF CANADA.
              III. LATER EVENTS IN CANADA.
              IV. CONDITIONS OF THE INHABITANTS OF CANADA.
              V. IMPRESSIONS OF CANADA ON TRAVELLERS.




                        LIST OF THE ENGRAVINGS.

                 *        *        *        *        *

                                VOL. I.

                 *        *        *        *        *

        THE MAP
        GEORGEVILLE
        A FOREST SCENE
        CANOE-BUILDING AT PAPPER’S ISLAND
        VIEW ACROSS THE BOUNDARY LINE, FROM THE SUGAR LOAF
        THE SQUAW’S GRAVE
        PORT HOPE
        THE WHIRLPOOL ON THE NIAGARA
        AYLMER, UPPER CANADA
        LONG SAULT RAPID, ON THE ST. LAWRENCE
        QUEBEC, FROM THE OPPOSITE SHORE OF THE ST. LAWRENCE
        MONTMORENCY COVE
        MONUMENT TO WOLFE AND MONTCALM, QUEBEC
        THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM, NEAR QUEBEC
        LES MARCHES NATURELLES, NEAR QUEBEC
        QUEENSTON
        GENERAL BROCK’S MONUMENT, ABOVE QUEENSTON
        CITADEL OF KINGSTON
        VIEW FROM THE CITADEL OF KINGSTON
        COPP’S FERRY, NEAR GEORGEVILLE
        MARCH ON LAKE CHAUDIÈRE
        THE CHAUDIÈRE, NEAR BYTOWN
        LAKE OF THE TWO MOUNTAINS
        ST. JOHN'S, RICHLIEU RIVER
        FORT CHAMBLY
        TORONTO
        FISH MARKET, TORONTO
        NAVY ISLAND
        THE BANKS OF THE RIVER NIAGARA
        QUEBEC
        VILLAGE OF LORETTE, NEAR QUEBEC
        JUNCTION OF THE ST. FRANCIS AND MAGOG RIVERS
        HALLOWELL, BAY OF QUINTÉ
        SCENE IN THE BAY OF QUINTÉ
        ST. REGIS, INDIAN VILLAGE
        BURIAL-PLACE OF THE VOYAGEURS
        SCENE AMONG THE THOUSAND ISLES
        RAPIDS, ON THE APPROACH TO THE VILLAGE OF CEDARS
        PRESCOTT, FROM OGDENSBURG HARBOUR
        VILLAGE OF CEDARS, RIVER ST. LAWRENCE
        NELSON’S PILLAR, MONTREAL
        MONTREAL, FROM THE ST. LAWRENCE
        THE ST. LAWRENCE AT MONTREAL
        RAFT IN A SQUALL ON LAKE ST. PETER
        THE THREE RIVERS, RIVER ST. LAWRENCE
        BRIDGE NEAR QUEBEC
        THE CHAUDIÈRE BRIDGE, NEAR QUEBEC
        THE CHAUDIÈRE FALLS, NEAR QUEBEC
        RAFT ON THE ST. LAWRENCE, CAPE SANTE
        SCENE FROM THE SUMMIT OF THE FALL OF MONTMORENCY
        MONTMORENCY BRIDGE
        PRESCOTT GATE, QUEBEC
        VIEW FROM THE CITADEL, QUEBEC
        WOLFE’S COVE




[Illustration: THE MAP]




                           CANADIAN SCENERY.


                 *        *        *        *        *

The name of this magnificent link in the colonial chain with which
England has encircled the world, is a matter of considerable doubt.[1]
It has been dignified with some research and ingenuity, however, and we
can record the result, leaving the choice of solutions to the reader.
Hennepin thus unfolds his idea of its origin:—“Les Espagnols ont fait
la première découverte du Canada. Ayant mis pied à terre, ils n’y
trouvèrent rien de considérable. Cette raison les obligea d’abandonner
ce pays, qu’ils appellèrent _il Capo di Nada_, c’est-à-dire le Cap de
Rien (or _Cape Nothing_), d’où est venu par corruption le nom de
_Canada_.”

La Potherie corroborates this statement, with this difference, that he
attributes the Spaniards’ idea of the nothingness of the country to its
being covered with snow. He says also that the Indians, on the arrival
of Jacques Cartier, frequently pronounced these words: _Aca nada_
(nothing here), which is a very plausible derivation. The words were
taught them probably by the Spaniards, who had visited the Baie des
Chaleurs, and pronounced them because they found no gold or silver
mines.

Our own opinion, however, is, that the word Canada is derived from the
word _Kanata_, which, in Iroquois, signifies _a collection of huts_. By
so unpromising an appellation, is known a province containing upwards of
350,000 square miles, which offer to the agriculturist almost
measureless fields of pasture and tillage—to the manufacturer, an
incalculable extension of the home market for the disposal of his
wares—to the merchant and mariner, vast marts for profitable traffic in
every product with which nature has bounteously enriched the earth—to
the capitalist, an almost interminable extent for the profitable
investment of funds—and to the industrious, skilful, and intelligent
emigrant, a field where every species of mental ingenuity and manual
labour may be developed and brought into action with advantage to the
whole family of man.

The first query that occurs to the reader’s mind in taking up any book
on Canada, is, What was the real character of the aboriginal inhabitant,
and how far and in what manner has he receded before the advancing step
of the white man? Before touching on the history of the civilization of
the country, the condition of its savage owners should be well
understood.

In their physical character, the American savage is considered by
Blumenbach as forming a particular variety in the human species,
differing, though not very widely, from the Mongolian. Believing that
the New World was peopled from the Old, and considering that the Mongol
race was situated nearest the point where Asia and America come almost
into contact, we are inclined to ascribe these variations merely to a
change of circumstances. The face is broad and flat, with high cheek
bones; more rounded and arched, however, than in the allied type,
without having the visage expanded to the same breadth. The forehead is
generally low; the eyes deep, small, and black; the nose rather
diminutive, but prominent, with wide nostrils; and the mouth large, with
somewhat thick lips. The stature, which varies remarkably throughout the
continent, is, in the quarter of which we treat, generally above the
middle size. This property, however, is confined to the men, the females
being usually below that standard—a fact which may be confidently
ascribed to the oppressive drudgery they are compelled to undergo. The
limbs, in both sexes, are well proportioned, and few instances of
deformity ever occur.

The colour of the skin in the American is generally described as red, or
copper-coloured; or, according to Mr. Lawrence’s more precise
definition, “it is an obscure orange or rusty-iron colour, not unlike
the bark of the cinnamon tree.” Although we believe that climate is the
chief cause of the diversities in human colour, yet it is certain that
all savages are dark-tinted. This peculiarity may be accounted for by
their constant exposure to the inclemency of the seasons, to sun, air,
and tempests; and the same cause, in civilized countries, produces a
similar effect on sailors, as well as on those who work constantly in
the fields. In the Old World, the intermediate tints between white and
black are generally varieties of brown and yellow. The _red_ tint is
considered characteristic of the New World. We must, however, observe
that the traveller Adair, who lived upwards of thirty years among the
Indians, positively asserts that it is produced artificially; that in
the oil, grease, and other unctuous substances with which they keep
their skin constantly smeared, there is dissolved the juice of a root
which gradually tinges it of this colour. He states that a white man,
who spent some years with the natives and adorned himself in their
manner, completely acquired it. Charlevoix seems also to lean to the
same opinion. Weld, though rather inclined to dissent from it, admits
that such a notion was adopted by missionaries and others who had
resided long in the country. It is certain that the inhabitants glory in
this colour, and regard Europeans who have it not as nondescript beings,
not fully entitled to the name of men. It may be noticed also, that this
tint is by no means so universal as is commonly supposed. Humboldt
declares that the idea of its general prevalence could never have arisen
in equinoctial America, or been suggested by the view of the natives in
that region; yet these provinces include by far the larger part of the
aboriginal population. The people of Nootka Sound and other districts of
the north-western coast are nearly as white as Europeans; which may be
ascribed, we think, to their ample clothing and spacious habitations.
Thus the red nations appear limited to the eastern tribes of North
America, among whom generally prevails the custom of painting or
smearing the skin with that favourite colour. We are not prepared to
express a decided opinion on this subject; but it obviously requires a
closer investigation than it has yet received.

The hair is another particular in which the races of mankind remarkably
differ. The ruder classes are generally defective, either in the
abundance or quality of that graceful appendage; and the hair of the
Americans, like that of their allied type the Mongols, is coarse, black,
thin, but strong, and growing to a great length. Like the latter also,
by a curious coincidence, most of them remove it from every part of the
head with the exception of a tuft on the crown, which they cherish with
much care. The circumstance, however, which has excited the greatest
attention, is the absence of beard, apparently entire among all the
people of the New World. The early travellers viewed it as a natural
deficiency; whence Robertson and other eminent writers have even
inferred the existence of something peculiarly feeble in their whole
frame. But the assertion, with all the inferences founded upon it, so
far as relates to the North American tribes, has been completely refuted
by recent observation. The original growth has been found nearly, if not
wholly, as ample as that of the Europeans; but the moment it appears,
every trace is studiously obliterated. This is effected by the aged
females, originally with a species of clam-shell, but now by means of
spiral pieces of brass wire supplied by the traders. With these an old
squaw will, in a few minutes, reduce the chin to a state of complete
smoothness; and slight applications during the year, clear away such
straggling hairs as happen to sprout. It is only among old men, who
become careless of their appearance, that the beard begins to be
perceptible. A late English traveller strongly recommends to his
countrymen a practice, which, though scarcely accordant with our ideas
of manly dignity, would, at the expense of a few minutes’ pain, save
them much daily trouble. The Indians have probably adopted this usage,
as it removes an obstacle to the fantastic painting of the face, which
they value so highly. A full beard, at all events, when it was first
seen on their French visitors, is said to have been viewed with peculiar
antipathy, and to have greatly enhanced the pleasure with which they
killed these foreigners.

The comparative physical strength of savage and civilized nations has
been a subject of controversy. A general impression has obtained that
the former, inured to simple and active habits, acquire a decided
superiority; but experience appears to have proved that this conclusion
is ill-founded. On the field of battle, when a struggle takes place
between man and man, the savage is usually worsted. In sportive
exercises, such as wrestling, he is most frequently thrown, and in
leaping comes short of his antagonist. Even in walking or running, if
for a short distance, he is left behind; but in these last movements, he
possesses a power of perseverance and continued exertion to which there
is scarcely any parallel. An individual has been known to travel nearly
eighty miles a day, and arrive at his destination without any symptoms
of fatigue. These long journeys, also, are frequently performed without
any refreshment, and even having their shoulders loaded with heavy
burdens, their power of supporting which is truly wonderful. For about
twelve miles, indeed, a strong European will keep a-head of the Indian,
but then he begins to flag; while the other, proceeding with unaltered
speed, outstrips him considerably. Even powerful animals cannot equal
them in this respect. Many of their civilized adversaries, when overcome
in war, and fleeing before them on swift horses, have, after a long
chase, been overtaken and scalped.

Having thus given a view of the persons of the American Aborigines, we
may proceed to consider the manner in which they are clothed and
ornamented. This last object might have been expected to have been a
very secondary one, among tribes whose means of subsistence are so very
scanty and precarious; but so far is this from being the case, that
there is scarcely any pursuit which occupies so much of their time and
regard. They have availed themselves of European intercourse to procure
each a small mirror, in which, from time to time, they view their
personal decorations, taking care that every thing shall be in the most
perfect order.

Embellishment, however, is not much expended on actual clothing, which
is simple, and chiefly arranged with a view to convenience. Instead of
shoes they wear what are termed moccasins, consisting of one strip of
soft leather wrapped round the foot, and fastened in front and behind.
Europeans, walking over hard roads, soon knock these to pieces; but the
Indian, tripping over snow or grass, finds them a light and agreeable
_chaussure_. Upwards, to the middle of the thigh, a piece of leather or
cloth, tightly fitted to the limb, serves instead of pantaloons,
stockings, and boots; it is sometimes sewed on so close as never to be
taken off. To a string or girdle round the waist are fastened two
aprons, one before and the other at the back, each somewhat more than a
foot square; and these are connected by a piece of cloth like a truss,
often used also as a capacious pocket. The use of breeches they have
always repelled with contempt, as cumbrous and effeminate. As an article
of female dress, they would consider them less objectionable; but that
the limbs of a warrior should be thus manacled, appears to them utterly
preposterous. They were particularly scandalized at seeing an officer
have them fastened over the shoulder by braces, and never after gave him
any name but Tied-Breech.

The garments now enumerated form the whole of their permanent dress. On
occasions of ceremony, indeed, or when exposed to cold, they put over it
a short shirt, fastened at the neck and wrists, and above it a long
loose robe closed or held together in front. For this purpose they now
generally prefer an English blanket. All these articles were originally
fabricated from the skins of wild animals; but at present, unless for
the moccasins, and sometimes the leggings, European stuffs are
preferred. The dress of the female scarcely differs from that of the
male, except that the apron reaches down to the knees; and even this is
said to have been adopted since their acquaintance with civilized
nations. The early French writers relate an amusing anecdote to prove
how little dress was considered as making a distinction between the
sexes. The Ursuline Nuns, having educated a Huron girl, presented her,
on her marriage to one of her countrymen, with a complete and handsome
suit of clothes in the Parisian style. They were much surprised, some
days after, to see the husband, who had ungenerously seized on the whole
of the bride’s attire and arrayed himself in it, parading back and
forward in front of the convent, and betraying every symptom of the most
extravagant exultation. This was further heightened, when he observed
the ladies crowding to the window to see him, and a universal smile
spread over their countenances.

These vestments, as already observed, are simple, and adapted only for
use. To gratify his passionate love of ornament, the Indian seeks
chiefly to load his person with certain glittering appendages. Before
the arrival of Europeans, shells and feathers took the lead; but since
that period, these commodities have been nearly supplanted by beads,
rings, bracelets, and similar toys, which are inserted profusely into
various parts of his apparel, particularly the little apron in front.
The chiefs usually wear a breastplate ornamented with them; and among
all classes, it is an object of the greatest ambition to have the
largest possible number suspended from the ear. That organ therefore is
not bored, but slit to such an extent that a stick of wax may be passed
through the aperture, which is then loaded with all the baubles that can
be mustered; and if the weight of these gradually draw down the yielding
flap till it rest on the shoulder, and the ornaments themselves cover
the breast, the Indian has reached the utmost height of his finery.
This, however, is a precarious splendour; the ear becomes more and more
unfit to support the burden, when at length some accident, the branch of
a tree, or even a twitch by a waggish comrade, lays at his feet all his
decorations, with the portion of the flesh to which they were attached.
Weld saw very few who had preserved this organ through life. The
adjustment of the hair, again, is an object of especial study. As
already observed, the greater part is generally eradicated, leaving only
a tuft, varying in shape and place according to taste and national
custom, but usually encircling the crown. This lock is stuck full of
feathers, wings of birds, shells, and every kind of fantastic ornament.
The women wear theirs long and flowing, and contrive to collect a
considerable number of ornaments for it, as well as for their ears and
dress.

But it is upon his skin that the American warrior chiefly lavishes his
powers of embellishment. His taste in doing so is very different from
ours. “While the European,” says Creuxius, “studies to keep his skin
clean, and free from every extraneous substance, the Indian’s aim is
that his, by the accumulation of oil, grease, and paint, may shine like
that of a roasted pig. Soot scraped from the bottoms of kettles, the
juices of herbs having a green, yellow, and above all, a vermilion tint,
rendered adhesive by combination with oil and grease, are lavishly
employed to adorn his person—or, according to our idea, to render it
hideous. Black and red, alternating with stripes, are the favourite
tints. Some blacken the face, leaving in the middle a red circle,
including the upper lip and tip of the nose; others have a red spot on
each ear, or one eye black and the other of a red colour. In war, the
black tint is profusely laid on, the others being only employed to
heighten its effect, and give to the countenance a terrific expression.
M. De Tracy, when Governor of Canada, was told by his Indian allies,
that, with his good-humoured face, he would never inspire his enemies
with any degree of awe: they besought him to place himself under their
brush, when they would soon make him such, that his very aspect would
strike terror. The breast, arms, and legs are the seat of more permanent
impressions, analogous to the tattooing of the South Sea Islanders. The
colours are rather elaborately rubbed in, or fixed by slight incisions
with needles and sharp-pointed bones. His guardian spirit, and the
animal that forms the symbol of his tribe, are the first objects
delineated. After this, every memorable exploit, and particularly the
enemies whom he has slain and scalped, are diligently graven on some
part of his figure; so that the body of an aged warrior contains the
history of his life.

The means of procuring subsistence must always form an important branch
of national economy. Writers taking a superficial view of savage life,
and seeing how scanty the articles of food are, while the demand is
naturally urgent, have assumed that the efforts to attain them must
absorb his whole mind, and scarcely leave room for any other thought.
But, on the contrary, these are to him very subordinate objects. To
perform a round of daily labour, even though insuring the most ample
provision for his wants, would be equally contrary to his inclination
and supposed dignity. He will not deign to follow any pursuit which does
not, at the same time, include enterprise, adventure, and excitement.
Hunting, which the higher classes in the civilised parts of the world
pursue for mere recreation, is almost the only occupation considered of
sufficient importance to engage his attention. It is peculiarly endeared
by its resemblance to war, being carried on with the same weapons, and
nearly in the same manner. In his native state, the arrow was the
favourite and almost exclusive instrument for assailing distant objects;
but now the gun has nearly superseded it. The great hunts are rendered
more animating, as well as more effectual, from being carried on in
large parties, and even by whole tribes. The men are prepared for these
by fasting, dreaming, and other superstitious observances, similar to
those which we find employed in the anticipation of war. In such
expeditions, too, contrivance and skill, as well as boldness and
enterprise, are largely employed. Sometimes a circle is formed, when all
the animals surrounded by it are pressed closer and closer till they are
collected in the centre, and fall under the accumulated weight of
weapons. On other occasions, they are driven to the margin of a lake or
river, in which if they attempt to take refuge, canoes are ready to
intercept them. Elsewhere a space is enclosed by stakes, only a narrow
opening being left, which, by clamour and shouts, the game are compelled
to enter, and thereby secured. In autumn and spring, when the ice is
newly formed and slight, they are pushed upon it, and their legs
breaking through, they are easily caught. In winter, when the snow
begins to fall, traps are set, in which planks are so arranged, that the
animal, in snatching at the bait, is crushed to death. Originally the
deer, both for food and clothing, was the most valuable object of chase;
but since the trade with Europeans has given such a prominent importance
to furs, the beaver has in some degree supplanted it. In attacking this
animal, great care is taken to prevent his escape into the water, on
which his habitation always borders; and with this view, various kinds
of nets and springes are employed. On some occasions, the Indians place
themselves on the dyke which encloses his amphibious village. They then
make an opening in it, when the inmates, alarmed by seeing the water
flowing out, hasten to this barrier, where they encounter their enemies
armed with all the instruments of destruction. At other times, when ice
covers the surface of the pond, a hole is made, at which the animal
comes to respire; he is then drawn out and secured.

The boar is a formidable enemy, which must be assailed by the combined
force of the hunters, who are ranged in two rows, armed with bows or
muskets: one of them advances and wounds him, and on being furiously
pursued, he retreats between the files, followed in the same line by the
animal, which is then overwhelmed by their united onset. In killing
these quadrupeds, the natives seem to feel a sort of kindness and
sympathy for their victim. On vanquishing a beaver or a bear, they
celebrate its praises in a song; recounting those good qualities which
it will never more be able to display, yet consoling themselves with the
useful purposes to which its flesh and skin will be applied.

Of the animals usually tamed and rendered subservient to useful
purposes, the Americans have only the dog, that faithful friend to man.
Though his services in hunting are valuable, he is treated with no
tenderness; but is left to roam about the dwelling, very sparingly
supplied with food and shelter. A missionary who resided in a Huron
village, represents his life as having been rendered miserable by these
animals. At night they laid themselves on his person, for the benefit of
the warmth; and whenever his scanty meal was set down, their snouts were
always first in the dish. Dog’s flesh is eaten, and has even a peculiar
sanctity attached to it: on all solemn festivals it is the principal
meat, the use of which on such occasions seems to import some high and
mysterious meaning.

But besides the cheering avocations of the chase, other means must be
used to ensure the comfort and subsistence of the Indian’s family; all
of which, however, are most ungenerously devolved upon the weaker sex.
Women, according to Creuxius, serve them as domestics, as tailors, as
peasants, and as oxen; and Long does not conceive that any other
purposes of their existence are recognised, except those of bearing
children and performing hard work. They till the ground, carry wood and
water, build huts, make canoes, and fish; in which latter processes,
however, and in reaping the harvest, their lords deign to give
occasional aid. So habituated are they to such occupations, that when
one of them saw a party of English soldiers collecting wood, she
exclaimed that it was a shame to see men doing women’s work; and began
herself to carry a load.

Through the services of this enslaved portion of the tribe, these
savages are enabled to combine, in a certain degree, the agricultural
with the hunting state, without any mixture of the pastoral, usually
considered as intermediate. Cultivation, however, is limited to small
spots in the immediate vicinity of the villages; and these being usually
at the distance of sixteen or seventeen miles from each other, it
scarcely makes any impression on the immense extent of forest.

[Illustration: _Georgeville._]

The women, in the beginning of summer, after having burnt the stubble of
the preceding crop, rudely stir the ground with a long crooked piece of
wood; they then throw in grain, which is chiefly the coarse but
productive species of maize peculiar to the continent. The nations in
the south have a considerable variety of fruits; whereas those of Canada
appear to have raised only “turnsoles, watermelons, and pompions.”
Tobacco used to be grown largely; but that imported by Europeans is now
universally preferred, and has become a regular object of trade. The
grain, after harvest (which is celebrated by a festival), is lodged in
large subterraneous stores lined with bark, where it keeps extremely
well. Previous to being placed in these, it is sometimes thrashed; on
other occasions, merely the ears are cut off and thrown in.

When first discovered by settlers from Europe, the degrees of culture
were found to vary in different tribes. The Algonquins, who were the
ruling people previous to the arrival of the French, wholly despised it,
and branded as plebeian their neighbours by whom it was practised. In
general, the northern clans, and those near the mouth of the St.
Lawrence, depended almost solely on hunting and fishing; and when these
failed, they were reduced to dreadful extremities, being often obliged
to depend on the miserable resource of that species of lichen called
_tripe de roche_.

The maize, when thrashed, is occasionally toasted on the coals, and
sometimes made into a coarse kind of unleavened cake. But the most
favourite preparation is that called _sagamity_, a species of pap formed
after it has been roasted, bruised, and separated from the husk. It is
insipid by itself, but when thrown into the pot along with the produce
of the chase, it enriches the soup or stew, one of the principal dishes
at their feasts. They never eat victuals raw, but rather over-boiled;
nor have they yet been brought to endure French ragouts, salt, pepper,
or indeed any species of condiment. A chief, admitted to the Governor’s
table, seeing the general use of mustard, was led by curiosity to take a
spoonful and put it in his mouth. On feeling its violent effects, he
made incredible efforts to conceal them, and escape the ridicule of the
company; but severe sneezings, and the tears starting to his eyes, soon
betrayed him, and raised a general laugh. He was then shown the manner
in which it should be used; but nothing could ever induce him to allow
the “boiling yellow,” as he termed it, to enter his lips.

The Indians are capable of extraordinary abstinence from food, in which
they can persevere for successive days without complaint or apparent
suffering. They even take a pride in long fasts, by which they prepare
themselves for any great undertaking. Yet when once set down to a feast,
their gluttony is described as enormous, and the capacity of their
stomachs almost incredible. They will go from feast to feast, doing
honour to each in succession. The chief giving the entertainment does
not partake, but with his own hands distributes portions among the
guests. On solemn occasions, it is the rule that every thing shall be
eaten; nor does this obligation seem to be felt as either burdensome or
unpleasant. In their native state, they were not acquainted with any
species of intoxicating liquors; their love of ardent spirits being
entirely consequent on their intercourse with Europeans.

The habitations of the Indians receive much less attention than the
attire, or at least embellishment of their persons. Our countrymen, by
common consent, give to them no better appellation than “cabins.” The
bark of trees is the chief material both for the houses and boats; they
peel it off with considerable skill, sometimes stripping a whole tree in
one piece. This coating, spread, not unskilfully, over a framework of
poles, and fastened to them by strips of tough rind, forms their
dwellings. The shape, according to the owner’s fancy, resembles a tub, a
cone, or a cart-shed, the mixture of which gives to the village a
confused and chaotic appearance. Light and heat are admitted only by an
aperture at the top, through which also the smoke escapes, after filling
all the upper part of the mansion. Little inconvenience is felt from
this by the natives, who, within doors, never think of any position
except sitting or lying; but to Europeans, who must occasionally stand
or walk, the abode is thereby rendered almost intolerable; and matters
become much worse when rain or snow makes it necessary to close the
roof. These structures are sometimes upwards of a hundred feet long;
four of them occasionally compose a quadrangle, each open on the inside,
and having a common fire in the centre. Formerly, the Iroquois had
houses somewhat superior, adorned even with some rude carving; but these
were burnt down by the French in successive expeditions, and have never
been rebuilt in the same style. The Canadians in this respect seem to be
surpassed by the Choktaws, Chickasaws, and other tribes in the south,
and even by Sauks in the west, whose mansions Carver describes as
constructed of well-hewn planks, neatly jointed, and each capable of
containing several families.

In their expeditions, whether for war or hunting, which often lead them
through desolate forests, several miles from home, the Indians have the
art of rearing, with great expedition, temporary abodes. On arriving at
their evening station, a few poles, meeting at top in form of a cone,
are in half an hour covered with bark; and having spread a few pine
branches within, by way of mattress, they sleep as on beds of down. Like
the Esquimaux, they also understand how to convert snow into a material
for building; and find it, in the depth of winter, the warmest and most
comfortable. A few twigs, plaited together, secure the roof. Europeans
in their Indian campaigns, have, in cases of necessity, used with
advantage this species of bivouac.




[Illustration: _A Forest Scene._]




[Illustration: _Canoe-building at Papper’s Island._]

The furniture in these native huts is exceedingly simple. The chief
articles are two or three pots or kettles for boiling their food, with a
few wooden plates or spoons. The former, in the absence of metal, with
which the inhabitants were unacquainted, were made of coarse earthenware
that resisted the fire, and sometimes of a species of soft stone, which
could be excavated with their rude hatchets. Nay, in some cases, their
kitchen utensils were of wood, and the water made to boil by throwing in
heated stones. Since their acquaintance with Europeans, the superiority
of iron vessels has been found so decided, that they are now universally
preferred. The great kettle or cauldron, employed only on high festivals
associated with religion, war, or hunting, attracts even a kind of
veneration, and potent chiefs have assumed its name as a title of
honour.

Canoes, another fabric which the Indians construct very rudely, are yet
adapted with considerable skill to their purpose. These are usually
framed of the bark of a single tree, strengthened at the centre with
ribs of tough wood. The ends are of bark only; but being curved upwards,
are always above water, and thus remain perfectly tight. Our sailors can
scarcely believe such nut-shells safe even on the smoothest waters, and
see with surprise the natives guiding them amid stormy waves, when their
very lightness and buoyancy preserve them from sinking. They have
another quality of great advantage in the devious pursuits of the
owners; being so extremely light, that they can be easily conveyed on
the shoulder from one river or branch of a lake to another. One man, it
is said, can carry on his back a canoe in which twelve persons can
navigate with safety.

Having taken this minute survey of the physical condition of the
Indians, we shall proceed to an examination of their social condition.
The fundamental principle of their polity is, the complete independence
of every individual, his right to do whatever he pleases, be it good or
bad, nay, even though criminal or destructive. When any one announces an
intention which is disagreeable to his neighbours, they dare not attempt
to check him by reproach or coercion; these would only rivet his
determination more strongly. Their only resource is to soothe him, like
a spoiled child, by kind words, and especially by gifts. If,
notwithstanding, he proceeds to wound or murder any one, the public look
on without concern, though revenge is eagerly sought by the kindred of
the injured person.

Notwithstanding this impunity, which in countries under the bonds of
law, would be followed by the most dreadful consequences, it is somewhat
mortifying to the pride of European civilization to learn, that there
reigns a degree of tranquillity greater than the strictest police can
preserve with us. The Indians are divided into a number of little
nations or tribes, fiercely hostile to each other but whose members are
bound among themselves by the strictest union. The honour and welfare of
the clan supply their ruling principle, and are cherished with an ardour
not surpassed in the most brilliant eras of Greek or Roman patriotism.

This national attachment forms a social tie, linking the members to each
other, and rendering exceedingly rare, not only deeds of violence, but
even personal quarrels; and banishing entirely that coarse and abusive
language which is so prevalent among the vulgar in more enlightened
communities. This feeling, added to the sentiment of dignity and
self-command considered suitable to the character of a warrior, renders
their deportment exceedingly pleasing. They are completely free from
that false shame which is termed _mauvaise honte_. When seated at table
with Europeans of the highest rank, they retain the most thorough
self-possession; and at the same time, by carefully observing the
proceedings of the other guests, they avoid all awkwardness in their
manners.

The generosity of the Indian in relieving the necessities of others of
the tribe, scarcely knows any bounds, and only stops short of an
absolute community of goods. No member of a tribe can be in the least
danger of starving, if the rest have wherewithal to supply him. Children
rendered orphans by the casualties to which savage life is subject, are
immediately taken in charge by the nearest relative, and supplied with
every thing needful, as abundantly as if they were his own. Nothing
gives them a more unfavourable opinion of the French and English, than
to see one portion revelling in abundance while the other suffers the
extremity of want; but when they are told that for want of these
accommodations, men are seized by their fellow-creatures and immured in
dungeons, such a degree of barbarism appears to them almost incredible.
Whole tribes, when obliged by the vicissitudes of war to seek refuge
among their neighbours, are received with unbounded hospitality;
habitations and lands are assigned to them, and they are treated by
their new friends, in every respect, as part of themselves. It may,
however, be observed, that as such an accession of numbers augments the
military strength of the tribe, there may be a mixture of policy in this
cordial reception.

In consequence of this spirit of order and internal union, the unbounded
personal freedom which marks their social condition seldom breaks out
into such crimes as would disturb the public peace. Its greatest evil,
of which we shall see repeated instances, is, that individuals, actuated
by a spirit of revenge or daring enterprise, think themselves justified
in surprising and murdering a hated adversary. From this cause, every
treaty between the tribes is rendered precarious; though, as each is
aware of these lawless propensities, room is left for mutual
explanation, so that particular outrages may not involve a general war.
This circumstance leads us to notice, that the favourable aspect
presented by the interior of these communities can by no means warrant
any conclusion as to the superiority of savage life, when compared with
civilized man. On the contrary, the most perfect form of government
devised by the human being in the state of nature has never been
exempted from those feelings of relentless enmity and continual fear
with which bordering nations regard each other. These, as will appear in
the sequel, often compel to the most direful crimes; but, at present, we
shall proceed with our survey of their domestic usages.

Some writers have denied that there exists among the Indians any thing
that can properly be termed a matrimonial union. This, however, seems
only a prejudice, in consequence of there not being any regular
ceremony, as with us. The man, it appears, after having made an
arrangement with the parent of his bride, takes her home, and they live
in every respect as husband and wife. The mode of courtship among
several of the tribes is singular:—the wooer, attended often by several
comrades, repairs at midnight to his fair one’s apartment, and there
twitches her nose. If she be inclined to listen to his suit, she rises;
otherwise she must depart. Though this visit be so very unseasonable, it
is said to be rarely accompanied with any impropriety. The missionaries,
however, did not think it right to sanction such freedoms in their
converts.

The preliminary step is in this manner taken with the lady, but the
decision still rests with the father, to whom the suitor now applies.
Long has given no unpleasing specimen of the address:—“Father, I love
your daughter; will you give her to me, that the small roots of her
heart may entangle with mine, so that the strongest wind that blows may
never separate them?” He offers at the same time a handsome present, the
acceptance of which is considered as sealing the union. Considerable
discrepancy prevails in the descriptions, and apparently in the
practice, as applied to different tribes; yet, on the whole, great
reserve and propriety seem to mark this intercourse.

The young men of the Five Nations valued themselves highly for their
correct conduct toward the other sex. Of numerous female captives who
fell into their hands during a long series of wars, though some were
possessed of great personal beauty, no one had to complain that her
honour was exposed to the slightest danger. The girls themselves are not
always quite so exemplary; but their failures are viewed with
indulgence, and form no obstacle to marriage. Once united by that tie,
however, a strict fidelity is expected, and commonly observed. The
husband, generally speaking, is not jealous, except when intoxicated;
but when his suspicions are really excited regarding the conduct of his
partner, he is very indignant, beats her, bites off her nose, and
dismisses her in disgrace.

There are occasional instances of a divorce being inflicted without any
assigned reason; but such arbitrary proceeding is by no means frequent.
As the wife performs the whole of the labour, and furnishes a great part
of the subsistence, she is usually considered too valuable a possession
to be rashly parted with. In some cases, the domestic drudges become
even an object of dispute and competition. A missionary mentions a
woman, who, during the absence of her husband, formed a new connexion.
Her first partner having returned, without being agitated by any
delicate sensibilities, demanded her back. The question was referred to
a chief, who could contrive no better scheme than that of placing her at
a certain distance from both, and decreeing that he who should first
reach her should have her. “Thus,” says he, “the wife fell to him who
had the best legs.”

With regard to polygamy, the usual liberty is claimed; and by the chiefs
in the west and the south it is indulged to a considerable extent, but
among the tribes on the lakes the practice is rare and limited. When it
does occur, the man very commonly marries his wife’s sister, and even
her whole family, we may suppose, that the household may be thereby
rendered more harmonious. The Indian is said never to betray the
slightest tenderness towards his wife or children. If he meets them on
his return from a distant expedition, he proceeds, without taking the
slightest notice, and seats himself in his cabin as if he had not been a
day absent. Yet his exertions for their welfare, and the eagerness with
which he avenges their wrongs, testify that this apparent apathy springs
only from pride, and a fancied sense of decorum. It is equally displayed
with regard to his most urgent wants. Though he may have been without
food during several days, and enters a neighbour’s house, nothing can
make him stoop to ask for a morsel.

The rearing (for it cannot be called the education) of children is
chiefly arranged so that it may cost the parents the least possible
trouble, in addition to the labour of procuring them subsistence. The
father is either engrossed by war and hunting, or resigned to total
indolence; while the mother, oppressed by various toils, cannot devote
much time to the cares of nurture. The infant, therefore, being fastened
with pieces of skin to a board spread with soft moss, is laid on the
ground, or suspended to a branch of a tree, where it swings, as in a
cradle—an expedient which is so carefully adopted as scarcely ever to
be attended with accident. As soon as the creatures are able to crawl on
hands and feet, they are allowed to move about every part of the house
and vicinity, like a cat or dog. Their favourite resort is the border of
the river or lake, to which an Indian village is usually adjacent, and
where, in summer, they are seen all day long sporting like fishes. As
reason dawns, they enjoy, in the most ample degree, that independence
which is held the birthright of the tribe; for, whatever extravagances
they may indulge in, the parents never take any steps to restrain or
chastise them. The mother only ventures to give her daughter some
delicate reproach, or throws water in her face, which is said to produce
a powerful effect. The youths, however, without any express
instructions, soon imbibe the spirit of their forefathers. Every thing
they see, the tales which they hear, inspire them with the ardent desire
to become great hunters and warriors. Their first study, their favourite
sport, is to bend the bow, to wield the hatchet, and practise all those
exercises which are to be their glory in after life. As manhood
approaches, they spontaneously assume that serious character, that
studied and stately gravity, of which the example has been set by their
elders.

The intellectual character of the American savage presents some striking
peculiarities. Considering his unfavourable condition, he, of all other
human beings, might seem doomed to make the nearest approach to the
brute; while, in point of fact, without any aid from letters or study,
many of the higher faculties of his mind are developed in a very
remarkable degree. He displays a decided superiority over the
uninstructed labourer in a civilized community, whose mental energies
are benumbed amid the daily round of mechanical occupation. The former
spends a great part of his life in arduous enterprises, where much
contrivance is requisite, and whence he must often extricate himself by
presence of mind and ingenuity. His senses, particularly those of seeing
and smelling, have acquired, by practice, an almost preternatural
acuteness. He can trace an animal or a foe by indications which, to a
European eye, would be wholly imperceptible; and in his wanderings he
gathers a minute acquaintance with the geography of the countries which
he traverses. He can even draw a rude outline of them, by applying a
mixture of charcoal and grease to prepared skins; and on seeing a
regular map, he soon understands its construction, and readily finds out
places. His facility in discovering the most direct way to spots
situated at the distance of hundreds of miles, and known, perhaps, only
by the report of his countrymen, is truly astonishing. It has been
ascribed by some to a mysterious and supernatural instinct, but it
appears to be achieved by merely observing the different aspect of the
trees or shrubs, when exposed to the north or south; as also the
position of the sun, which he can point out, although hidden by clouds.
Even where there is a beaten track, if at all circuitous, he strikes
directly through the woods, and reaches his destination by the nearest
possible line.

Other faculties of a higher order are developed by the scenes amid which
the life of savages is spent. They are divided into a number of little
communities, between which are actively carried on all the relations of
war, negotiation, treaty, and alliance. As mighty revolutions, observes
an eloquent writer, take place in these kingdoms of wood and cities of
bark, as in the most powerful civilized states. To increase the
influence and extend the possessions of their own tribe—to humble, and,
if possible, destroy those hostile to them—are the constant aims of
every member of those little commonwealths. For these ends, not only
deeds of daring valour are achieved, but schemes are deeply laid, and
pursued with the most accurate calculation. There is scarcely a
refinement in European diplomacy to which they are strangers. The French
once made an attempt to crush the confederacy of the Five Nations, by
attacking each in succession; but as they were on their march against
the first tribe, they were met by the deputies of the other, who offered
their mediation, intimating, that if it were rejected, they would make
common cause with the one threatened. That association, also, showed
that they completely understood how to employ the hostility, which
prevailed between their enemy and the English, for promoting their own
aggrandizement. Embassies, announced by the calumet of peace, are
constantly passing from one tribe to another.

The same political circumstances develop, in an extraordinary degree,
the powers of oratory; for nothing of any importance is transacted
without a speech. On every emergency a council of the tribe is called,
when the aged and wise hold long deliberations for the public weal. The
functions of orator among the Five Nations, had even become a separate
profession, held in equal or higher honour than that of the warrior; and
each clan appointed the most eloquent of their number to speak for them
in the public council. Nay, there was a general orator for the whole
confederacy, who could say to the French governor, “Ononthio, lend thine
ear—I am the mouth of all the country; you hear all the Iroquois in
hearing my word.” Decanesora, their speaker, at a later period, was
greatly admired by the English, and his bust was thought to resemble
that of Cicero. In their diplomatic discourses, each proposition is
prefaced by the delivery of a belt of wampum, of which what follows is
understood to be the explanation, and which is to be preserved as a
record of the conference. The orator does not express his proposals in
words only, but gives to every sentence its appropriate action. If he
threatens war, he wildly brandishes the tomahawk; if he solicits
alliance, he twines his arms closely with those of the chief whom he
addresses; and if he invites friendly intercourse, he assumes all the
attitudes of one who is forming a road in the Indian manner, by cutting
down the trees, clearing them away, and carefully removing the leaves
and branches. To a French writer, who witnessed the delivery of a solemn
embassy, it suggested the idea of a company of actors performing on a
stage. So expressive are their gestures, that negotiations have been
conducted, and alliances concluded between petty states and communities,
who understood nothing of one another’s language.

The composition of the Indian orators is studied and elaborate. The
language of the Iroquois is even held to be susceptible of an Attic
elegance, which few can attain so fully as to escape all criticism. It
is figurative in the highest degree, every notion being expressed by
images addressed to the senses. Thus, to throw up the hatchet, or to put
on the great cauldron, is to begin a war; to throw the hatchet to the
sky, is to wage open and terrible war; to take off the cauldron, or to
bury the hatchet, is to make peace; to plant the tree of peace on the
highest mountain of the earth, is to make a general pacification. To
throw a prisoner into the cauldron, is to devote him to torture and
death; to take him out, is to pardon and receive him as a member of the
community. Ambassadors coming to propose a full and general treaty, say,
“We rend the clouds asunder, and drive away all darkness from the
heavens, that the sun of peace may shine with brightness over us all.”
On another occasion, referring to their own violent conduct, they said,
“We are glad that Assarigoa will bury in the pit what is past; let the
earth be trodden hard over it; or rather let a strong stream run under
the pit to wash away the evil.” They afterwards added, “We now plant a
tree, whose top will reach the sun, and its branches spread far abroad;
and we shall shelter ourselves under it, and live in peace.” To send the
collar underground, is to carry on a secret negotiation; but when
expressing a desire that there might be no duplicity or concealment
between them and the French, they said, that “they wished to fix the sun
in the top of the heaven, immediately above that pole, that it might
beat directly down, and leave nothing in obscurity.” In pledging
themselves to a firm and steady peace, they declared that they would not
only throw down the great war cauldron, and cause all the water to flow
out, but would break it in pieces. This disposition to represent every
thing by a sensible object extends to matters the most important. One
powerful people assumed the appellation of Foxes, while another gloried
in that of Cats. Even when the entire nation bore a different
appellation, separate fraternities distinguished themselves as the tribe
of the Bear, the Tortoise, and the Wolf. They did not disdain a
reference even to inanimate things. The Black Cauldron was at one time
the chief warrior of the Five Nations; and Red Shoes was a person of
distinction, well known to Long the traveller. When the chiefs concluded
treaties with Europeans, their signature consisted in a picture, often
tolerably well executed, of the beast or object after which they chose
to be named.

The absence, among these tribes, of any written or even pictorial mode
of recording events, was supplied by the memories of their old men,
which were so retentive, that a certain writer calls them living books.
Their only remembrancer consisted in the wampum belts, of which one was
appropriated to each division of a speech or treaty, and had, seemingly,
a powerful effect in calling it to recollection. On the close of the
transaction, these were deposited as public documents, to be drawn forth
on great occasions, when the orators, and even the old women, could
repeat verbatim the passage to which each referred. Europeans were thus
enabled to collect information concerning the revolutions of different
tribes, for several ages preceding their own arrival.

The earliest visitors of the New World, on seeing among the Indians
neither priests, temples, idols, nor sacrifices, represented them as a
people wholly destitute of religious opinions. Closer inquiry, however,
showed that a belief in the spiritual world, however imperfect, had a
commanding influence over almost all their actions. Their creed includes
even some lofty and pure conceptions. Under the title of the Great
Spirit, the Master of Life, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, they
distinctly recognise a supreme ruler of the universe, and an arbiter of
their destiny. A party of them, when informed by the missionaries of the
existence of a being of infinite power, who had created the heavens and
the earth, with one consent exclaimed, “Atahocan! Atahocan!” that being
the name of their principal deity. According to Long, the Indians among
whom he resided ascribe every event, propitious or unfortunate, to the
favour or anger of the Master of Life. They address him for their daily
subsistence; they believe him to convey to them presence of mind in
battle; and amid tortures, they thank him for inspiring them with
courage. Yet, though this one elevated and just conception is deeply
graven on their minds, it is combined with others which show all the
imperfection of unassisted reason in attempting to think rightly on this
great subject. It may even be observed, that the term, rendered into our
language, “Great Spirit” does not really convey the idea of an
immaterial nature. It imports with them merely some being possessed of
lofty and mysterious powers, and in this sense is applied to men, and
even to animals. The brute creation, which occupies a prominent place in
all their ideas, is often viewed by them as invested, to a great extent,
with supernatural powers—an extreme absurdity, which, however, they
share with the civilized creeds of Egypt and India.

When the missionaries, on their first arrival, attempted to form an idea
of the Indian mythology, it appeared to them extremely complicated, more
especially because those who attempted to explain it had no fixed
opinions. Each man differed from his neighbour, and at another time from
himself; and when the discrepancies were pointed out, no attempt was
made to reconcile them. The southern tribes, who had a more settled
faith, are described by Adair as intoxicated with spiritual pride, and
denouncing even their European allies as “the accursed people.” The
native Canadian, on the contrary, is said to have been so little
tenacious, that he would at any time renounce all his theological errors
for a pipe of tobacco, though, as soon as it was smoked, he immediately
relapsed. An idea was found prevalent respecting a certain mystical
animal called Meson, or Messessagen, who, when the earth was buried in
water, had drawn it up and restored it. Others spoke of a contest
between the hare, the fox, the beaver, and the seal, for the empire of
the world. Among the principal nations of Canada, the hare is thought to
have attained a decided preeminence, and hence the Great Spirit and the
Great Hare are sometimes used as synonymous terms. What should have
raised this creature to such distinction seems rather unaccountable,
unless it were that its extreme swiftness might appear something
supernatural. Among the Ottawas alone the heavenly bodies become an
object of veneration: the sun appears to rank as their supreme deity.

To dive into the abyss of futurity has always been a favourite object of
superstition. It has been attempted by various means, but the Indian
seeks it chiefly through his dreams, which always bear with him a sacred
character. Before engaging in any high undertaking, especially in
hunting or war, the dreams of the principal chiefs are carefully
watched, and studiously examined; and according to the interpretation
their conduct is guided. A whole nation has been set in motion by the
sleeping fancies of a single man. Sometimes a person imagines in his
sleep that he has been presented with an article of value by another,
who then cannot, without impropriety, leave the omen unfulfilled. When
Sir William Johnson, during the American war, was negotiating an
alliance with a friendly tribe, the chief confidentially disclosed,
that, during his slumbers, he had been favoured with a vision of Sir
William bestowing upon him the rich laced coat which formed his full
dress. The fulfilment of this revelation was very inconvenient; yet, on
being assured that it positively occurred, the English commander found
it advisable to resign his uniform. Soon after, however, he unfolded to
the Indian a dream with which he had himself been favoured, and in which
the former was seen presenting him with a large tract of fertile land,
most commodiously situated. The native ruler admitted that, since the
vision had been vouchsafed, it must be realized, yet earnestly proposed
to cease this mutual dreaming, which he found had turned much to his own
disadvantage.

The manitou is an object of peculiar veneration; and the fixing upon
this guardian power is not only the most important event in the history
of a youth, but even constitutes his initiation into active life. As a
preliminary, his face is painted black, and he undergoes a severe fast,
which is, if possible, prolonged for eight days. This is preparatory to
the dream in which he is to behold the idol destined ever after to
afford him aid and protection. In this state of excited expectation, and
while every nocturnal vision is carefully watched, there seldom fails to
occur to his mind something which, as it makes a deep impression, is
pronounced his manitou. Most commonly it is a trifling and even
fantastic article; the head, beak, or claw of a bird, the hoof of a cow,
or even a piece of wood. However, having undergone a thorough
perspiration in one of their vapour-baths, he is laid on his back, and a
picture of it is drawn upon his breast by needles of fish-bone dipt in
vermilion. A good specimen of the original being produced, it is
carefully treasured up; and to it he applies in every emergency, hoping
that it will inspire his dreams, and secure to him every kind of good
fortune. When, however, notwithstanding every means of propitiating its
favour, misfortunes befall him, the manitou is considered as having
exposed itself to just and serious reproach. He begins with
remonstrances, representing all that has been done for it, the disgrace
it incurs by not protecting its votary, and finally, the danger that in
case of repeated neglect, it may be discarded for another. Nor is this
considered merely as an empty threat; for if the manitou is judged
incorrigible, it is thrown away, and by means of a fresh course of
fasting, dreaming, sweating, and painting, another is installed, from
whom better success may be hoped.

The absence of temples, worship, sacrifices, and all the observances to
which superstition prompts the untutored mind, is a remarkable
circumstance, and, as we have already remarked, led the early visitors
to believe that the Indians were strangers to all religious ideas; yet
the missionaries found room to suspect that some of their great feasts,
in which every thing presented must be eaten, bore an idolatrous
character, and were held in honour of the Great Hare. The Ottawas, whose
mythological system seems to have been the most complicated, were wont
to keep a regular festival to celebrate the beneficence of the sun; on
which occasion, the luminary was told that this service was in return
for the good hunting he had procured for his people, and as an
encouragement to persevere in his friendly cares. They were also
observed to erect an idol in the middle of their town, and sacrifice to
it; but such ceremonies were by no means general. On first witnessing
christian worship, the only idea suggested by it was that of their
asking some temporal good, which was either granted or refused. The
missionaries mention two Hurons, who arrived from the woods soon after
the congregation had assembled. Standing without, they began to
speculate what it was the white men were asking, and then whether they
were getting it. As the service continued beyond expectation, it was
concluded they were _not_ getting it; and as the devotional duties still
proceeded, they admired the perseverance with which this rejected suit
was urged. At length, when the vesper hymn began, one of the savages
observed to the other—“Listen to them now in despair, crying with all
their might.”

The grand doctrine of a life beyond the grave, was, among all the tribes
of America, most deeply cherished, and most sincerely believed. They had
even formed a distinct idea of the region whither they hoped to be
transported, and of the new and happier mode of existence, free from
those wars, tortures, and cruelties, which throw so dark a shade over
their lot upon earth; yet their conceptions on this subject were by no
means either exalted or spiritualized. They expected simply a
prolongation of their present life, and enjoyments under more favourable
circumstances, and with the same objects, furnishing greater choice and
abundance. In that brighter land the sun ever shines unclouded, the
forests abound with deer, the lakes and rivers with fish—benefits which
are farther enhanced in their imagination by a faithful wife and dutiful
children. They do not reach it however, till after a journey of several
months, and encountering various obstacles—a broad river, a chain of
lofty mountains, and the attack of a furious dog. This favoured country
lies far in the west, at the remotest boundary of the earth, which is
supposed to terminate in a steep precipice, with the ocean rolling
beneath. Sometimes, in the too eager pursuit of game, the spirits fall
over, and are converted into fishes. The local position of their
paradise appears connected with certain obscure intimations received
from their wandering neighbours of the Mississippi, the Rocky Mountains,
and the distant shores of the Pacific. This system of belief labours
under a great defect, inasmuch as it scarcely connects felicity in the
future world with virtuous conduct in the present. The one is held to be
simply a continuation of the other; and under this impression, the arms,
ornaments, and every thing that had contributed to the welfare of the
deceased, are interred along with him. This supposed assurance of a
future life, so conformable to their gross habits and conceptions, was
found by the missionaries a serious obstacle, when they attempted to
allure them by the hope of a destiny, purer and higher, indeed, but less
accordant with their untutored conceptions. Upon being told that, in the
promised world, they would neither hunt, eat, drink, nor marry a wife,
many of them declared that, far from endeavouring to reach such an
abode, they would consider their arrival there as the greatest calamity.
Mention is made of a Huron girl, whom one of the christian ministers was
endeavouring to instruct, and whose first question was, what she would
find to eat? The answer being “nothing,” she then asked what she would
see? and being informed that she would see the Maker of heaven and
earth, she expressed herself much at a loss what she could have to say
to him. Many not only reject this destiny for themselves, but were
indignant at the efforts made to decoy their children after death into
so dreary and comfortless a region.

Another sentiment, congenial with that now described, is most deeply
rooted in the mind of the Indians—this is reverence for the dead; with
which Chateaubriand, though, perhaps, somewhat hastily, considers them
more deeply imbued than any other people. During life they are by no
means lavish of their expressions of tenderness; but on the approach of
the hour of final separation, it is displayed with extraordinary force.
When any member of a family becomes seriously ill, all the resources of
magic and medicine are exhausted in order to procure his recovery. When
the fatal moment arrives, all the kindred burst into loud lamentations,
which continue till some person, possessing the requisite authority,
desires them to cease. These expressions of grief, however, are renewed
for a considerable time, at sunrise and sunset. After three days the
funeral takes place, when all the provisions which the family can
procure are expended in a feast, to which the neighbours are generally
invited; and, although on all solemn occasions it is required that every
thing should be eaten, the relations do not partake. These last cut off
their hair, cover their heads, paint their faces of a black colour, and
continue long to deny themselves every species of amusement. The
deceased is then interred with his arms and ornaments, his face painted,
and his person attired in the richest robes which they can furnish. It
was the opinion of one of the early missionaries, that the chief object
of the Hurons, in their traffic with the French, was to procure
materials for honouring their dead; and as a proof of this, many of them
have been seen shivering, half naked, in the cold, while their hut
contained rich robes to be wrapped round them after their decease. The
body is placed in the tomb in an upright posture; and skins are
carefully spread round it, so that no part may touch the earth. This,
however, is by no means the final ceremony, being followed by another
far more solemn and singular. Every eighth, tenth, or twelfth year,
according to the custom of the different nations, is celebrated the
festival of the dead; and, till then, the souls are supposed to hover
round their former tenement, and not to depart for their final abode in
the west. On this occasion the people march in procession to the places
of interment, open the tombs, and, on beholding the mortal remains of
their friends, continue sometime fixed in mournful silence. The women
then break out into loud cries, and the party begin to collect the
bones, removing every remnant of flesh; the remains are then wrapped in
fresh and valuable robes, and conveyed, amid continued lamentation, to
the family cabin. A feast is then given, followed during several days by
dances, games, and prize combats, to which strangers often repair from a
great distance. This mode of celebration certainly accords very ill with
the sad occasion; yet the Greek and Roman obsequies were solemnized in a
similar manner—nay, in many parts of Scotland, till very recently, they
were accompanied by festival, and often by revelry. The relics are then
carried to the council-house of the nation, where they are hung for
exhibition along the walls, with fresh presents destined to be interred
along with them. Sometimes they are even displayed from village to
village. At length, being deposited in a pit, previously dug in the
earth, and lined with the richest furs, they are finally entombed. Tears
and lamentations are again lavished, and during a few days, food is
brought to the place. The bones of their fathers are considered by the
Indians the strongest ties to their native soil; and when calamity
forces them to quit it, these mouldering fragments are, if possible,
conveyed along with them.

Under the head of religious rites we may include medicine, which is
almost entirely within the domain of superstition. The great warmth of
affection which, amid their apparent apathy, the natives cherish for
each other, urges them, when their friends are seriously ill, to seek
with the utmost eagerness for a remedy; an order of men has thus arisen,
entirely different from the rest of society, uniting the characters of
priests, physicians, sorcerers, and sages. Nor are they quite strangers
to some branches of the healing art: in external hurts or wounds, the
cause of which is obvious, they apply various simples of considerable
power, chiefly drawn from the vegetable world. Chateaubriand enumerates
the ginseng of the Chinese, the sassafras, the three-leaved hedisaron,
and a tall shrub called bellis, with decoctions from which they cure
wounds and ulcers in a surprising manner. With sharp-pointed bones they
scarify inflamed or rheumatic parts; and shells of gourds, filled with
combustible matters, serve instead of cupping-glasses. They learned the
art of bleeding from the French, but employed it sometimes rashly and
fatally, by opening the vein in the forehead. They now understand it
better; but their favourite specific in all internal complaints is the
vapour-bath. To procure this, a small hut or shed is framed of bark, or
branches of trees, covered with skins, and made completely tight on
every side, leaving only a small hole through which the patient is
admitted. By throwing red hot stones into a pot of water, it is made to
boil, and thus emit a warm steam, which, filling the hut, throws the
patient into a most profuse perspiration. When he is completely bathed
in it, he rushes out, even should it be in the depth of winter, and
throws himself into the nearest pond or river; and this exercise, which
we should be apt to think sufficient to produce death, is proved by
their example, as well as that of the Russians, to be safe and salutary.
As a very large proportion of their maladies arise from cold and
obstructed perspiration, this remedy is by no means ill chosen. They
attach to it, however, a supernatural influence, calling it the
sorcerer’s bath, and employ it not only in the cure of diseases, but in
opening their minds whenever they are to hold a council on great
affairs, or to engage in any important undertaking.

All cases of internal malady, or of obscure origin, are ascribed,
without hesitation, to the secret agency of malignant powers, or
spirits. The physician, therefore, must then invest himself with his
mystic character, and direct all his efforts against these invisible
enemies. His proceedings are various, and prompted, seemingly, by a
mixture of delusion and imposture. On his first arrival, he begins to
sing and dance round the patient, invoking his god with loud cries.
Then, pretending to search out the seat of the enchantment, he feels his
body all over, till cries seem to indicate the bewitched spot. He then
rushes upon it like a madman, or an enraged dog, tears it with his
teeth, and often pretends to show a small bone, or other object, which
he has extracted, and in which the evil power had been lodged. His
disciples, next day, renew the process, and the whole family join in the
chorus; so that, setting aside the disease, a frame of iron would appear
necessary to withstand the remedies. Another contrivance is, to surround
the cabin with men of straw, and wooden masks of the most frightful
shapes, in hopes of scaring away the mysterious tormentor. Sometimes a
painted image is formed, which the doctor pierces with an arrow,
pretending that he has thereby vanquished the evil spirit. On other
occasions, he professes to discover a mysterious desire, which exists in
the patient unknown to himself, for some particular object; and this,
however distant or difficult of attainment, the poor family strain all
their efforts to procure. It is alleged, that when the malady appears
hopeless, he fixes upon something completely beyond reach, the want of
which is then represented as the cause of death. The deep faith reposed
in these preposterous remedies caused to the missionaries much
difficulty, even with their most intelligent converts. When a mother
found one of her children dangerously ill, her pagan neighbours came
round, and assured her that if she would allow it to be blown upon, and
danced, and howled round in the genuine Indian manner, there would be no
doubt of a speedy recovery. They exhorted her to take it into the woods,
where the black-robes, as they called the Christian priests, would not
be able to find her. The latter could not fully undeceive their
disciples, because in that less enlightened age, they themselves were
impressed with the notion that the magicians communicated with, and
derived aid from the prince of darkness; all they could do, therefore,
was to exhort them resolutely to sacrifice any benefit that might be
derived from so unholy a source. This, however, was a hard duty; and
they record with pride the example of a Huron wife, who, though much
attached to her husband, and apparently convinced that he could be cured
by this impious process, chose rather to lose him. In other respects,
the missionaries suffered from the superstitious creed of the natives,
who, even when unconverted, believed them to possess supernatural
powers, which it was suspected they sometimes employed to introduce the
epidemic diseases with which the country was from time to time
afflicted. They exclaimed, it was not the demons that made so many
die—it was prayer, images, and baptism; and when a severe pestilential
disorder followed the murder of a Frenchman, who fell by their hands,
they imagined that the priests were thus avenging the death of their
countryman.

We have still to describe the most prominent object of the Indian’s
passions and pursuits—his warfare. It is that which presents him under
the darkest aspect, effacing almost all his fine qualities, and
assimilating his nature to that of fiends. While the most cordial union
reigns between the members of each tribe, they have neighbours whom they
regard with the deepest enmity, and for whose extermination they
continually thirst. The intense excitement which war affords, and the
glory which rewards its achievements, probably give the primary impulse;
but after hostilities have begun, the feeling which keeps them alive is
revenge. Every Indian who falls into the power of an enemy, and suffers
the dreadful fate to which the vanquished are doomed, must have his
ghost appeased by a victim from that hostile race. Thus every contest
generates another, and a more deeply embittered one. Nor are they
strangers to those more refined motives which urge civilized nations to
take arms—the extension of their boundaries, an object pursued with
ardent zeal, and the power of their tribe, which last they seek to
promote by incorporating in its ranks the defeated bands of their
antagonists. Personal dislike and the love of distinction often impel
individuals to make inroads into a hostile territory, even contrary to
the general wish; but when war is to be waged by the whole nation, more
enlarged views, connected with its interest and aggrandizement, guide
the decision. To most savages, however, long-continued peace becomes
irksome and unpopular; and the prudence of the aged can with difficulty
restrain the fire of the young, who thirst for adventure.

As soon as the determination has been formed, the war-chief, to whom the
voice of the nation assigns the supremacy, enters on a course of solemn
preparation. This consists not, however, in providing arms or supplies
for the campaign; for these are comprised in the personal resources of
each individual: he devotes himself to observances which are meant to
propitiate or learn the will of the Great Spirit, who, when considered
as presiding over the destinies of war, is named Areskoui. He begins by
marching three times round his winter-house, spreading the great bloody
flag, variegated with deep tints of black. As soon as the young warriors
see this signal of death, they crowd around, listening to the oration by
which he summons them to the field. “Comrades!” he exclaims, “the blood
of our countrymen is yet unavenged; their bones lie uncovered; their
spirits cry to us from the tomb. Youths, arise! anoint your hair, paint
your faces, let your songs resound through the forest, and console the
dead with the assurance that they shall be avenged. Youths! follow me,
while I march through the war-path to surprise our enemies, to eat their
flesh, drink their blood, and tear them limb from limb! We shall return
triumphant; or, should we fall, this belt will record our valour!” The
wampum, that grand symbol of Indian policy, is then thrown on the
ground. Many desire to lift it, but this privilege is reserved for some
chief of high reputation, judged worthy to fill the post of second in
command. The leader now commences his series of mystic observances. He
is painted all over black, and enters on a strict fast, never eating, or
even sitting down, till after sunset. From time to time he drinks a
decoction of consecrated herbs, with a view of giving vivacity to his
dreams, which are carefully noted, and submitted to the deliberation of
the sages and old men. When a warlike spirit is in the ascendant, it is
understood that either their tenor or their interpretation betokens
success. The powerful influence of the vapour-bath is also employed.
After these solemn preliminaries, a copious application of warm water
removes the deep black coating, and he is painted afresh in bright and
varied colours, among which red predominates. A huge fire is kindled,
whereon is placed the great war cauldron, into which every one present
throws something; and if any allies, invited by a belt of wampum and
bloody hatchet to devour the flesh and drink the blood of the enemy,
have accepted the summons, they send some ingredients to be also cast
in. The chief then announces the enterprise by singing a war-song, never
sounded but on such occasions; and his example is followed by all the
warriors, who join in the military dance, recounting their former
exploits, and dilating on those they hope to achieve. They now proceed
to arm, suspending the bow and quiver, or more frequently the musket,
from the shoulder, the hatchet or tomahawk from the hand, while the
scalping-knife is stuck in the girdle. A portion of parched corn, or
sagamity, prepared for the purpose, is received from the women, who
frequently bear it to a considerable distance. But the most important
operation is the collection of the manitous, or guardian spirits, to be
placed in a common box, which, like the Hebrew ark, is looked up to as a
protecting power.

The females, during these preparations, have been busily negotiating for
a supply of captives, on whom to wreak their vengeance, and appease the
shades of their fallen kindred; sometimes, also, with the more merciful
view of supplying their places. Tenderer feelings arise as the moment
approaches when the warriors must depart—perhaps to return no more!
and, it may be, to endure the same dreadful fate which they are
imprecating on others. The leader having made a short harangue,
commences the march, singing his war-song, while the others follow, at
intervals sounding the war-whoop. The women accompany them some
distance, and when they must separate, they exchange endearing names,
and express the most ardent wishes for a triumphant return; while each
party receives and gives some object which has been long worn by the
other, as a memorial of this tender parting.

As long as the warriors continue in their own country, they straggle in
small parties for the convenience of hunting, still holding
communication by shouts, in which they imitate the cries of certain
birds and beasts. When arrived at the frontier, they all unite and hold
another great festival, followed by solemn dreaming, the tenor of which
is carefully examined. If found inauspicious, room is still left to
return; and those whose courage shrinks, are, on such occasions,
supplied with an apology for relinquishing the undertaking; but such an
issue is rare. On entering the hostile territory, deep silence is
enjoined; the chase is discontinued; they crawl on all fours; step on
the trunks of fallen trees, or through swamps. Sometimes they fasten on
their feet the hoof of the buffalo, or the paw of the bear, and run in
an irregular track like those animals. Equally earnest and skilful are
they in tracing through the woods the haunts of the enemy. The slightest
indications, such as would wholly escape the notice of a European,
enables them to thread their course through the vast depths of the
western forests. They boast of being able to discern the impression of
steps even on the yielding grass, and of knowing, by inspection, the
nation or tribe by whom it has been made. Various and ingenious
artifices are employed to entrap their foe. From the recesses of the
wood they send forth the cries of the animals which are most eagerly
sought by the rival hunters. Their grand object, however, is to surprise
a village, and if possible the principal one belonging to the hated
tribe. Thither all their steps tend, as they steal like silent ghosts
through the lonely forest. On approaching it, they cast hasty glances
from the tops of trees or of hillocks, and then retreat into the
thickest covert; but in total disregard of the most disastrous
experience, the obvious precaution of placing nightly sentinels has
never been adopted. Even when aware of danger, they content themselves
with exploring the vicinity two or three miles around, when, if nothing
is discovered, they go to sleep without dread.

This supineness is much fostered by a delusive confidence in the
manitous enclosed in the holy ark. If during the day the assailants have
reached unperceived a covert spot in the neighbourhood of the devoted
village, they expect the satisfaction of finding its inhabitants buried
in the deepest slumber in the course of the ensuing night. They keep
close watch till immediately before day-break, when silence and security
are usually the most complete; then, flat on their faces, and carefully
suppressing the slightest sound, they creep slowly towards the scene of
action. Having reached it undiscovered, the chief by a shrill cry gives
the signal, which is instantly followed by a discharge of arrows or
musketry; after which they rush in with the war-club and the tomahawk.
The air echoes with the sound of the death-whoop, and of arms. The
savage aspect of the combatants; their faces painted black and red, and
some streaming with blood, and their frightful yells, make them appear
like demons risen from the world beneath. The victims, too late aroused,
spring from their fatal slumber, and foreseeing the dreadful fate which
awaits them if taken prisoners, make almost superhuman struggles for
deliverance. The contest rages with all the fury of revenge and despair,
but it is usually short. The unhappy wretches, surprised and bewildered,
can seldom rally or resist; they seek safety by fleeing into the depths
of forests or marshes, whither they are hotly pursued. The main study of
the victorious party is to take the fugitives alive, in order to subject
them to the horrible punishments which will be presently described.
Should this be impracticable, the tomahawk or the hatchet dispatches
them on the spot; and the scalp is then carried off as a trophy. Placing
a foot on the neck of his fallen enemy, and twisting a hand in the hair,
the warrior draws out a long sharp-pointed knife, specially formed for
this operation; then cutting a circle round the crown of the head, by a
few skilful scoops he detaches the hair and skin, lodges the whole in
his bag, and returns in triumph.

At the close of the expedition, the warriors repair to their village,
and, even in approaching, announce its result by various signals well
understood among their families. According to the most approved custom,
the evil tidings are thus communicated. A herald advances before the
troop, and for every kinsman who has fallen sounds the death-whoop,—a
shrill lengthened note ending in an elevated key. An interval is then
allowed, during which the burst of grief excited by these tidings may be
in some degree exhausted. Then rises the loud and inspiring sound of the
war-whoop, which by its successive repetitions expresses the number of
captives brought home as the fruits of the victory. The barbarous joy
thus kindled banishes for the moment all trace of lamentation. The women
and children form two rows, through which the prisoner is led, having
his face painted, and crowned with flowers as for a festival. Then
begins the darkest of all the scenes by which savage life is deformed. A
series of studied and elaborate torture commences, in which ingenuity is
tasked to the utmost to inflict the intensest agony that can be endured
without actually extinguishing life. The first caress, as the French
call it, is to tear the nails from the fingers, the flesh is then
pierced to the bone, and fire in various forms applied to the
extremities. Blows are also given to the last degree that nature can
sustain; and sometimes an amusement is found in tossing, for a long
time, the victim like a ball from one to the other. Other contrivances,
peculiar to infuriated savages, are sometimes resorted to. One
missionary, for example, being made to lie on his back, had his stomach
covered with sagamity, on which hungry dogs were set to feed, which tore
his flesh with their teeth. The unhappy wretch is occasionally paraded
from village to village, kept for weeks in this state of suffering, fed
on the coarsest refuse, and allowed only a neglected corner of the cabin
to sleep in. At length a grand council is held to decide his fate, or in
other words, to determine whether all the furies of vengeance shall be
let loose upon him, and his life be taken away amid the most frightful
tortures, or whether he shall be saluted as one of themselves, and
treated as a brother. The decision is influenced by various
considerations. If he be a youth, or new to the field, a lenient course
may probably be adopted; but a veteran warrior, who has been the terror
of the nation, and on whose skin is painted a record of triumphs, has to
dread a sterner sentence. The women have much influence, according as
they either demand revenge for the loss of a husband or brother, or
solicit that the captive may supply the vacancy. The Iroquois, though
the fiercest of these barbarians, being the deepest politicians, were
always anxious to augment their numbers; hence, though they prolonged
and heightened the preliminary torture, they usually ended it by
adoption. This was carried so far that they are described as having at
length become less a single nation than an aggregate of all the
surrounding tribes. The stranger being received into one of the families
as a husband, brother, or son, is treated with the utmost tenderness;
and she, who perhaps immediately before exhausted all her ingenuity in
tormenting him, now nurses the wounds she has made, and loads him with
caresses. He becomes completely one of the clan, and goes with them to
war, even against his former countrymen; and so far is the point of
honour carried, that to return into their ranks would be branded as an
act of baseness. There are, however, many occasions in which the more
inhuman resolution is taken, and a fearful display is then made of the
darkest passions that can agitate the human breast. The captive is
informed of his fate by being invested with moccasins of black
bear-skin, and having placed over his head a flaming torch, the sure
indication of his doom. Before the fatal scene begins, however, he is
allowed a short interval to sing his death song, which he performs in a
triumphant tone. He proclaims the joy with which he goes to the land of
souls, where he will meet his brave ancestors who taught him the great
lesson to fight and to suffer. He recounts his warlike exploits,
particularly those performed against the kindred of his tormentors; and
if there was any one of them whom he vanquished and caused to expire
amid tortures, he loudly proclaims it. He declares his inextinguishable
desire to eat their flesh, and to drink their blood to the last drop.
This scene is considered, even when compared with the field of battle,
as the great theatre of Indian glory. When two prisoners were about to
be tortured by the French at Quebec, a charitable hand privately
supplied a weapon with which one of them killed himself; but the other
derided his effeminacy, and proudly prepared himself for his fiery
trial. In this direful work the women take the lead, and seem
transformed into raging furies. She, to glut whose vengeance the doom
has been specially pronounced, invokes the spirit of her husband, her
brother, or her son, who has fallen in battle or died amid torture,
bidding him come now and be appeased, a feast is prepared for him, a
warrior is to be thrown into the great cauldron; his blood will be
poured out; his flesh torn from the bones: let the injured spirit then
cease to complain. A game begins between the torturers and the
tortured—one to inflict the most intense suffering, the other to bear
it with proud insensibility. That there may be some appearance of open
contest, he is not chained, but merely tied to a post, and a certain
range allowed, within which, while the brand, the hatchet, and every
engine of torture are applied, he can do something to repel his
assailants, and even attack in his turn. He struggles fiercely in the
unequal strife, and while his frame is consuming in agony, still defies
his tormentors, and outbraves death itself. Some even deride the feeble
efforts of their executioners, boasting how much more effectively they
themselves had applied torture to individuals of their tribe. Yet there
are instances where the murderers at last triumph; the sufferer
exclaims, “Fire is strong, and too powerful;” he even utters loud
shrieks, which are responded to by exulting shouts of savage laughter.
Some few have been known by almost incredible efforts to break loose,
and by rapid flight effect their escape. The general result, however, is
death, after protracted suffering; when the scalp, if still entire, is
taken off, and deposited among the military trophies.

It has been made a question whether the Indian can be justly charged
with cannibalism. It is certain that all the terms by which they
designate their inhuman mode of putting a prisoner to death bear
reference to this horrid practice. The expressions are,—to throw him
into the cauldron—to devour him—to eat soup made of his flesh. It has
hence been plausibly inferred that this enormity really prevailed in
early times, but was changed, we can scarcely say mitigated, into the
present system of torture. Yet, as every action is described by them in
terms highly figurative, those now quoted may have been used as
expressing most fully the complete gratification of their revenge. Of
this charge they cannot now be either condemned or wholly acquitted. In
the excited fury of their passions, portions of the flesh are often
seized, roasted, and eaten, and draughts taken of the blood. To eat an
enemy’s heart is considered a peculiar enjoyment. Long mentions a
gentleman who came upon a party who were busy broiling a human heart,
when he with difficulty prevailed upon them to desist. There is little
hesitation amongst them, in periods of scarcity, to relieve hunger with
the flesh of their captives; and during one war, this fate is said to
have befallen many French soldiers who fell into the hands of the Five
Nations. Colonel Schuyler told Colden, that having entered the cabin of
a chief who had some rich soup before him, he was invited to partake.
Being hungry and tired, he readily agreed; till the ladle, being put
into the great cauldron, brought up a human hand, the sight of which put
an immediate end to his appetite and meal. Although war may be
considered as the ordinary state of those tribes, yet, after having for
a considerable time experienced its destructive effects, there usually
arises a desire for an interval of tranquillity. To procure this, a
regular form is observed. The nation which resolves to make the
overture, despatches several individuals, usually of some note, as
ambassadors, with at least one orator. They bear before them the calumet
of peace, which renders their character sacred, and secures them from
violence. They carry also a certain number of belts of wampum, with
which are respectively connected the several motives and terms of the
proposed treaty. The orator having obtained an audience of the chiefs on
the other side, expounds the belts, dancing and singing in unison, and
by actions expressing the peaceful purpose of his mission. If the
opposite party be favourably inclined, they accept the offered symbols,
and next day present others of a similar import. He then smokes in the
calumet, and the contract is sealed by burying a hatchet; if there be
any allies, one is deposited for each. This agreement is often
accompanied with professions, at the moment perhaps sincere, of
maintaining the sun always in the heavens, and never again digging up
the hatchet; but the turbulence of individuals, and the satiety of long
peace, to which the whole nation is subject, usually rekindle
hostilities at no distant period.

Some notice may, finally, be expected of Indian amusements; the most
favourite of which are smoking, music, and dancing. These, however, are
viewed in a much higher light than mere pastime; being ranked among the
most serious occupations, and esteemed quite indispensable in the
conduct of every important affair. Without them a council cannot be
held, a negotiation carried on, peace or war proclaimed, nor any public
or private contract entered into; for not one of these transactions is
accounted valid, till it has been smoked over, and sung and danced to.
The calumet is the grand instrument of their policy. No important affair
can be taken into consideration without the pipe in their mouths; and
hence, to call an assembly of the chiefs is said to be lighting the
council fire. This tube accompanies and is the guardian of every
embassy, and to smoke together is the chief cement of national union.

Music and dancing, accompanying each other, are equally indispensable to
every solemn celebration. Yet the instruments and performance are alike
simple and rude; for their song, though often continued for a long
period, consists merely in the perpetual reiteration of a few wild
melancholy notes. The words are usually of the minstrel’s own
composition, and record his exploits in war or hunting, and sometimes
the praises of the animals which he has killed in the chase. The song is
accompanied by performance on the drum, and on the chichikoue or pipe.
The former is merely a hollowed piece of wood covered with skin; the
latter is formed of a thick cane, upwards of two feet in length, with
eight or nine holes, and a mouthpiece not unlike that of a common
whistle. Those who know how to stop the holes, and bring out a sound,
consider themselves performers; yet they cannot play upon it even those
simple airs which they execute with the voice, though they will often
continue for hours drawing out wild irregular notes.

The dances of the Indians, even those at common festivals, are on an
extensive scale; requiring to a complete performance forty or fifty
persons, who execute their evolutions by following each other round a
great fire kindled in the centre. Their movements, monotonous but
violent, consist in stamping furiously on the ground, and often
brandishing their arms in a manner compared by an able writer to a baker
converting flour into dough. They keep good time; but the music is so
exceedingly simple, that this implies little merit. They conclude with a
long shout or howl, which echoes frightfully through the woods. The
dances in celebration of particular events are of a more varied
character, and often form a very expressive pantomime. The war-dance is
the most favourite and frequent. In this extraordinary performance, a
complete image is given of the terrible reality; the war-whoop is
sounded with the most frightful yells, the tomahawk is wildly
brandished, and the enemy are surprised, seized, and scalped, or carried
off for torture. The calumet-dance, which celebrates peace between
nations, and the marriage-dance, which represents domestic life, are
much more pleasing. Some mention is made of a mystic-dance, carried on
by the jugglers or doctors, with strange superstitious ceremonies, and
in which a supernatural personage, termed by some the devil, rises and
performs; but it does not seem to have been witnessed by any European,
and is said to be now in a great measure disused.

There are, moreover, games to which the Indians are fondly attached,
which, though they be only ranked under the head of amusement, are yet
conducted in the same serious manner as their other transactions. Their
great parties are said to be collected by supernatural authority,
communicated by the jugglers, and they are preceded, like their wars and
hunts, by a course of fasting, dreaming, and other means of propitiating
fortune. The favourite game is that of the bone, in which small pieces
of that substance, resembling dice, and painted of different colours,
are thrown in the air, and according to the manner in which they fall
the game is decided. Only two persons can play: but a numerous party,
and sometimes whole villages, embrace one side or the other, and look on
with intense interest. At each throw, especially if it be decisive,
tremendous shouts are raised; the players and spectators equally
resemble persons possessed; the air rings with invocations to the bones,
and to the manitous. Their eagerness sometimes leads to quarreling and
even fighting, which on no other occasion ever disturb the interior of
these societies. To such a pitch are they occasionally worked up, that
they stake successively all they possess, and even their personal
liberty; but this description must apply only to the more southern
nations, as slavery was unknown among the Canadian Indians.

A temporary interval of wild licence, of emancipation from all the
restraints of dignity and decorum, seems to afford an enjoyment highly
prized in all rude societies. Corresponding with the saturnalia and
bacchanals of antiquity, the Americans have their festival of dreams,
which during fifteen days enlivens the inaction of the coldest season.
Laying aside all their usual order and gravity, they run about,
frightfully disguised, and committing every imaginable extravagance. He
who meets another, demands an explanation of his visions, and if not
satisfied, imposes some fantastic penalty. He throws upon him cold
water, hot ashes, or filth; sometimes rushing into his cabin he breaks
and destroys the furniture. Although everything appears wild and
unpremeditated, it is alleged that opportunities are often taken to give
vent to old and secret resentments. The period having elapsed, a feast
is given, order is restored, and the damages done are carefully
repaired.

[Illustration: _View across the Boundary Line, from the Sugar Loaf._]

On the first settlement of Europeans in Canada, that territory was
chiefly divided between three great nations,—the Algonquins, the
Hurons, and the Iroquois or Five Nations. The first held an extensive
domain along the northern bank of the St. Lawrence, about a hundred
leagues above Trois-Rivières. Shortly before, they had been the most
powerful of all these tribes, and considered even in some degree as
masters over this part of America. They are described also as having the
mildest aspect, and most polished manners of any. They subsisted
entirely by hunting, and looked with proud disdain on their neighbours
who consented to bestow on the soil even the smallest cultivation. The
Hurons were a numerous people, whose very extensive territory reached
from the Algonquin frontier to the borders of the great lake bearing
their name. They were also more industrious, and derived an abundant
subsistence from the fine territory of Upper Canada. But they were at
the same time more effeminate and voluptuous, and had less of the proud
independence of savage life, having chiefs hereditary in the female
line, to whom they paid considerable deference.

The Iroquois, destined to act the most conspicuous part among all the
native tribes, occupied a long range of territory on the southern border
of the St. Lawrence, from Lake Champlain to the western extremity of
Lake Ontario. They were thus beyond the limits of what is now considered
Canada; yet, as all their transactions were completely connected with
the interests of that country, we cannot at present avoid considering
them as belonging to it.

This people were divided into five cantons, each of which was considered
as an independant nation. They were united, however, by the closest
alliance; are never found waging war with each other, nor did they often
fail to combine their forces when attacked by neighbouring tribes. The
following are the names given to them by English and French authors.

                ENGLISH.             FRENCH.

                Mohawks.             Aguiers.
                Oneidas.             Onneyouths.
                Onondagoes.          Onontagues.
                Cayugas.             Anniegué.
                Senekas.             Tsonnouthouans.

We add to these general remarks on the habits and character of the
natives of North America, a few anecdotes which were collected by a
distinguished soldier in Canada, and which we copy literally from his
MS. The first is a legend of the Falls of Shawenagam, river St. Maurice.

Shortly after the Hurons established themselves in the part of the Lower
Province to the N. E. of the St. Maurice, that rapid river was fixed as
the boundary between this nation and the Algonquins. In one of the many
fierce rencontres that took place between these two warlike tribes, the
following circumstance occurred, too descriptive of the Indian character
to pass unnoticed. A party of Hurons had been hunting on the shores of
the St. Maurice, and were returning in loaded canoes down the stream,
when, on approaching the head of these falls, they suddenly heard a
signal, and on looking up descried a large party of Algonquins half
hidden among the thick foliage in the tops of trees. The Hurons had
advanced too far to recede; to pull back against the stream was totally
impossible, and to land at the head of the falls was only throwing
themselves into the hands of the host of enemies waiting to bear their
scalps in triumph to their nation. The mind, like the eye, of an Indian
is quick and determined. The chieftain in the leading canoe cast one
hurried glance on his enemies, and setting up a yell of defiance,
steered his frail bark to the edge of the foaming precipice: in this
resolute action he was followed by his people, and the whole party were
hurried down the dreadful abyss mingled in one mass of wreck and
destruction. Scarcely a vestige of these brave men was washed ashore to
gratify the vengeance of the disappointed Algonquins.

_Tête-de-Bules._—The Indians frequenting the Fur Post of Wemontashingur
in the St. Maurice, latitude 47° 55' 58" N. are not numerous, and
generally speaking are a very inoffensive people, although some actions
of a horrid nature, committed by individuals of the tribe, have come to
our knowledge. They are ignorant and superstitious, influenced in all
their actions by dreams, which they imagine are sent to them for a good
purpose by the Great Spirit: under this cloak they oftentimes commit
great barbarities. They are likewise much addicted to ardent spirits.

That cannibalism is occasionally practised to a great extent among the
aborigines inhabiting these dreary regions, the many accounts which have
reached our ears would lead us to believe; but as these things are
generally exaggerated, we know not what degree of credence they deserve.
Among the anecdotes of this nature related to us, are the following,
which, if true, show to what a degraded state of mind these miserable
people are reduced. An Indian _Montagnier_, whose name is Mocontagan, or
Crooked Knife, in a drunken fit confessed having in the course of his
life killed and eaten several Indians and Metifs, or half-breeds. When
sober, he attempted to deny it; but upon being closely pressed he
acknowledged the fact, but said starvation drove him to kill and eat the
first man, and that he slew and ate the others from a decided preference
of that to any other kind of flesh; and finished his statement by
declaring that he would kill any Metif, and eat him, that he should meet
alone. He is much feared by the other Indians, who are inclined to
believe him to be an evil spirit. He is described as a powerful man, six
feet high, and strong built, and possessing what is termed “a bad
countenance.” Upon one occasion, about six years since, at
Wemontashingur, the Algonquins took courage and rose upon him: he fled
for protection to Mr. Hyslop, the resident clerk of the Post, who with
Mr. Le Blanc, now at Rat River, advised him to leave the place, as they
could not be answerable for his life. This man is still living, much
dreaded by the Indians frequenting the St. Maurice.

Another instance was related to us by Mr. Vassal, belonging to the
King’s Post company. One day, during the winter, as he was travelling
among the mountains, he saw an Indian stretched on the snow. Vassal
approached him, and demanded what was the matter. The Indian replied he
was sick, doubtless imagining Vassal would be alarmed by the thoughts of
fever, and quit the place without entering the cabin: but Vassal,
anxious to collect furs, attempted to go in, the Indian pulled him back
by the leg; Vassal made another attempt, and succeeded in entering. A
fire was burning, and a large kettle was on it, which, to his horror, he
found contained a portion of a very young child. The savage acknowledged
that it was his grandson, and that hunger had driven him to eat it.
This, Vassal says, could not be possible, as there were remains of
musk-rats about the place.

With respect to “bad dreams,” there is a Tête-de-Bule belonging to
Wemontashingur at present labouring under the delusion. He imagines he
shall fail in every undertaking until he has slain some person; and once
he actually fired at his brother, but fortunately missed him. He is much
feared by the tribe, as they imagine him possessed of an evil spirit,
which will not depart until he has spilt blood.

The Indians navigating the St. Maurice have a notion that in a large
cavern at the back of the Upper Caribonif Mountain, are a species of
wood demons, and that when encamped near the place, they can distinctly
hear the screams of children, but where the children come from in these
desolate and unpeopled regions, our informant could not tell. The place
is certainly very gloomy, but it being our encamping time, we made
ourselves comfortable for the night in spite of the wood demons. Before
morning, we ascertained the screams of the children to be the hooting
and screeching of the owls and night hawks, so numerous in this part of
the country.

In one of the deep bays of Lake Kempt, we saw three Indian graves, built
in the usual long narrow shape adopted by the Indians, and well defended
from wild beasts by an outer covering of split wood, bound together with
branches. Within this outer mausoleum was one made of birch bark, and
under this rested the body, covered over with the fine white sand
forming the shores of the Lake. Opposite one of the graves was a cross.
From the information we received, it appears that one of these graves
belonged to Menesino’s mother, the second contained the body of his
wife, and the third that of his infant child.

We were assured that the mother met with her death from the hands of her
daughter, in a quarrel which took place a few years since in one of the
sandy bays of Lake Malawin. The wife was slain by Menesino in a fit of
jealousy, by striking his axe between her shoulders while she was in the
act of stooping. How the infant came to its end, we did not hear. This
man Menesino also slew another wife, and shot a Canadian who went to
take him. For these murders, and others of which he was accused,
Menesino was once taken and conveyed handcuffed to within a short
distance of Three-Rivers. His guards being excessively fatigued, fell
asleep, which Menesino took advantage of, and plunged into the river. In
spite of his handcuffs he succeeded in gaining the opposite shore,
whence crossing many large lakes,—God knows how,—and travelling a vast
extent of forest covered with thick underwood, he regained his own
country, and has never since been taken. Indeed, he is such a powerful
man, and in the prime of life, that few would like to make the attempt,
although we have since heard that a party are in pursuit of him. He is
said to possess unbounded influence, occasioned by fear, over the male
part of his tribe; but the female part, as may easily be supposed, have
a great repugnance to living with him.

M. Le Blanc, when at Wemontashingur, was compelled to stand all night
over an Indian woman whom Menesino wanted to carry off with him into the
woods. He is described as a good looking man, and, what is unusual among
the Indians, not at all addicted to ardent spirits. From all we heard,
it would appear that he is constantly on his guard, fearful of some
stratagem; living entirely alone, the sole inhabitant of these dreary
waters.

On arriving at the point of the graves in Lake Nemeashingur, we landed
to examine them. They were three in number, and similar in construction
to those we had seen on Lake Kempt, except that they were more
ornamented according to the pagan rites of Indians. Near the principal
grave was a pile of wood, a paddle, snow shoes, and a snow shovel, for
the use of the departed during his journey to the hunting grounds in the
next world. In addition to these articles, on one of the mausoleums was
a sword, the emblem of a chieftain. At the foot of this grave was a rude
wooden cross. We had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the
history of the parties who were buried here, of which the following is a
slight sketch:—

Near the graves are the remains of a log-hut, which had been erected as
a temporary receiving place for furs, until a sufficient quantity had
been collected to send into the Post at Wemontashingur. This hut was in
charge of a man named Tefu, a Bois-Brulé, who was married to a woman
belonging to the tribe inhabiting the lake of the two mountains. One day
in the year 1816, while Tefu was absent, a brother of Menesino named
Kenecabannishcum, accompanied by his wife and mother, went to the hut
and demanded of Tefu’s wife some provisions, which she refused. He
insisted upon having some, a scuffle ensued, and the villain shot the
woman dead upon the spot. They then departed, taking with them a young
boy who was living with Tefu. The mother observed, that if the boy met
any of the half-breeds who were in the habit of going round to collect
furs, he would certainly tell them, in French, of the murder.
Kenecabannishcum replied, he would soon settle that, and steered his
canoe to the rocky point of an island directly opposite. On his arrival
at the point, the ruffian seized the child by his legs, and dashed his
brains out against the rock. The murderer’s mother returned to the hut
and buried the body of the unfortunate infant. This is the woman who
afterwards met her death on Lake Malawin from the hands of her
daughter-in-law, and lies buried on Lake Kempt. Some time after the
murders had been committed, a quarrel ensued between Kenecabannishcum
and his wife and mother; in consequence of this, the two women repaired
to the cabin of the wife’s father, a chieftain named Meshenawash, and
acquainted him with the crimes of her husband: when this reached the
murderer’s ears he vowed vengeance against the old chieftain, who
consequently was compelled to secrete himself until the day of his
death, which took place a short time after, for he was no match for such
a powerful man as his son-in-law. The grave with the sword upon it was
this chieftain’s.

[Illustration: _The Squaw’s Grave_
 (Ottawa River.)]

In the year 1824, this man came to his end in the following manner. An
Algonquin, named Michel, was married to a very handsome woman, whom
Kenecabannishcum endeavoured more than once to carry off by force. In
the scuffles which ensued, Michel, who was not possessed with the
strength of his opponent, was glad to make his escape, and in one
instance, he was obliged to swim across a rapid stream, and dive
repeatedly to avoid being shot. In the last encounter, which took place
in the year above mentioned, each man was armed with an axe, when a
fierce conflict ensued. Michel by a lucky blow struck off the nose of
his adversary, and the next stroke took off his ear. These wounds so
bewildered Kenecabannishcum, that he lost all presence of mind, and
before he could recover, Michel struck his axe so deep into his enemy’s
skull, that he was under the necessity of placing his foot on the neck
of the fallen man to withdraw it. Thus fell this noted character: his
body was buried by his brother Menesino on the point near the log-hut,
close by his father-in-law and the infant whom he had murdered eight
years before in cold blood. The body of Tefu’s wife was never found.
Michel was obliged to fly that part of the country, fearful of the
vengeance of Menesino, and is now resident at the post on Lac des
Sables.

-----

[1] We have to acknowledge our obligations for most valuable information
in the following pages, first, to our distinguished friend Col.
Cockburn, of the Royal Artillery, long resident in Canada; next, to Hugh
Murray, Esq., F.R.S.E. for extracts from his most admirable work on that
country; to the Author of “Backwoods of America,” and to many writers,
both old and modern, including Charlevoix, Adair, Colden, La Potherie,
Rogers, Champlain, Heriot, M^{c}Gregor, Raynal, Talbot, Hall, and
others. From the inconvenience of making these acknowledgments in every
instance, we return our thanks simply in this note, and embody the
information simply as it comes, without further mark or comment.




                               CHAP. II.


                THE DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF CANADA.

                 *        *        *        *        *

Having given, from the best authority, the condition and characteristics
of the aboriginal tribes of America, we go on briefly to enumerate the
prominent events in the first stage of discovery and civilization. Those
who read the curious picture we have been enabled to present, in the
foregoing pages, of a nation almost, we may say, recently sprung to
light, and who now look into the singular events of the first civilized
history of the land they possessed, will have materials for a comparison
between these and the lovely pictures on the other pages of the work,
such as, for force of contrast and interest, is not often presented.

The Italian adventurers, John, and his sons Sebastian, Louis, and
Sanchez Cabot, who received a commission on the 5th of March, 1495, from
Henry VII. of England, to discover what Columbus was in search of, a
north-west passage to the East Indies or China, (or, as the latter named
country was then called, _Cathay_,) claim the honour of having been the
first discoverers of Canada. The adventurers sailed in 1497 with six
ships, and early in June of the same year, discovered Newfoundland;
whence continuing a westerly course, they reached the continent of North
America, which the Cabots coasted (after exploring the gulf of St.
Lawrence) as far north as 67° 50' N. lat. They returned to England in
August, 1497, but although Sebastian subsequently performed three
voyages to the New World, no settlement was effected on its shores.

[Illustration: _Port Hope._]

In 1500, Gaspar Cortereal, a Portuguese gentleman, visited the coast,
and pursued the track of Sir John Cabot (who was knighted by our
sovereign); but Cortereal and his brothers accomplished nothing further
than the kidnapping of several of the natives, whom they employed and
sold as slaves. In 1502 Hugh Elliot and Thomas Ashurst, merchants of
Bristol, with two other gentlemen, obtained a patent from Henry VIII. to
establish colonies in the countries lately discovered by Cabot: but the
result of the permission granted is not known. In 1527 an expedition was
fitted out by Henry VIII. by the advice of Robert Thorne, a merchant of
Bristol, for the purpose of discovering a north-west passage to the East
Indies; one of the ships attempting which was lost.

Francis I. of France, piqued at the discoveries of Spain and Portugal,
and having his ambition roused by the monopolizing pretensions of these
two powers to the possessions in the New World, authorized the fitting
out of an expedition, the command of which he gave to Verrazzano, a
Florentine, who on his second voyage discovered Florida, and thence
sailing back along the American coast to the 50° of lat. took formal
possession of it for his royal master, and called it _La Nouvelle
France_. On Verrazzano’s return to Europe in 1525, without gold or
silver or valuable merchandize, he was at first coldly received, but, it
is said, subsequently sent out with more particular instructions and
directions to open a communication with the natives; in endeavouring to
fulfil which, he lost his life in a fray with the Indians. This,
however, is denied; and it is asserted that the capture of Francis I. at
the battle of Pavia in 1525, prevented him from further exploring the
coast, and that he returned to his native country and died in obscurity.

When the government ceased to follow up the result of Verrazzano’s
formal acquisition of Canada, the Frenchmen of St. Maloes commenced a
successful fishery at Newfoundland, which so early as 1517 had fifty
ships, belonging to the English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese,
employed in the cod-fishery on its banks. _Jacques Cartier_, a native of
St. Maloes, engaged in the Newfoundland fishery, took the lead in
exploring at his own risk the northern coasts of the new hemisphere.

This bold and experienced navigator at last received a commission from
his sovereign, Francis I., and left St. Maloes on the 20th of April,
1534, with two vessels of sixty tons each; arrived at Newfoundland on
the 10th of May, remained there ten days, and then sailed to the
northward, passing through the straits of Bellisle; changed his course
somewhat to the southward, traversed the great gulf of St. Lawrence,
(already known to Europeans,) and, in the month of July, arrived in the
_Bay of Chaleurs_, which he so named on account of its heat. On the 24th
of July, Cartier was at Gaspé, where he erected a cross, surmounted by a
_fleur-de-lis_, and on the 25th of July sailed for France with two
native Indians.

The enterprising character of his royal master induced him to despatch
Cartier in the following year with three larger vessels, and a number of
young gentlemen as volunteers. The ships rendezvoused at Newfoundland,
and in August sailed up the St. Lawrence, so called from its being
discovered on the 10th day of that month, being the festival of the
saint of that name.

Cartier anchored off Quebec, then called Stadaconna, and the abode of an
Indian chief called Donnaconna. After leaving his ships secure, he
pursued his route in the pinnace and two boats, until, on the third of
October, he reached an island in the river, with a lofty mountain, which
he named _Mont Royal_, now called Montreal. After losing many of his
followers by scurvy, during his wintering at Stadaconna, which he named
St. Croix, Cartier returned to France in 1536, carrying off by force
Donnaconna, two other chiefs, and eight natives. The French court,
finding there was no gold and silver to be had, paid no further
attention to _La Nouvelle France_, or Canada, until the year 1540, when
Cartier, after much exertion, succeeded in getting a royal expedition
fitted out under the command of François de la Roque, Seigneur de
Roberval, who was commissioned by Francis I. as viceroy and
lieutenant-general in Canada, Hochelaga, or Montreal.

Roberval despatched Cartier to form a settlement, which he did at St.
Croix harbour on the 23d of August, 1541, but suddenly left it early in
the ensuing year. The viceroy himself arrived in Canada in July, 1542,
where he built a fort, and wintered about four leagues above the Isle of
Orleans (first called the Isle of Bacchus); but for want of any settled
plans, in consequence of the scurvy, and the insurrections and deadly
hostility of the Indians, owing to Cartier’s having carried off
Donnaconna and his attendants (who had all perished in France), little
was accomplished.[2]

Roberval’s attention was soon after called from Canada, to serve his
sovereign in the struggle for power so long waged with Charles V. of
Spain; and Jacques Cartier, ruined in health and fortune, died in France
soon after his arrival there. Roberval on the death of Francis I.
embarked again for Canada in 1549, with his gallant brother Achille, and
a numerous train of enterprising young men; but having never afterwards
been heard of, they are supposed to have perished at sea.

In 1576, Martin Frobisher was sent out by Queen Elizabeth with three
ships on discovery, when Elizabeth’s Foreland, and the Straits which
bear his own name, were discovered. Frobisher mistaking _mica_ or _talc_
for gold ore, brought quantities of it to England, and was despatched by
some merchants with three ships in the following year, to seek for gold,
and to explore the coast of Labrador and Greenland, with the view of
discovering a north-west passage to India. He returned without any other
success than 200 tons of the supposed gold ore, and an Indian man,
woman, and child.

[Illustration: _The Whirlpool on the Niagara._]

In 1578 Martin Frobisher again sailed for the American continent with no
fewer than fifteen ships in search of gold, to the ruin of many
adventurers, who received nothing but mica instead of gold ore; the
fact, however, shows the speculative avidity of mercantile adventurers
at that period.

For fifty years France paid no attention to Canada, and the few settlers
or their descendants left by Cartier or Roberval were unheeded and
unsuccoured; but in 1598 the taste for colonial adventure revived, and
Henry IV. appointed the Marquis de la Roche his lieutenant-general in
Canada, with power to partition discovered lands into seigniories and
fiefs, to be held under feudal tenure, and as a compensation for
military services when required. La Roche fitted out but one vessel, and
unfortunately reinforced his crew with forty malefactors from the
prisons. It is sufficient here to state that Sable Island, a barren sand
bank, and a rude part of Acadia (now called Nova Scotia), were first
settled on and afterwards abandoned; and that to private enterprise,
rather than to royal decree, the French nation were at last indebted for
a permanent and profitable colonisation in Canada. M. Pontgrave, a
merchant of St. Malo, who had distinguished himself by making several
profitable fur voyages to Tadoussac, at the mouth of the Saguenay river,
engaged as an associate M. Chauvin, a naval officer who obtained from
Henry IV. in 1600 a commission, granting him an exclusive trade with
Canada, and other privileges. Chauvin associated other persons with him
in his enterprise, and made two successful trading voyages to Tadoussac,
where the Indians gave the most valuable furs in exchange for mere
trifles. Chauvin died in 1603, but Commander De Chatte, or De Chaste,
governor of Dieppe, founded a company of merchants at Rouen, to carry on
the fur trade on an extensive scale; an armament was equipped under
Pontgrave, and a distinguished naval officer named Samuel Champlain, who
sailed up the St. Lawrence as far as Sault St. Louis in 1603. On the
death of Chauvin, which happened in the ensuing year, Pierre Dugast
Sieur de Monts, a Calvinist and gentleman of the bedchamber to Henry IV.
received a patent conferring on him the exclusive trade and government
of the territories situate between 40° and 54° of lat.; and although of
the reformed religion, the Sieur was enjoined to convert the native
Indians to the Roman Catholic tenets. De Monts continued the Company
founded by his predecessors, and fitted out an expedition in 1604 of
four vessels, two of which were destined for Acadia, then an object of
attraction. Suffice it to say, that trading ports were established at
several places: the fur trade prosperously carried on; the Acadian
colony neglected; and Quebec made the capital of the future New France,
founded by Samuel Champlain on the 3d July, 1608. The various Indian
tribes contiguous to the new settlement, namely, the Algonquins, the
Hurons, &c. who were at war with the Iroquois, or Five Nations,
solicited and obtained the aid of the French. Champlain taught them the
use of fire-arms, which the Iroquois also acquired from their English
friends in the adjacent territory; and hence began the ruinous wars,
which have ended in the nearly total extermination of the Indians of the
North American continent, wherever they have come in contact with the
Europeans and their descendants. But little success attended the first
colonization on the banks of the St. Lawrence; in 1622, fourteen years
after its establishment, Quebec had not a population exceeding fifty
souls.[3] The mischievous policy of making religion (and that of the
Jesuit caste) a part of the colonial policy, long hampered the French
settlers; and to remedy the distressed condition of the colony, the
commerce of Canada, heretofore vested in the hands of one or two
individuals, was transferred in 1627 to a powerful association, called
the _Company of a hundred Partners_, composed of clergy and laity, under
the special management of the celebrated Cardinal Richelieu. The primary
object of the Company was the conversion of the Indians to the Catholic
faith, by means of zealous Jesuits; the secondary, an extension of the
fur trade, of commerce generally, and the discovery of a route to the
Pacific Ocean and to China, through the great rivers and lakes of New
France.

This Company held Canada or New France, with the extensive privileges of
a feudal seigniory under the king, to whom were owing fealty and homage,
and the presentation of a crown of gold at every new accession to the
throne. With the right of soil, a monopoly of trade was granted, the
king reserving for the benefit of all his subjects only the cod and
whale fisheries in the gulf and coast of St. Lawrence; and to such
colonists as might not be servants of the Company, was secured the right
of trading with the Indians for _peltries_ (skins), it being understood
that on pain of confiscation they should bring all their beaver skins to
the factors of the Company, who were bound to purchase them at 40 sous
a-piece. Under the new system, “protestants and other heretics,” as well
as Jews, were entirely excluded from the colony, and a Jesuit corps was
to be supported by the Company. Thus monopoly and bigotry went hand in
hand, and no auspicious Providence attended the efforts of such a
selfish and fanatic project.

The very first vessels despatched by the new religio-commercial-company
for Quebec, were captured by the English. In 1628, a squadron of English
vessels, under the command of Sir David Kertk, a French refugee, visited
Tadoussac, and destroyed the houses and cattle about Cape Tourmente;
Kertk and his little band next proceeded to Gaspé bay, where he met M.
de Roquemont, one of the hundred partners, commanding a squadron of
vessels, freighted with emigrant families, and all kinds of provisions.
Roquemont was provoked to a battle, and lost the whole of his fleet,
provisions, &c.; and the last hope of the colony of Quebec was blasted
by the shipwreck of two Jesuit missionaries, on the coast of Nova
Scotia, in a vessel laden with provisions for the starving colonists,
who were now reduced to an allowance of five ounces of bread per day.
Kertk, reinforced by some more English vessels, commanded by his two
brothers, sent them up the St. Lawrence, when they easily captured
Quebec on the 20th July, 1629: and, on the 20th October, Champlain
arrived at Plymouth, on his return to France, most of his countrymen
having, however, remained in Canada. While Quebec was being captured by
Kertk and his English squadron, peace was under ratification between
England and France; and, in 1632, (the latter power having previously
opened a negotiation with England,) Quebec, Acadia, (Nova Scotia,) and
Isle Royal, (Cape Breton,) were ceded to France, and Champlain resumed
the government of Canada. The Jesuits, with their accustomed zeal,
commenced anew their efforts; and from this period to the final British
conquest in 1760, a rivalship and growing hostility, partly religious
and partly commercial, took place between the French and English
settlers in North America, which were evinced by mutual aggressions,
while profound peace existed between their respective sovereigns in
Europe.

A minute detail of local occurrences would be out of place in a work of
this nature; it may be sufficient to say, that from this period, (1674,)
when the population, embracing converted Indians, did not exceed eight
thousand, the French settlement in Canada continued to increase, and as
it rose in power, and assumed offensive operations on the New England
frontier, the jealousy of the British colonists became roused, and both
parties, aided alternately by the Indians, carried on a destructive and
harassing border warfare. And here it may not be amiss to observe, how
much the progress of the British colonists in New York, New England,
&c., and the prosperity of the French in Canada, were influenced during
successive years by the strength and moral character of their respective
sovereigns. I may allude, for instance, to the licentious reign of Louis
XV., and the vigorous administration of William III., during whose
governments the progress of their respective colonies was retarded or
advanced by the example or stimulus afforded by the mother country; thus
demonstrating how much, under a monarchy, the character and happiness of
nations are influenced by the principles and habits of their rulers.

For many years the French in Canada made head against the assaults of
their less skilful, but more persevering neighbours, owing to the active
cooperation and support which the Canadians received from their Indian
allies, whom the British were by nature less adapted for conciliating;
but at length the latter, seeing the necessity for native cooperation,
conciliated the favour of the aborigines, and turned the tide of success
in their own favour. The hostilities waged by the Indians were dreadful.
Setting little value on life, they fought with desperation, and gave no
quarter; protected by the natural fastnesses of their country, they
chose in security their own time for action, and when they had enclosed
their enemies in a defile, or amidst the intricacies of the forest, the
war-whoop of the victor and the death-shriek of the vanquished were
almost simultaneously heard; and while the bodies of the slain served
for food to the savage, the scalped head of the white man was a trophy
of glory, and a booty of no inconsiderable value to its possessor. The
Canadians themselves sometimes experienced the remorseless fury of their
Indian forces. On the 26th of July, 1688, Le Rat, a chief of the Huron
tribe, mortified by the attempt of the French commanders to negotiate a
peace with the Iroquois, or Five Nations, without consulting the wishes
of their Huron allies, urged his countrymen, and even stimulated the
Iroquois, to aid him in an attack on Montreal. The colonists were taken
by surprise, a thousand of them slain, and the houses, crops, and cattle
on the island destroyed. Charlevais, in his history of _La Nouvelle
France_, says of the Indians, “Ils ouvrirent le sein des femmes
enceintes pour en arracher le fruit qu’elles portoient; ils mirent des
enfans tous vivant à la broche, et contraignirent les mères de les
tourner pour les faire rôtir!” The French, reinforced from Europe, sent
a strong force in February, 1690, who massacred the greater part of the
unresisting inhabitants of Shenectaday. According to Colden, (p. 78,)
the Indians whom the French took prisoners in the battle at Shenectaday,
were _cut into pieces and boiled to make soups for the Indian allies who
accompanied the French!_ Such were the desolating effects of European
colonization on the continent of America, equalling, in fact, as regards
the destruction of human life, the miseries inflicted by the Spaniards
on the more peaceful and feeble Indians of the West India islands.

The massacre of the Indians at Shenectaday by the French had the effect
of inducing the Iroquois and other nations to become more closely
attached to the English, and the French were compelled to act on the
defensive, and keep within their own territory. Our countrymen at Albany
were at first so much alarmed at the determined hostility of the French,
that they prepared to abandon the territory; but, at this crisis, the
New England colonists came to an understanding, and formed a coalition
for their mutual defence. Commissioners were sent to New York, and a
mission despatched to London, explaining their views, and soliciting aid
towards the successful completion of the naval and military expedition
which was planned against the French settlements in Canada, in 1690.

[Illustration: _Aylmer, Upper Canada._]

What a signal change had taken place in the views and relative position
of the parties, when, but a few years after, those very colonists sent
to France, whose dominion in Canada they had been the chief instruments
in annihilating, for succour and support in their war of independence
against Great Britain!

The plan of attack on Canada by the New England colonists, which they
fitted out at an expense of £150,000 (a heavy one to them at this
period), was twofold—1st, by land, and inland navigation on the
southern frontier of the French; and 2d, by a fleet, under Sir W.
Phipps, with a small army on board, which was sent round by sea from
Boston to attack Quebec. The force of the English was undisciplined; it
consisted of colonists who were stimulated by deadly resentment to
avenge the murder of their numerous relatives and friends, who had been
slain by the French and their Indian allies. Quebec was formally
summoned by Sir W. Phipps to surrender, and bravely defended by the
Sieur de Frontenac, who compelled his foes to return to Boston with
considerable loss in ships and men, owing to the delay and bad
management of the commander, who, had he persevered in his efforts,
would undoubtedly have starved out the garrison. The attack on Quebec by
land had, without waiting for cooperating with the fleet, previously
failed; so that the French were thus enabled to meet and defeat their
enemies in detail, a policy which a good general, when assailed by
superior numbers, will usually adopt.

The French, feeling secure in their dominions, pushed forward their
outposts with vigour by means of the fur-traders, and more than ever
alarmed the contiguous English colonists, who now became daily convinced
of the impossibility of both nations remaining as rivals on the same
continent; the French seeking dominion by military power and conquest,
the English by an extension of the arts of peace, aided by a liberal
spirit. The latter, therefore, resolved on using every possible means
for the total expulsion of their Gallic neighbours from Canada, who
refused the offer made to them to remain pacific while the mother
countries were at war. The main object of Frontenac was to take
possession of every point calculated to extend the dominion of France,
to cut off the English from the fur-trade, and, finally, to hem them in
between the Highlands of Nova Scotia and the Alleghany mountains. He
began by checking the incursions of the Iroquois, whom he weakened so
much by destructive warfare, and hemmed so closely in by a judicious
distribution of military stations or forts, as to prevent them ever
after from making an impression on Canada, such as they had been wont to
produce. Frontenac’s next step was the preparation, in 1697, of a large
armament to cooperate with a strong force from France, which was
destined for the conquest of New York; but while the brave and active
Canadian Governor was preparing to take the field, the news arrived of
the treaty of peace between France and England, concluded at Ryswick,
11th of September, 1697, much to the dissatisfaction of Frontenac.

The renewal of the war between Great Britain and France in May, 1702,
soon led to acrimony and hostility in America; and the cruel
persecutions of the Protestants in France caused a religious animosity
to be superadded to the hatred entertained by the New Englanders towards
their neighbours, whose numbers had now increased to about 15,000. In
1708 the Marquis de Vandreuil carried his operations into the British
frontier settlements, having previously negotiated for the neutrality of
the Iroquois, who were flattered by being treated as an independent
power; but the destruction of the village of Haverhill, and the massacre
of some of its inhabitants, compelled the Canadians again to assume a
defensive position. The New Englanders made every preparation for an
attack on Montreal by land; but the English forces destined for the
cooperation by the St. Lawrence river were required for Portugal, and
thus the Marquis de Vandreuil had time to make better preparations for
defence. The ensuing year (1709) was spent by the English in reducing
Acadia, now Nova Scotia; and when the combined land and sea expedition
against Canada took place in 1711, it was so ill-managed, and the
British fleet, owing to tempestuous weather and ignorance of the coast,
met with so many disasters,—losing by shipwreck in one day (the 22d of
August) eight transports, 884 officers, soldiers, and seamen—that the
expedition returned to Boston, and the restoration of peace between
France and England by the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, left the former
yet a little longer to harass and molest the British colonists along the
Canadian frontier. The Marquis de Vandreuil availed himself of the peace
to strengthen the fortifications of Quebec and Montreal; the training of
the military, amounting to 5,000 in a population of 25,000, was
carefully attended to; barracks were constructed; and a direct
assessment levied on the inhabitants for the support of the troops and
the erection of fortifications. During ten years of foreign and internal
tranquillity, the trade and property of Canada made rapid progress: in
1723 nineteen vessels cleared from Quebec, laden with peltries, lumber,
stones, tar, tobacco, flour, pease, pork, &c.; and six merchant ships
and two men-of-war were built in the colony.

[Illustration: _Long Sault Rapid, on the St. Lawrence._]

The death of the Marquis de Vandreuil in October, 1725, was deservedly
lamented by the Canadians. He was succeeded in 1726 by the Marquis de
Beauharnois, (a natural son of Louis XIV.) whose ambitious
administration excited yet more the alarm and jealousy of the English
colonists of New York and New England; while the intrigues of the
Jesuits with the Indians, contributed not a little to bring about the
final struggle for dominion on the American continent, between the two
most powerful nations of Europe. The war between Great Britain and
France in 1745, led to the reduction in that year of Cape Breton, by a
British naval and military force, combined with the provincial troops of
the New England colonies; but the successful battle of Fontenoy roused
the martial spirit of the Canadians to attempt the re-conquest of Nova
Scotia in 1746 and 1747, in which they failed, and the treaty of
Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748 suspended further hostilities. Commissioners
were then appointed to settle a boundary line between the British and
French territories in North America. The object of the French was to
confine the English within the boundary of the Alleghany mountains, and
prevent their approach to the Lakes, the St. Lawrence, the Mississippi,
(where the former were now establishing themselves,) and their tributary
streams. The Canadian Government, without any authority from home, and
accompanied by a display of military pomp, calculated to impress on the
minds of the Indians the idea that France would assert her territorial
right to the limits marked, proceeded to survey the projected line of
demarcation between the possessions of France and those which the
Canadian Governor was pleased, _in his liberality_, to assign to
England: leaden plates, bearing the royal arms of France, were sunk at
proper distances, and the whole ceremony was concluded with much
formality. Such an imprudent step, it may be imagined, seriously alarmed
the Indians, as well as the English, and terminated in their active
cooperation for the utter expulsion of the French from North America.

In pursuance of the line of policy marked out by the French consuls at
home and in Canada, the Jesuits were employed to intrigue with the
Acadians, or descendants of the early French inhabitants, with the view
of prevailing on them to quit Nova Scotia, and resort to a military post
now established beyond its frontier, on the Canada side, where a new
colony was to be formed, in aid of which the royal sanction was granted
for an appropriation of 800,000 livres. Cornwallis, the governor of Nova
Scotia, soon convinced the French that he was aware of their
proceedings; he caused a fort to be erected opposite the French, near
the bay of Fundy, on the side of the river Beauhassin; and placed it
under the command of Major Laurence, and caused to be captured at the
mouth of the St. John river, a vessel laden with supplies for the
French. While these measures were in progress, the French commenced
enforcing their power along the line of demarcation they had marked out;
three individuals, who had licenses to trade from their respective
English governors, with the Indians on the Ohio, were seized by the
French, and carried prisoners to Montreal, whence, after severe
treatment and strict examination, they were at length liberated, with
injunctions not to trespass _on the French territories_.

The intrigues of the Jesuits with the Iroquois, to detach them from the
English, were so far successful, that the Indians permitted the French
to erect the Fort La Presentation near their border; and but for the
perseverance and extraordinary influence of Sir William Johnston, the
wily character of the Canadians would have gone far to frustrate the
confederacy forming between the English and the Indians, for the
expulsion of the French; whose downfall was ultimately occasioned by the
corruption that prevailed within the colony, and the scandalous jobs
that the very highest authorities not only winked at, but profited by.
The arrival of the Marquis du Quesne de Menneville, in 1752, as Governor
of Canada, Louisiana, Cape Breton, St. John’s, and their dependencies,
gave indications that hostilities might soon be expected in Europe; and
the activity of the marquis was displayed in training and organizing the
militia for internal defence: detachments of regulars, militia, and
Indians, were despatched to the Ohio; Fort du Quesne (actually within
the Virginian territory) and other posts were erected, with a view of
keeping the English within the Apalachian or Alleghany mountains; and
from Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and Fort Niagara, the most ferocious
attacks were made on the peaceable English settlers, notwithstanding the
treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748. The British, though still acting on
the defensive, were not idle; a fort was built in the vicinity of Du
Quesne, quaintly termed _Necessity_, and a garrison was despatched from
Virginia, under the command of George Washington, whose name has since
become so illustrious, and who then held a Lieutenant-colonel’s
commission. Washington, on his march to assume the command of Fort
_Necessity_, was met by a reconnoitring party from Du Quesne fort, under
M. de Jumouville, who peremptorily forbad the English to proceed
further. This mandate was answered by a burst of indignation, and a
volley of musquetry, which killed Jumouville and several of his men. The
French commandant at Du Quesne, Monsieur Contrecœur, quickly commenced
offensive hostilities, invested Fort _Necessity_, and obliged Washington
to capitulate. England at that time was preparing for an open war with
France, which the ambition of Frederick of Prussia, and the state of
Europe soon rendered general. A strong fleet, with troops and warlike
munition, was despatched to reinforce Quebec; an English fleet pursued
it, but succeeded in capturing only two frigates, with the engineers and
troops on board, on the banks of Newfoundland.

[Illustration: _Quebec,_
 from the opposite shore of the St. Lawrence.]

In 1755, the Marquis du Quesne having resigned, he was succeeded, in
July, by the last French governor in Canada, the Marquis de Vandreuil de
Cavagnal, whose administration was auspiciously opened by the defeat of
the brave but rash General Braddock, on the 29th July, 1755, in one of
the defiles of the Alleghany mountains. Braddock, accustomed to
European, rather than to Indian warfare, neglected every precaution of
scouts and advanced posts, and refused to make any preparations against
the French and their Indian allies, who, when the enemy had entered a
gorge, where retreat was almost impossible, poured from their ambuscades
on the devoted British a deadly fire, under which the soldiers of the
unfortunate Braddock fell rapidly, without even the satisfaction of
seeing or meeting their foes. The death of their leader was the signal
that further advance was hopeless; and to the credit of George
Washington, the second in command, he succeeded in rescuing the
remainder of the British army, who were afterwards joined by 6,000
provincial troops, under General Johnston and Governor Shirley.
Johnston, with the intention of investing Crown Point, joined General
Lyman near Lake George, where they were attacked by 3,000 French,
commanded by Baron Dieskau. After a battle of four hours’ duration, the
French retreated to Crown Point, with the loss of 1,000 men, and the
capture of their leader, who was severely wounded. This success restored
the drooping spirits of the British army, and helped to train the
provincials (who were brigaded along with the regular troops,) for those
contests which they were soon to wage for their independence with the
very men by whose side they now fought hand to hand against the
French—their subsequent allies. Little did Washington then contemplate
the destiny that awaited him.

The campaign of 1755 was closed in October, by the British retiring to
Albany, after reinforcing the garrison of Oswego, but without any attack
on Crown Point. France, fully aware of the importance of Canada, sent
out early in the ensuing year a large body of chosen troops, under the
command of the gallant and experienced Major-General the Marquis de
Montcalm, who soon invested Fort Oswego, and compelled the garrison to
surrender. In the next year’s campaign (1757), success still signalized
the progress of the French arms; Fort George was invested and captured;
and the English prisoners, amounting to nearly 2,000 regular troops of
His Majesty’s service, were brutally massacred while on their march to
Fort Edward, by the Indian allies of the French—the latter asserting,
or pretending that they were, through inability or neglect,
incapacitated from preventing the perpetration of this horrid slaughter.
The feelings with which the news of this monstrous deed was received in
England, and throughout British America, may well be conceived; it
helped to hasten the downfall of the French dominion in Canada, the
deepest abhorrence being excited against those who permitted or
sanctioned such a diabolical act. The elder Pitt (afterwards Earl of
Chatham) then at the head of affairs, and in the full blaze of his
eloquence, infused a noble spirit into His Majesty’s counsels, and so
wielded the resources and energies of the nation, that the effects were
speedily felt in America.

France reinforced her Canadian garrisons; and England opened the
campaign of 1759 with a plan of combined operations by sea and land,
somewhat, if not mainly, formed on the plan adopted in 1690, and already
detailed. The invasion of Canada was to take place at three different
points, under three generals of high talent; that destined for Quebec
being considered the chief. The forces for the latter place were under
the command of the heroic General Wolfe, and amounted to about 8,000
men, chiefly drawn from the army which, under the same commander, had
taken Fort Louisberg in Cape Breton, and subdued the whole island in the
preceding year. Wolfe’s army was conveyed to the vicinity of Quebec by a
fleet of vessels of war and transports, commanded by Admiral Saunders,
and was landed in two divisions off the island of Orleans, 27th June,
1759. The Marquis de Montcalm made vigorous preparations for defending
Quebec; his armed force consisted of about 13,000 men, of whom six
battalions were regulars, and the remainder well disciplined Canadian
militia, with some cavalry and Indians; and his army was ranged from the
river St. Lawrence to the Falls of Montmorency, with the view of
opposing the landing of the British forces. A few ships of war,
including fire ships, assisted De Montcalm. The skilful disposition of
the French commander was shown in the failure of the British attack on
the intrenchments at Montmorency, where the British lost 182 killed and
450 wounded, including 11 officers killed and 46 wounded. In consequence
of this repulse, Wolfe sent despatches to England, stating that he had
doubts of being able to reduce Quebec during that campaign.

[Illustration: _Montmorency Cove._]




[Illustration: _Monument to Wolfe and Montcalm_
 (near Quebec.)]

Prudence and foresight are the characteristics of a good general, as
well as of an able statesman. Wolfe called a council of war—he showed
that the fire of his ships of war, which had passed and repassed Quebec,
had done little damage to the citadel, though the lower town had been
nearly destroyed—that further attacks on the Montmorency intrenchments
were useless: it was therefore proposed, as the only hope of success, to
gain the heights of Abraham behind and above the city, commanding the
weakest point of the fortress. The council, composed of the principal
naval and military commanders, acceded to this daring proposal; and
their heroic leader, although suffering severely from sickness,
commenced his operations on the memorable morning of the 13th of
September, 1759, with an address, secrecy and silence, that have perhaps
never been equalled; indeed, so difficult was the ascent of the narrow
pass where the troops landed, that the soldiers had to climb the
precipice, by the aid of the branches of shrubs and roots of trees
growing among the rocks. De Montcalm found all his vigilance unavailing
to guard this important pass—he lost his usual prudence and
forbearance, and finding his opponent had gained so much by hazarding
all, he, with an infatuation for which it is difficult to account,
resolved to meet the British in battle array on the plains of Abraham.
The French sallied forth from a strong fortress without field
artillery—without even waiting for the return of a large force of 2,000
men, detached as a corps of observation under De Bougainville against
the British fleet—and with a heat and precipitation as remarkable as
were the coolness of the British. The eagle eye of Wolfe saw that to him
retreat was almost impossible; but, while directing his main attention
to the steady advance of his right division, he skilfully covered his
flanks, and endeavoured to preserve their communication with the shore.
Both armies may be said to have been without artillery, the French
having only two guns, and the English a light cannon, which the sailors
dragged up the heights with ropes; the sabre and the bayonet accordingly
decided the day, and never was the nervous strength of the British arm
better wielded. The agile Scotch Highlanders, with their stout
claymores, served the purpose of cavalry, and the steady fire of the
English fusileers compensated in some degree for the want of artillery.
The French fought with a desperation heightened by the fanaticism to
which their priests had excited them against the English heretics, while
the heroism of De Montcalm was as conspicuous as that of his illustrious
opponent; both headed their men—both rushed with eagerness wherever the
battle raged most fiercely, and often by their personal prowess and
example changed the fortune of the moment;—both were repeatedly
wounded, but still fought with an enthusiasm which those only who have
mixed in the heady current of battle can conceive; in fine, both those
gallant commanders fell mortally wounded, while advancing on the last
deadly charge, at the head of their respective columns. Wolfe, faint
with the loss of blood, reeled, and leant against the shoulder of one of
his officers—the purple stream of life was ebbing—the eye that but a
few moments before beamed bright with glory, waxed dim, and he was
sinking to the earth, when the cry of “_They run!—they run!_” arrested
his fleeting spirit. “_Who run?_” exclaimed the dying hero. “_The
French_,” returned his supporter. “_Then I die contented!_” were the
last words of a Briton who expired in the arms of victory. The
chivalrous Montcalm also perished—rejoicing in his last moments that he
should not live to witness the surrender of Quebec—and both the
conquerors and the conquered joined in deploring their national loss.

The battle may be said to have decided the fate of the French dominion
in Canada; five days after, the citadel of Quebec was surrendered, and
occupied by General Murray with a force of 5,000 men, and the British
fleet sailed for England. The contemplated junction of the invading
British forces took place at Montreal in September 1760; and by the
treaty between France and England, in 1763, the former resigned all
further pretensions to Canada and Nova Scotia,—thus losing at one blow
every acre of her North American dominions.

The population of Canada, on its conquest by the British, was about
65,000, inhabiting a narrow strip of land on the banks of the St.
Lawrence, and chiefly employed in agriculture. No people ever had juster
cause of gratitude for the cession of the country to Great Britain than
the Canadians. Bigot, the Intendant, or King’s financier, and his
creatures, plundered the colonists in every direction; a paper currency,
termed card-money, founded on the responsibility of the King of France,
for the general support of the civil and military establishments of the
colony, and which, from having been faithfully redeemed during a period
of thirty years, enjoyed unlimited credit, enabled Bigot to conceal for
a long time his waste and peculations; and while the British were
capturing Canada by force of arms, the French monarch was destroying the
commerce and prospects of his subjects by dishonouring the bills of
exchange of the Intendant, to whom he had granted absolute power; thus
involving in ruin not only the holders of 12,000 livres (£500,000
sterling) but also those who possessed any paper currency, which at the
conquest amounted to £4,000,000 sterling, and the only compensation
received for which was four per cent. on the original value.

Civil and religious liberty was granted to the Canadians; and in the
words of the writer of the Political Annals of Canada, “previous history
affords no example of such forbearance and generosity on the part of the
conquerors towards the conquered—forming such a new era in civilized
warfare, that an admiring world admitted the claim of Great Britain to
the glory of conquering a people, less from views of ambition and the
security of her other colonies, than from the hope of improving their
situation, and endowing them with the privileges of freedom.”

After the more stirring and scientific discoveries of civilized
navigators and adventurers, it will not be uninteresting to present the
simple story of an Indian chief, who crossed the continent without
compass or chart, and with no resources but his courage and native
talent for expedient; and in this rude way, made discoveries which would
thrill the bosom of the most romantic navigator. The story was told by
the chief himself (through an interpreter), to the gentleman who
reported it, in the following words, to the Historical Society of
Quebec:—

“I had lost my wife, and all the children whom I had by her, when I
undertook my journey towards the sun-rising. I set out from my village,
contrary to the inclination of all my relations, and went first to the
Chicasaws, our friends and neighbours. I continued among them several
days, to inform myself whether they knew whence we all came,—they, who
were our elders; since from them came the language of the country. As
they could not inform me, I proceeded on my journey. I reached the
country of the Chasuanous, and afterwards went up the Wabash, or Ohio,
almost to its source, which is in the country of the Iroquois, or Five
Nations. I left them, however, towards the north; and during the winter,
which in that country is very severe, and very long, I lived in a
village of the Abenaquis, where I contracted an acquaintance with a man
somewhat older than myself, who promised to conduct me, the following
spring, to the Great Water. Accordingly, when the snows were melted, and
the weather was settled, we proceeded eastward; and, after several days’
journey, I at length saw the Great Water, which filled me with such joy
and admiration that I could not speak. Night drawing on, we took up our
lodging on a high bank above the water, which was sorely vexed by the
wind, and made so great a noise that I could not sleep. Next day, the
ebbing and flowing of the water filled me with great apprehension; but
my companion quieted my fears, by assuring me that the water observed
certain bounds, both in advancing and retiring. Having satisfied our
curiosity in viewing the Great Water, we turned to the village of the
Abenaquis, where I continued the following winter; and after the snows
were melted, my companion and I went and viewed the great fall of the
river St. Lawrence, at Niagara, which was distant from the village
several days’ journey. The view of this great fall at first made my hair
stand on end, and my heart almost leap out of its place; but afterwards,
before I left it, I had the courage to walk under it. Next day we took
the shortest road to the Ohio; and my companion and I cutting down a
tree on the banks of the river, we formed it into a pettiauger, which
served to conduct me down the Ohio and the Mississippi; after which,
with much difficulty, I went up our small river, and at length arrived
safe among my relations, who were rejoiced to see me in good health.

[Illustration: _The Plains of Abraham, near Quebec._
 (_The spot where General Wolfe fell._)]

“This journey, instead of satisfying, only served to excite my
curiosity. Our old men, for several years, had told me that the _ancient
speech_ informed them that the Red-men of the north came originally much
higher and much farther than the source of the river Missouri; and as I
had longed to see, with my own eyes, the land from whence our first
fathers came, I took my precautions for my journey westwards. Having
provided a small quantity of corn, I proceeded up along the eastern bank
of the river Mississippi, till I came to the Ohio. I went up along the
bank of this last river, about the fourth part of a day’s journey, that
I might be able to cross it without being carried into the Mississippi.
There I formed a _cayeux_, or raft of canes, by the assistance of which
I passed over the river; and next day meeting with a herd of buffaloes
in the meadows, I killed a fat one, and took from it the fillets, the
bunch, and the tongue. Soon after I arrived among the Tamaroos, a
village of the nation of the Illinois, where I rested several days, and
then proceeded northwards to the mouth of the Missouri, which, after it
enters the great river, runs for a considerable time without intermixing
its muddy waters with the clear stream of the other. Having crossed the
Mississippi, I went up the _Missouri_, along its northern bank; and
after several days journey, I arrived at the nation of the Missouris,
where I staid a long time, to learn the language that is spoken beyond
them. In going along the Missouri, I passed through meadows a whole
day’s journey in length, which were quite covered with buffaloes.

“When the cold was past, and the snows were melted, I continued my
journey up along the Missouri, till I came to the nation of the West, or
the _Canzas_. Afterwards, in consequence of directions from them, I
proceeded in the same course near thirty days; and at length I met with
some of the nation of the Otters, who were hunting in that
neighbourhood, and were surprised to see me alone. I continued with the
hunters two or three days, and then accompanied one of them, and his
wife, who was near her time of lying in, to their village, which lay far
off, betwixt the north and west. We continued our journey along the
Missouri for nine days, and then we marched directly northwards for five
days more, through the country of the Otters, who received me with as
much kindness as if I had been of their own nation. A few days after we
came to the Fine River, which runs westward in a direction contrary to
that of the Missouri. We proceeded down this river a whole day, and then
arrived at the village. A party of the Otters were going to carry a
calumet of peace to a nation beyond them, and we embarked in a
pettiauger, and went down the river for eighteen days, landing now and
then, to supply ourselves with provisions. When I arrived at the nation,
who were at peace with the Otters, I staid with them till the cold was
past, that I might learn their language, which was common to most of the
nations that lived beyond them.

“The cold was hardly gone, when I again embarked on the Fine River; and
in my course I met with several nations, with whom I generally staid but
one night, till I arrived at the nation that is but one day’s journey
from the Great Water on the West. This nation live in the woods, about
the distance of a league from the river, from their apprehension of
bearded men, who come upon their coasts in floating villages, and carry
off their children to make slaves of them. These men were described to
be white, with long black beards that came down to their breasts. They
were thick and short, had large heads, which were covered with
cloth;—they were always dressed, even in the greatest heats; their
clothes fell down to the middle of their legs, which with their feet
were covered with red or yellow stuff. Their arms made a great fire and
a great noise; and when they saw themselves outnumbered by Red-men, they
retired on board their large pettiauger—their number sometimes
amounting to thirty, but never more.

“Those strangers came from the sun-setting, in search of a yellow
stinking wood, which dyes a fine yellow colour; but the people of this
nation, that they might not be tempted to visit them, had destroyed all
those kind of trees. Two other nations in their neighbourhood, however,
having no other wood, could not destroy the trees, and were still
visited by the strangers; and being greatly incommoded by them, had
invited their allies to assist them in making an attack upon them the
next time they should return. The following summer I accordingly joined
in this expedition; and after travelling five long days’ journey, we
came to the place where the bearded men usually landed, where we waited
seventeen days for their arrival. The Red-men, by my advice, placed
themselves in ambuscade to surprise the strangers; and accordingly, when
they landed to cut the wood, we were so successful as to kill eleven of
them, the rest immediately escaping on board two large pettiaugers, and
flying westward upon the Great Water.

“Upon examining those whom we had killed, we found them much smaller
than ourselves, and very white: they had a large head, and in the middle
of the crown the hair was very long. Their head was wrapped in a great
many folds of stuff, and their clothes seemed to be made neither of wool
nor silk: they were very soft, and of different colours. Two only, of
the eleven who were slain, had fire arms, with powder and ball. I tried
their pieces, and found that they were much heavier than ours, and did
not kill at so great a distance.

“After this expedition I thought of nothing but proceeding on my
journey, and with that design I let the Red-men return home, and joined
myself to those who inhabited more westward on the coast, with whom I
travelled along the shore of the Great Water, which bends directly
betwixt the north and the sun-setting. When I arrived at the villages of
my fellow-travellers, where I found the days very long, and the nights
very short, I was advised by the old men to give over all thoughts of
continuing my journey. They told me that the land extended still a long
way in a direction between the north and sun-setting, after which it ran
directly west, and at length was cut by the Great Water from north to
south. One of them added, that when he was young, he knew a very old man
who had seen that distant land before it was eat away by the Great
Water, and that when the Great Water was low, many rocks still appeared
in those parts. Finding it, therefore, impracticable to proceed much
further on account of the severity of the climate, and the want of game,
I returned by the same route by which I had set out; and reducing my
whole travels westward to day’s journeys, I compute that they would have
employed me thirty-six moons; but on account of my frequent delays, it
was five years before I returned to my relations among the Yazous.”

The remarkable difference between the Natches, including in that name
the nations whom they treat as brethren, and the other people of
Louisiana, made me extremely desirous to know whence both of them might
originally come. We had not then that full information which we have
since received from the voyages and discoveries of M. De Lisle, in the
eastern parts of the Russian empire. I therefore applied myself one day
to put the keeper of the temple in good humour; and having succeeded in
that without much difficulty, I then told him, that from the little
resemblance I observed between the Natches and the neighbouring nations,
I was inclined to believe that they were not originally from the same
country which they then inhabited; and if the ancient speech taught him
any thing on that subject, he would do me a great pleasure to inform me
of it. At these words he leaned his head on his two hands, with which he
covered his eyes; and having remained in that posture about a quarter of
an hour, as if to recollect himself, he answered to the following
effect:—

“Before we came into this land we lived yonder, under the sun, (pointing
with his finger nearly south-west, by which I understood he meant
Mexico); we lived in a fine country, where the earth is always pleasant;
there our sons had their abode, and our nation maintained itself for a
long time against the ancients of the country, who conquered some of our
villages in the plains, but never could force us from the mountains. Our
nation extended itself along the Great Water where this large river
loses itself; but as our enemies were become very numerous, and very
wicked, our Suns sent some of our subjects who live near this river, to
examine whether we could retire into the country through which it
flowed. The country on the east side of the river being found extremely
pleasant, the Great Sun, upon the return of those who had examined it,
ordered all his subjects who lived in the plains, and who still defended
themselves against the ancients of the country, to remove into this
land, here to build a temple, and to preserve the eternal fire.

“A great part of our nation accordingly settled here, where they lived
in peace and abundance for several generations; the Great Sun, and those
who had remained with him, never thought of joining us, being tempted to
continue where they were by the pleasantness of the country, which was
very warm, and by the weakness of their enemies, who had fallen into
civil dissensions in consequence of the ambition of one of their chiefs,
who wanted to raise himself from a state of equality with the other
chiefs of the villages, and to treat all the people of his nation as
slaves. During those discords among our enemies, some of them even
entered into an alliance with the Great Sun, who still remained in our
old country, that he might conveniently assist other brethren who had
settled on the banks of the Great Water to the east of the large river,
and extended themselves so far on the coast, and among the isles, that
the Great Sun did not hear of them sometimes for five or six years
together.

“It was not till after many generations that the Great Suns came and
joined us in this country, when, from the fine climate and the peace we
had enjoyed, we had multiplied like the leaves of the trees. Warriors of
fire, who made the earth to tremble, had arrived in our old country, and
having entered into an alliance with our brethren, conquered our ancient
enemies; but attempting afterwards to make slaves of our sons, they,
rather than submit to them, left our brethren, who refused to follow
them, and came hither attended only by their slaves.”

Upon my asking him who those warriors of fire were, he replied, “that
they were bearded white men, somewhat of a brownish colour, who carried
arms that darted out fire with a great noise, and killed at a distance;
that they had likewise heavy arms which killed a great many men at once,
and like thunder made the earth tremble; and that they came from the
sun-rising in floating villages.”

“The ancients of the country,” he said, “were very numerous, and
inhabited from the western coast of the Great Water to the northern
countries on this side the sun, and very far up on the same coast beyond
the sun. They had a great number of large and small villages, which were
all built of stone, and in which there were houses large enough to lodge
a whole village. Their temples were built with great labour and art, and
they made beautiful works of all kinds of materials.”

“But ye yourselves,” said I, “whence are ye come?” “The ancient speech,”
he replied, “does not say from what land we came; all that we know is,
that our fathers, to come hither, followed the sun, and came with him
from the place where he rises; that they were a long time on their
journey, were all on the point of perishing, and were brought into this
country without seeking it.”

[Illustration: _Les Marches Naturelles,_
  near Quebec.]

Moncacht-apé, after giving me an account of his travels, spent four or
five days visiting among the Natches, and then returned to take leave of
me, when I made him a present of several wares of no great value, among
which was a concave mirror, about two inches and a half diameter, which
had cost me about three half-pence. As this magnified the face to four
or five times the natural size, he was wonderfully delighted with it,
and would not have exchanged it for the best mirror in France. After
expressing his regret at parting with me, he returned highly satisfied
to his own nation.

Moncacht-apé’s account of the junction of America with the eastern parts
of Asia, seems confirmed by the following remarkable fact. “Some years
ago the skeletons of two large elephants and two small ones were
discovered in a marsh near the Ohio; and as they were not much consumed,
it is supposed that the elephants came from Asia not many years before.
If we also consider the form of government, and the manner of living
among the northern nations of America, there will appear a great
resemblance betwixt them and the Tartars in the north-east part of
Asia.”

Indians who have never seen the ebbing and flowing of the tide are
wonderfully struck with this phenomenon. Many of the inhabitants of
Quebec must still remember that the great deputation of Indian chiefs,
from the interior, and from the Mississippi, which came to Quebec during
the administration of Sir George Prevost, and had in their company the
sister of Tecumseh, were often to be seen sitting in a row upon a wharf
in the Lower Town of Quebec, contemplating in silence, and evidently
under the deepest impression of awe, the rising and falling of the
waters of the St. Lawrence.

The white men here described correspond in every particular with the
Chinese, who, there is reason to believe, held commercial intercourse
with the south of Africa long before Vasco de Gama discovered and
doubled the Cape of Good Hope. The Chinese are rather smaller than we
are, and have the palest complexion indigenous to Asia. Their muskets
are match-locks, and heavier than ours; their powder is inferior in
quality.

The stinking wood mentioned by the Indian chief is probably fustic,
yielding a yellow dye, which is the prevailing colour of the garments of
the superior classes in China.

-----

[2] The narrative of these proceedings must be received with due
allowance, as there is considerable discrepancy between the different
historians. The statements of Hakluyt are here generally followed.

[3] The first child born in Quebec of French parents was the son of
Abraham Martin and Margaret L'Angelois: it was christened Eustache on
the 24th of October, 1621.




                               CHAP. III.


                        LATER EVENTS IN CANADA.

                 *        *        *        *        *

Having presented the first two phases of the history of Canada—its last
period under the rule of the savage, and its first under that of
civilized man; we pass to the next, which brings us to our own time—its
rule by the government of England.

The war commenced by the United States against Britain in 1812, produced
a formidable crisis in the history of Canada, especially of the upper
province.[4] It is not proposed to enter into any discussion of the
grounds or merits of the hostile resolution adopted by Congress.
Doubtless, however, as Britain then stood with her whole disposable
force engaged against Napoleon, they calculated with full confidence on
obtaining possession of the Canadas, and, indeed, of all British
America. Dr. Eustis, secretary at war, said in Congress, “We can take
the Canadas without soldiers; we have only to send officers into the
provinces, and the people disaffected towards their own government will
rally round our standard.” Mr. Clay added: “It is absurd, to suppose we
shall not succeed in our enterprise against the enemy’s provinces. We
have the Canadas as much under our command as Great Britain has the
ocean. We must take the continent from them. I wish never to see a peace
till we do.” A similar impression prevailed in the colony itself,
defended then by only 4,500 troops, of whom not more than 1,450 were in
the upper province, though the most exposed, and presenting the most
extended frontier. Not a few were inclined, on the first alarm, to pack
up and quit the country; but Sir George Prevost, seconded by the
majority of the inhabitants, adopted a more spirited resolution. The
militia were called out; Quebec was garrisoned by the citizens; and the
frontier placed in a state of defence.

The States, though they had plunged into hostilities so eagerly, and
with such sanguine anticipations, were, by no means, in a forward state
of preparation. Few of the officers who had distinguished themselves in
the war of independence, survived the lapse of nearly thirty years.
General Hull, however, one of these veterans, was sent with a force of
2,500 men to open the campaign on the western frontier of Upper Canada.
On the 5th of July, 1812, he arrived at Detroit; and on the 12th crossed
the river, and took possession of Sandwich, whence he issued a
proclamation, inviting the colonists to join him, or at least to remain
neutral. He announced that no quarter would be given to a white man
fighting by the side of an Indian, though this is said never to have
been acted upon. Having no cannon mounted, he did not think it
practicable to attack Fort Malden, which covered Amherstburg, where
Lieut.-Colonel St. George, with his small force, was posted. Hull,
however, pushed forward detachments into the country, which gained some
advantages, and induced a few of the inhabitants to join them. But his
prospects were soon clouded. Capt. Roberts, with a small detachment, had
early reduced the fort of Michillimakinac, which “opened upon him the
northern hive of Indians.” Almost the whole of that race, indignant at
the encroachments of the Americans upon their territory, eagerly
espoused the British cause, and poured in from every quarter to support
it. Meantime, General Brock, having embarked all the troops that could
be spared from the Niagara frontier, arrived on the 12th of August at
Amherstburg, where he mustered about 320 regulars, 400 militia, and 600
Indians. Hull, whose force, weakened by sickness and by sending away two
detachments, is said not to have exceeded 800 effective men, retreated
across the river, withdrawing the cannon prepared for the siege of
Amherstburg, and shut himself up in Detroit. General Brock instantly
crossed, advanced upon the fort, and prepared for an immediate assault;
but a white flag then appeared from the walls, and a capitulation was
quickly signed, by which the whole American force, including the
detachments, were surrendered prisoners of war. The Canadian citizens,
who had despondingly anticipated speedy conquest, were not a little
surprised to see in less than three months the whole army destined for
that object marched in as captives. Loud complaints were made by the
Americans against the conduct of Hull, who was afterwards tried and
condemned to be shot, though spared on account of his age and former
services.

The Americans made great efforts to obtain a more fortunate result on
the Niagara frontier. Though the New England States, disapproving of the
war, withheld their militia, yet early in September more than 6,000 men
were brought to the banks of the river, with the view of crossing it,
and penetrating into Canada. They were encouraged by the exploit of two
row-boats, which captured the same number of British gun-brigs, with
valuable cargoes, as they were passing Fort Erie. The troops are
represented as filled with enthusiastic confidence, urging, and almost
compelling General Van Rensselaer, their commander, to commence active
operations. Accordingly, after one abortive attempt, he succeeded, on
the morning of the 13th of October, in pushing across to Queenston a
detachment, which, being well reinforced, gained possession of the
heights. General Brock, having come up, resolved to check their
progress, but, making his advance with too small a force, he was
repulsed and killed, closing his brilliant career by a glorious death.
Meantime, General Sheaffe, having brought up the main force of the
British from Fort George, and being joined by a body of Indians, with a
detachment from Chippeway, attacked the enemy, and, after a sharp
contest of half an hour, compelled the whole, amounting to above 900, to
surrender at discretion.

The Americans made yet another attempt to retrieve this unfortunate
campaign. General Smyth, who succeeded Van Rensselaer, had assembled, on
the 27th of November, 4,500 men in the vicinity of Black Rock. Early on
the following morning two detachments succeeded in crossing, and, after
a long confused fight in the dark, drove in with loss the British
outposts; but when day broke, and Lieut.-Colonel Bisshop had collected
about 600 regulars and militia, they hastily retired to the other side,
leaving a party of thirty to fall into the hands of the English. Another
division began to cross, but some rounds of musketry and artillery
induced them to return. In the course of the day, after a vain summons
to surrender Fort Erie, nearly half the force was embarked, though in
the afternoon the postponement of the enterprise was announced. After
several days of uncertain councils, it was finally decided that the
expedition should be abandoned for the season.

[Illustration: _Queenston._]




[Illustration: _General Brock’s Monument,_
 above Queenston.]

The severity of the season caused a suspension of operations, scarcely
interrupted, unless by an attack on Ogdensburg by Captain M^{c}Donnell,
who, crossing the St. Lawrence on the ice, drove out the garrison, and
obtained possession of eleven pieces of cannon, and a considerable
quantity of stores. The Americans meantime were making extraordinary
exertions to open the new campaign under better auspices. At Sackett’s
Harbour, on the southern shore of Ontario, a naval armament was
equipped, which gave them for some time the control of that fine lake. A
large force had been assembled, and placed under a new commander,
General Dearborn. The plan of this campaign was limited to the conquest
of Upper Canada; the achievement of which, as that country was defended
by only 2,100 troops, was considered beyond the reach of chance. On the
25th of April, 1813, the general, with Commodore Chauncey, embarked
about 2,000 men, and sailed to York (Toronto), the rising capital of the
province. It was then very ill prepared for resistance, scarcely at all
fortified, and defended by General Sheaffe with only about 600 men. On
the morning of the 27th they reached the place, and succeeded in
landing, when, after a brave defence, protracted till two o’clock, the
English were obliged to abandon the town. The invaders suffered chiefly
by the explosion of a mine, which killed or wounded about 260, including
among the former General Pike, a young officer of distinguished merit,
who had planned and conducted the attack. After burning all the public
buildings, they carried off the artillery and naval stores, and by the
1st of May evacuated the place.

The next enterprise was still more important, being directed against
Fort George, near Newark, at the entrance of the Niagara channel,
considered the chief military position in the country. Nearly the whole
force was employed, a small part only being left to defend Sackett’s
Harbour. Brigadier-General Vincent, on the other hand, had only a
British detachment of about 1,000 regulars, and 300 militia; and Newark
had been exposed to so severe a fire from the American fort on the
opposite side, that it was no longer defensible. The enemy, therefore,
could be resisted only by opposing his landing, or by beating him
afterwards in the field. When Commodore Chauncey, on the 27th of May,
disembarked 4,000 men, under Dearborn and Lewis, both these operations
were attempted; but, after a long and severe contest, were rendered
unavailing by the superior numbers of the invaders. Vincent was obliged,
after calling in the garrisons of Chippeway and Fort Erie, to retreat,
first to the Beaver Dams, and then to Burlington Heights, near the
western extremity of Lake Ontario. The victors could not intercept his
retreat, but they established for the first time a regular lodgement in
Canada.

Meantime, a respectable naval force having been organised at Kingston by
Sir James Yeo, Sir George Prevost, the governor, was prevailed upon to
employ it in the attack of Sackett’s Harbour, defended only by a small
party, while the main body of the enemy was employed against Fort
George. He sailed on the 27th of May, with about 750 men, but on
approaching showed considerable hesitation, and even gave orders for a
return to Kingston, till, encouraged by the success of the Indians in
capturing twelve boats with seventy dragoons, he succeeded in effecting
a landing on the morning of the 29th. Notwithstanding the difficulties
of the ground, he drove the enemy before him, till they took shelter in
a log-barrack and stockaded fort: thence they kept up such a destructive
fire, that General Prevost, considering it impossible to force the
position, and panic-struck, it is said, by a false alarm raised by
General Brown in his rear, ordered a retreat. Much difference of
opinion, however, prevailed among the officers. Major Drummond is
reported to have said, “A few minutes, Sir, and I will put you in
possession of the place.” He was ordered to obey; upon which, discontent
and a want of confidence in the Commander-in-Chief became general, and
had a most injurious effect on the subsequent operations.

Fortune, so favourable to the Americans at the opening of the campaign,
did not continue so throughout. Extraordinary exertions were made in the
western States, particularly Kentucky. Two corps were formed, and
despatched under Generals Winchester and Harrison, to march in different
lines through Michigan; then to unite, and cooperate in recovering
Detroit, and invading the adjoining districts. Winchester, suspected of
a desire to achieve something before yielding the command to his
coadjutor, advanced with about 1,000 men to French Town, within
twenty-six miles of Detroit. Colonel Proctor, justly appreciating the
importance of attacking him before the junction, hastily collected all
the force within his reach, amounting to about 500 whites, and 450
Indians. With these, on the 22d of January, 1813, he succeeded in
bringing the enemy to action. They made an obstinate resistance, and,
being posted in houses and inclosures, caused considerable loss to the
assailants; but they were ultimately overpowered, and nearly all made
prisoners. The general himself was among the number, having fallen into
the hands of a Wyandot Indian, who stripped off his uniform, adorned his
own person with it, and could not without great difficulty be induced to
make restitution.

General Harrison, on receiving intelligence of this disaster, took up a
position near the rapids of the Miami, to await reinforcements. Colonel
Proctor felt equally the importance of attacking him before their
arrival. Having assembled about 1,000 regulars and militia, and 1,200
Indians, he embarked them at Amherstburg on the 23d of April, then
sailed across Lake Erie, and up the Miami. Many delays, however,
occurred, by which the enemy was enabled so to strengthen his position,
that the attack made on the 1st of May had very little effect. The
Americans were then encouraged to assume the offensive, which they did
with large bodies of troops, partly landed from the river, partly
sallying from the fort. At first they gained possession of the British
batteries, but they were then attacked at different points with such
decisive success, that upwards of a thousand were killed or taken, and
the rest with difficulty found refuge within the entrenchments. These
Proctor found himself still unable to storm; but he had so weakened the
enemy’s force, as to remove all immediate danger of invasion.

[Illustration: _Citadel of Kingston_
 (from the St. Lawrence.)]




[Illustration: _View from the Citadel of Kingston._]

Let us now return to the main theatre of operations on the Niagara
frontier, where we have seen the British driven before the enemy to
Burlington Heights. Dearborn immediately sent forward Generals Chandler
and Winder with 4,000 men, to destroy if possible this shattered
remnant; a success which would have been followed by the conquest of all
the western provinces. On the 5th of June they took post at Stoney
Creek, to prepare for operations on the following day. In this critical
situation, Lieut.-Colonel Harvey, having carefully reconnoitred the
enemy’s position, suggested a night attack, to which General Vincent
readily assented. It was made with 700 chosen troops, and being favoured
by deep darkness, was completely successful; the Americans fled in every
direction, and the two commanders, with seven officers and 116 men, were
made prisoners. The British at day-light withdrew their small force. The
enemy’s loss, indeed, had not been great; yet such was the panic
inspired by the events of this night, that before eleven next morning
they had abandoned their camp, and commenced a retreat to Forty-mile
Creek, eleven miles distant. Here they received a reinforcement, but,
being threatened by Sir James Yeo, who had come with a squadron and a
small body of troops to support General Vincent, they determined on
retreating to Niagara. Nor did their disgrace stop here. Intelligence
being received that the English had a small advanced post at Beaver-dam,
Lieut.-Colonel Boerstler, with about 700 men, was sent to attack it.
That officer, however, being unexpectedly assailed, first by a party of
Indians, and soon afterwards by a small body of regulars, conceived
himself to be surrounded, and, on being summoned by Lieut. Fitzgibbon,
surrendered his whole corps prisoners of war. The Americans now held
nothing on the right bank of the river beyond Fort George. The British
even made incursions on the opposite shore; in one of which Col. Bisshop
gained possession of Black Rock, where he destroyed or carried off the
arms and stores; but being unfortunately attacked while re-embarking, by
a superior force, his party suffered some loss, and he himself received
three wounds which proved mortal.

The British at this time gained some advantages on Lake Champlain,
taking several vessels, and destroying the enemy’s magazines at
Plattsburg and Swanton. They were now, however, destined to experience
some severe reverses, and that too on the theatre of their most
brilliant triumphs.

The Americans made extraordinary exertions to retrieve their affairs on
the western frontier; volunteers crowded from Kentucky, a territory of
fierce and war-like habits; and by September they had succeeded in
augmenting General Harrison’s army to upwards of 5,000 men. They had
formed another fortified station on Sandusky River, which Major-General
Proctor, without success, attempted to reduce. A squadron of nine
vessels, mounting fifty-six guns, had been equipped by them on Lake
Erie, and it was with great difficulty that one at all able to contend
with it could be fitted out by the British, under Captain Barclay. An
engagement took place, which was maintained with the utmost obstinacy,
and the American commodore’s ship had even struck her flag; but fortune
afterwards turned, and the conflict ended in the defeat and entire
surrender of the English squadron. The event reduced General Proctor to
extreme distress, depriving him of access to supplies and
reinforcements, while his stock of provisions had become quite
inadequate for his own troops, and the numerous Indians who had joined
his standard. On the arrival, therefore, in the end of September, of
General Harrison at Detroit, he did not attempt to maintain his position
at Amherstburg, but retreated up the river Thames. The other pursued him
closely with 3,500 troops, while Proctor was deserted by most of his
Indians, of whom he had now only about 500, with 800 whites. At the
Moravian town, on the 5th of October, he took up a strong position,
flanked by the river on one side, and a wood on the other, where he
hoped to render unavailing the superior numbers of the enemy. Harrison,
however, had with him a body of combatants yet unknown in warfare, the
Kentucky mounted riflemen, accustomed to ride through the woods, using
their weapon with almost preternatural skill. Their very novelty he
justly hoped would make a strong impression. Following his instructions,
they received the fire of their opponents, then galloped forward, and in
a few minutes completely broke the British ranks, spreading among them a
general confusion. The severest conflict was with the Indians, who lost
their chief, Tecumseh, one of the bravest of the brave, stamped a hero
by the hand of nature, and equally distinguished by policy and
eloquence. The main object of his life had been to unite his followers
in a grand confederacy against American encroachment. In enmity to them
he had warmly attached himself to the cause of the British, and aided
them in successive victories. He was shot through the head by Col.
Johnson, a member of Congress. General Proctor retreated to Ancaster,
where he could rally only 200 men, with whom he joined the Niagara army.
Harrison, also, having thus recovered Michigan, and conquered the
western districts, marched to reinforce his countrymen in that quarter.

The Americans now formed a plan of operations on a grander scale,
directed against Montreal, the success of which would have placed in
their hands the whole of Upper Canada. In this enterprise two armies
were destined to cooperate; one, consisting of nearly 6,000 men, under
Major-General Hampton, from Lake Champlain; the other, amounting to
8,800, under Major-General Wilkinson, from Grenadier Island, near
Sackett’s Harbour, on Lake Ontario. As the city was defended by a very
small proportion of the regular soldiers, who were chiefly employed in
the upper province, Hampton hoped, by pushing vigorously forward, to
capture the place with little difficulty. But having passed the frontier
in the end of October, he found on the banks of the river Chateauguay
the advanced corps of 800 British, with 172 Indians, commanded by
Lieut.-Colonels De Salaberry and M^{c}Donnell. These officers posted
their troops so judiciously amid woods, and so skilfully concealed the
smallness of their number, that the Americans, though they made several
brisk attacks, were always repulsed; and Hampton, believing himself
opposed by a large force, determined to retreat.

[Illustration: _Copp’s Ferry,_
 near Georgeville.]

Meantime, the larger expedition, under General Wilkinson, having crossed
Lake Ontario, entered the river St. Lawrence. At Williamsburg, two
considerable detachments were landed, in order at once to clear the
banks and to lighten the boats while descending the rapids. On the 11th
of November, one of these, under Major-General Boyd, encountered
Lieut.-Colonel Morrison, with an inferior British force. A very
obstinate conflict ensued, in which both parties claimed the victory.
The English seemed to have gained the chief honour; but their success
was not so decisive as to prevent the enemy from continuing to descend
the river towards Montreal. Near Cornwall, the commander received
despatches from General Hampton, intimating that he declined the
expected cooperation, and intended to fall back upon Lake Champlain.
Wilkinson then conceived it necessary to give up for this season any
attempt upon Montreal, especially as he found the population altogether
hostile to the States, and attached to the British government. He
therefore placed his army in winter quarters, near French-mills, on the
Salmon river, where he formed a plan for attacking Prescott and
Kingston; but finding himself much straitened for provisions, was
induced to fall upon Plattsburg.

Meantime, the employment of the main army of the Americans in this
abortive expedition, enabled their opponents to resume the offensive on
the Niagara frontier. On the first intelligence of the disasters
sustained in the west, General Vincent had been ordered to fall back
upon Kingston; but he considered that circumstances now justified him in
maintaining his position. The enemy’s force in this quarter was not only
reduced, but was under the command, it was said, of an officer of little
spirit or enterprise. On the advance of a strong detachment under
Colonel Murray, he first fell back upon Fort George, then abandoned that
post, previously to which he reduced the adjoining town of Newark to
ashes. Murray was not content with driving him beyond the river; he
crossed it, surprised and stormed Fort Niagara, taking above 400
prisoners, with a large quantity of arms and stores. The English
afterwards surprised and plundered the villages of Lewiston, Black Rock,
and Buffalo, where they retaliated, not very considerately, the outrages
of this officer at Fort George.

Operations were recommenced early in the spring of 1814. Lieut.-Colonel
Williams, with 1,500 British, having taken post at La Colle, on the
river Richelieu. Wilkinson, who had upwards of 4,000 men at Plattsburg,
determined to attack them. On the 30th of March, he completely invested
a large mill, which the British had converted into a fortress. All his
attempts to carry it were, however, fruitless. Major Handcock even made
two attacks on the artillery posted in a wood, though without success.
The American general finally gave up the undertaking, and fell back upon
Plattsburg. In the beginning of May the British gained another
advantage, carrying, though with some loss, the fort of Oswego, where
they captured a considerable quantity of ammunition and stores.

The main effort of the Americans during this campaign was made on the
Niagara frontier, where about 5,000 men were placed under Major-General
Brown, an officer who had distinguished himself on several occasions. On
the 3d of July, he crossed and summoned Fort Erie, which, with its
garrison of 170, immediately surrendered. He then marched towards
Chippeway, and beat at Street’s Creek the advanced guard of
Major-General Riall, which had endeavoured to stop his progress. The
English general was then obliged to retreat to Fort George, and thence
in the direction of Burlington Heights. Brown hereupon laid siege to the
fort, but finding it stronger than he expected, and being disappointed
of assistance from Sackett’s Harbour, he fell back upon Chippeway.
General Riall, on his

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