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Title: Travels into North America, Volume 3 (of 3)
Author: Pehr Kalm
Translator: Johann Reinhold Forster
Release date: January 17, 2024 [eBook #72737]
Language: English
Original publication: Warrington / London: William Eyres, 1770
Credits: Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net/ for Project Gutenberg (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS INTO NORTH AMERICA, VOLUME 3 (OF 3) ***
TRAVELS
INTO
NORTH AMERICA;
CONTAINING
Its Natural History, and
A circumstantial Account of its
Plantations and Agriculture in general,
WITH THE
CIVIL, ECCLESIASTICAL AND
COMMERCIAL STATE OF THE COUNTRY,
The MANNERS of the INHABITANTS, and several
curious and IMPORTANT REMARKS on various Subjects.
By PETER KALM,
Professor of Oeconomy in the University of Aobo in Swedish
Finland, and Member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences.
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH
By JOHN REINHOLD FORSTER, F.A.S.
Enriched with a Map, several Cuts for the Illustration of Natural
History, and some additional Notes.
VOL. III.
LONDON:
Printed for the EDITOR;
And Sold by T. Lowndes, in Fleet-street.
MDCCLXXI.
PREFACE OF THE EDITOR.
I could have left this volume without preface, was it not for some
circumstances, which I am going to mention.
The author of this account of North-America is a Swede, and therefore
seems always to shew a peculiar way of thinking in regard to the
English in general, and in regard to the first proprietors and
inhabitants of Philadelphia in particular. The French, the natural
enemies of the English, have, for upwards of a century, been the allies
of the Swedes, who therefore are in general more fond of them than of
the English. The external politeness of the French in Canada fully
captivated our author, prejudiced him in their favour, and alienated
his mind, though unjustly, from the English. I have therefore now and
then, in remarks, been obliged to do the English justice, especially
when I saw the author carried away either by prejudice, misinformation,
or ignorance. He passed almost all the winter, between 1748 and 1749,
at Raccoon, and conversed there with his countrymen; when he came to
Philadelphia he likewise was in the company of the Swedes settled
there: these, no doubt, furnished him with many partial and
disingenuous accounts of the English, and gave his mind that
unfavourable biass which he so often displays in prejudice of a nation,
now at the head of the enlightened world, in regard to every religious,
moral, and social virtue. The author frequently seems to throw an
illiberal reflection on the first proprietors of Pensylvania, and the
quakers; though they got that province not by force, but by a charter
from the English government, to whom the Swedes gave it up by virtue of
a public treaty. Prompted by such false insinuations of his countrymen,
he likewise enters very minutely into the circumstances of the Swedes,
and often omits, or misrepresents, more important points, relative to
the legislator and father of Pensylvania, William Penn, who gave that
province existence, laws, and reputation. The accounts in the first
Volume, p. 32 and 33, 37, 42 and 46, seem to be founded on such
misrepresentations. A philosopher should examine such accounts, hear
both parties, and emancipate himself from narrowness of mind and
prejudice.
The author, however, often does justice to the excellent constitution
of Pensylvania, as may be seen Vol. I. p. 58, 59, and likewise pag.
270, 271.
The author speaks of stones attracting the moisture of the air; see
Vol. I. p. 35; this is somewhat unphilosophically expressed. No stone
attracts the moisture of the air, unless impregnated with saline
particles; however, when the stones are colder than the atmosphere,
they then condense the moisture of the air on their surface: the porous
stones absorb it immediately, but those of a more solid texture, as
marbles, &c. keep it on their surface till it evaporates.
Page 36. The author represents the white cedar-wood as almost entirely
destroyed; though at present, above twenty years after his account, it
is still used in Pensylvania, and quantities of it to be had,
sufficient both for home consumption, and exportation to the West-India
islands.
Page 48. The river Delaware is called one of the greatest rivers in the
world; here, I suppose, the author forgot a great many its superiors.
For the tenor of the above remarks I am indebted to a worthy friend and
benefactor.
To the Errata of the first Volume must be referred the following: page
117, note, line 5, easible, read, feasible. P. 247, line 3 and 4, forty
seven, read, seventy four. P. 298, line 13, Originals, read, Orignals.
A word more I must add about the American Fauna and Flora, which I
promised in my proposals. The author, who, as far as I know, is still
living, has not yet finished this work; these three volumes contain all
that he has hitherto published relative to America; the journal of a
whole year’s travelling, and especially his expedition to the Iroquese,
and fort Niagara, are still to come; which, as soon as they appear, if
Providence spares my life and health, and if my situation allows of it,
I will translate into English; and there are some hopes of obtaining
the original from the author. He likewise often promises, in the course
of this work, to publish a great Latin work, concerning the animals and
plants of North-America, as far as he went through it; which would
certainly make the small catalogue I could make, useless. It is
likewise probable that the description of the animal kingdom will fall
to the share of an abler pen than mine.
I here take the opportunity of returning my humble thanks to my
friends, who have generously promoted this publication; as without this
public manner of acknowledging their favours, I would think myself
guilty of ingratitude, which, in my opinion, is one of the most
detestable vices.
London,
Febr. the 15th, 1771.
PETER KALM’s TRAVELS.
July the 1st. 1749.
At day break we got up, and rowed a good while before we got to the
place where we left the true road. The country which we passed was the
poorest and most disagreeable imaginable. We saw nothing but a row of
amazing high mountains covered with woods, steep and dirty on their
sides; so that we found it difficult to get to a dry place, in order to
land and boil our dinner. In many places the ground, which was very
smooth, was under water, and looked like the sides of our Swedish
morasses which are intended to be drained; for this reason the Dutch in
Albany call these parts the Drowned Lands. [1] Some of the mountains
run from S. S. W. to N. N. E. and when they come to the river, they
form perpendicular shores, and are full of stones of different
magnitudes. The river runs for the distance of some miles together from
south to north.
The wind blew north all day, and made it very hard work for us to get
forwards, though we all rowed as hard as we could, for our provisions
were eaten to-day at breakfast. The river was frequently an English
mile and more broad, then it became narrow again, and so on
alternately; but upon the whole it kept a good breadth, and was
surrounded on both sides by high mountains.
About six o’clock in the evening, we arrived at a point of land, about
twelve English miles from Fort St. Frederic. Behind this point the
river is converted into a spacious bay; and as the wind still kept
blowing pretty strong from the north, it was impossible for us to get
forwards, since we were extremely weak. We were therefore obliged to
pass the night here, in spite of the remonstrances of our hungry
stomachs.
It is to be attributed to the peculiar grace of God towards us that we
met the above mentioned Frenchmen on our journey, and that they gave us
leave to take one of their bark boats. It seldom happens once in three
years, that the French go this road to Albany; for they commonly pass
over the lake St. Sacrement, or, as the English call it, lake George,
which is the nearer and better road, and every body wondered why they
took this troublesome one. If we had not got their large strong boat,
and been obliged to keep that which we had made, we would in all
probability have been very ill off; for to venture upon the great bay
during the least wind with so wretched a vessel, would have been a
great piece of temerity, and we should have been in danger of being
starved if we had waited for a calm. For being without fire-arms, and
these deserts having but few quadrupeds, we must have subsisted upon
frogs and snakes, which, (especially the latter) abound in these parts.
I can never think of this journey, without reverently acknowledging the
peculiar care and providence of the merciful Creator.
July the 2d. Early this morning we set out on our journey again, it
being moonshine and calm, and we feared lest the wind should change and
become unfavourable to us if we stopped any longer. We all rowed as
hard as possible, and happily arrived about eight in the morning at
Fort St. Frederic, which the English call Crown Point. Monsieur
Lusignan, the governor, received us very politely. He was about fifty
years old, well acquainted with polite literature, and had made several
journies into this country, by which he had acquired an exact knowledge
of several things relative to its state.
I was informed that during the whole of this summer, a continual
drought had been here, and that they had not had any rain since last
spring. The excessive heat had retarded the growth of plants; and on
all dry hills the grass, and a vast number of plants, were quite dried
up; the small trees, which grew near rocks, heated by the sun, had
withered leaves, and the corn in the fields bore a very wretched
aspect. The wheat had not yet eared, nor were the pease in blossoms.
The ground was full of wide and deep cracks, in which the little snakes
retired and hid themselves when pursued, as into an impregnable asylum.
The country hereabout, it is said, contains vast forests of firs of the
white, black, and red kind, which had been formerly still more
extensive. One of the chief reasons of their decrease are, the numerous
fires which happen every year in the woods, through the carelessness of
the Indians, who frequently make great fires when they are hunting,
which spread over the fir woods when every thing is dry.
Great efforts are made here for the advancement of Natural History, and
there are few places in the world where such good regulations are made
for this useful purpose, all which is chiefly owing to the care and
zeal of a single person. From hence it appears, how well a useful
science is received and set off, when the leading men of a country are
its patrons. The governor of the fort, was pleased to shew me a long
paper, which the then governor-general of Canada, the Marquis la
Galissonniere had sent him. It was the same marquis, who some years
after, as a French admiral, engaged the English fleet under admiral
Byng, the consequence of which was the conquest of Minorca. In this
writing, a number of trees and plants are mentioned, which grow in
North-America, and deserve to be collected and cultivated on account of
their useful qualities. Some of them are described, among which, is the
Polygala Senega, or Rattle Snake-root; and with several of them the
places where they grow are mentioned. It is further requested that all
kinds of seeds and roots be gathered here; and, to assist such an
undertaking, a method of preserving the gathered seeds and roots, is
prescribed, so that they may grow, and be sent to Paris. Specimens of
all kinds of minerals are required; and all the places in the French
settlements are mentioned, where any useful or remarkable stone, earth,
or ore has been found. There is likewise a manner of making
observations and collections of curiosities in the animal kingdom. To
these requests it is added, to enquire and get information, in every
possible manner, to what purpose and in what manner the Indians employ
certain plants and other productions of nature, as medicines, or in any
other case. This useful paper was drawn up by order of the marquis la
Galissonniere, by Mr. Gaulthier, the royal physician at Quebec, and
afterwards corrected and improved by the marquis’s own hand. He had
several copies made of it, which he sent to all the officers in the
forts, and likewise to other learned men who travelled in the country.
At the end of the writing is an injunction to the officers, to let the
governor-general know, which of the common soldiers had used the
greatest diligence in the discovery and collection of plants and other
natural curiosities, that he might be able to promote them, when an
opportunity occurred, to places adapted to their respective capacities,
or to reward them in any other manner. I found that the people of
distinction, in general here, had a much greater taste for natural
history and other parts of literature, than in the English colonies,
where it was every body’s sole care and employment to scrape a fortune
together, and where the sciences were held in universal contempt. [2]
It was still complained of here, that those who studied natural
history, did not sufficiently enquire into the medicinal use of the
plants of Canada.
The French, who are born in France, are said to enjoy a better health
in Canada than in their native country, and to attain to a greater age,
than the French born in Canada. I was likewise assured that the
European Frenchmen can do more work, and perform more journies in
winter, without prejudice to their health, than those born in this
country. The intermitting fever which attacks the Europeans on their
arrival in Pensylvania, and which as it were makes the climate familiar
to them, [3] is not known here, and the people are as well after their
arrival as before. The English have frequently observed, that those who
are born in America of European parents, can never bear sea-voyages,
and go to the different parts of South America, as well as those born
in Europe. The French born in Canada have the same constitutions; and
when any of them go to the West-India islands, such as Martinique,
Domingo, &c. and make some stay there, they commonly fall sick and die
soon after: those who fall ill there seldom recover, unless they are
brought back to Canada. On the contrary, those who go from France to
those islands can more easily bear the climate, and attain a great age
there, which I heard confirmed in many parts of Canada.
July the 5th. Whilst we were at dinner, we several times heard a
repeated disagreeable outcry, at some distance from the fort, in the
river Woodcreek: Mr. Lusignan, the governor, told us this cry was no
good omen, because he could conclude from it that the Indians, whom we
escaped near fort Anne, had completed their design of revenging the
death of one of their brethren upon the English, and that their shouts
shewed that they had killed an Englishman. As soon as I came to the
window, I saw their boat, with a long pole at one end, on the extremity
of which they had put a bloody skull. As soon as they were landed, we
heard that they, being six in number, had continued their journey (from
the place where we had marks of their passing the night), till they had
got within the English boundaries, where they found a man and his son
employed in mowing the corn. They crept on towards this man, and shot
him dead upon the spot. This happened near the very village, where the
English, two years before, killed the brother of one of these Indians,
who were then gone out to attack them. According to their custom they
cut off the skull of the dead man, and took it with them, together with
his clothes and his son, who was about nine years old. As soon as they
came within a mile of fort St. Frederic, they put the skull on a pole,
in the fore part of the boat, and shouted, as a sign of their success.
They were dressed in shirts, as usual, but some of them had put on the
dead man’s clothes; one his coat, the other his breeches, another his
hat, &c. Their faces were painted with vermillion, with which their
shirts were marked across the shoulders. Most of them had great rings
in their ears, which seemed to be a great inconvenience to them, as
they were obliged to hold them when they leaped, or did any thing which
required a violent motion. Some of them had girdles of the skins of
Rattle-snakes, with the rattles on them; the son of the murdered man
had nothing but his shirt, breeches and cap, and the Indians had marked
his shoulders with red. When they got on shore, they took hold of the
pole on which the skull was put, and danced and sung at the same time.
Their view in taking the boy, was to carry him to their habitations, to
educate him instead of their dead brother, and afterwards to marry him
to one of their relations. Notwithstanding they had perpetrated this
act of violence in time of peace, contrary to the command of the
governor in Montreal, and to the advice of the governor of St.
Frederic, yet the latter could not at present deny them provisions, and
whatever they wanted for their journey, because he did not think it
adviseable to exasperate them; but when they came to Montreal, the
governor called them to account for this action, and took the boy from
them, whom he afterwards sent to his relations: Mr. Lusignan asked
them, what they would have done to me and my companions, if they had
met us in the desert? They replied, that as it was their chief
intention to take their revenge on the Englishmen in the village where
their brother was killed, they would have let us alone; but it much
depended on the humour they were in, just at the time when we first
came to their sight. However, the commander and all the Frenchmen said,
that what had happened to me was infinitely safer and better.
Some years ago a skeleton of an amazing great animal had been found in
that part of Canada, where the Illinois live. One of the lieutenants in
the fort assured me, that he had seen it. The Indians, who were there,
had found it in a swamp. They were surprised at the sight of it, and
when they were asked, what they thought it was? They answered that it
must be the skeleton of the chief or father of all the beavers. It was
of a prodigious bulk, and had thick white teeth, about ten inches long.
It was looked upon as the skeleton of an elephant. The lieutenant
assured me that the figure of the whole snout was yet to be seen,
though it was half mouldered. He added, that he had not observed, that
any of the bones were taken away, but thought the skeleton lay quite
perfect there. I have heard people talk of this monstrous skeleton in
several other parts of Canada [4].
Bears are plentiful hereabouts, and they kept a young one, about three
months old, at the fort. He had perfectly the same shape, and
qualities, as our common bears in Europe, except the ears, which seemed
to be longer in proportion, and the hairs which were stiffer; his
colour was deep brown, almost black. He played and wrestled every day
with one of the dogs. A vast number of bear-skins are annually exported
to France from Canada. The Indians prepare an oil from bear’s grease,
with which in summer they daub their face, hands, and all naked parts
of their body, to secure them from the bite of the gnats. With this oil
they likewise frequently smear the body, when they are excessively
cold, tired with labour, hurt, and in other cases. They believe it
softens the skin, and makes the body pliant, and is very serviceable to
old age.
The common Dandelion (Leontodon Taraxacum, Linn.) grows in abundance on
the pastures and roads between the fields, and was now in flower. In
spring when the young leaves begin to come up, the French dig up the
plants, take their roots [5], wash them, cut them, and prepare them as
a common sallad; but they have a bitter taste. It is not usual here to
make use of the leaves for eating.
July the 6th. The soldiers, which had been paid off after the war, had
built houses round the fort, on the grounds allotted to them; but most
of these habitations were no more than wretched cottages, no better
than those in the most wreched places of Sweden; with that difference,
however, that their inhabitants here were rarely oppressed by hunger,
and could eat good and pure wheat bread. The huts which they had
erected consisted of boards, standing perpendicularly close to each
other. The roofs were of wood too. The crevices were stopped up with
clay, to keep the room warm. The floor was commonly clay, or a black
limestone, which is common here. The hearth was built of the same
stone, except the place were the fire was to ly, which was made of grey
sandstones, which for the greatest part consist of particles of quartz.
In some hearths, the stones quite close to the fire-place were
limestones; however, I was assured that there was no danger of fire,
especially if the stones, which were most exposed to the heat, were of
a large size. They had no glass in their windows.
July the 8th. The Galium tinctorium is called Tisavojaune rouge by the
French throughout all Canada, and abounds in the woods round this
place, growing in a moist but fine soil. The roots of this plant are
employed by the Indians in dying the quills of the American porcupines
red, which they put into several pieces of their work; and air, sun, or
water seldom change this colour. The French women in Canada sometimes
dye their clothes red with these roots, which are but small, like those
of Galium luteum, or yellow bedstraw.
The horses are left out of doors during the winter, and find their food
in the woods, living upon nothing but dry plants, which are very
abundant; however they do not fall off by this food, but look very fine
and plump in spring.
July the 9th. The skeleton of a whale was found some French miles from
Quebec, and one French mile from the river St. Lawrence, in a place
where no flowing water comes to at present. This skeleton has been of a
very considerable size, and the governor of the fort said, he had spoke
with several people who had seen it.
July the 10th. The boats which are here made use of, are of three
kinds. 1. Bark-boats, made of the bark of trees, and of ribs of wood.
2. Canoes, consisting of a single piece of wood, hollowed out, which I
have already described before [6]. They are here made of the white fir,
and of different sizes. They are not brought forward by rowing, but by
paddling; by which method not half the strength can be applied; which
is made use of in rowing; and a single man might, I think, row as fast
as two of them could paddle. 3. The third kind of boats are Bateaux.
They are always made very large here, and employed for large cargoes.
They are flat bottomed, and the bottom is made of the red, but more
commonly of the white oak, which resists better, when it runs against a
stone, than other wood. The sides are made of the white fir, because
oak would make the Bateau too heavy. They make plenty of tar and pitch
here.
The soldiery enjoy such advantages here, as they are not allowed in
every part of the world. Those who formed the garrison of this place,
had a very plentiful allowance from their government. They get everyday
a pound and a half of wheat bread, which is almost more than they can
eat. They likewise get pease, bacon, and salt meat in plenty. Sometimes
they kill oxen and other cattle, the flesh of which is distributed
among the soldiers. All the officers kept cows, at the expence of the
king, and the milk they gave was more than sufficient to supply them.
The soldiers had each a small garden without the fort, which they were
allowed, to attend, and plant in it whatever they liked, and some of
them had built summer-houses in them, and planted all kind of
pot-herbs. The governor told me, that it was a general custom to allow
the soldiers a spot of ground for kitchen-gardens, at such of the
French forts hereabouts as were not situated near great towns, from
whence they could be supplied with greens. In time of peace the
soldiers have very little trouble with being upon guard at the fort;
and as the lake close by is full of fish, and the woods abound with
birds and animals, those amongst them who choose to be diligent, may
live extremely well, and very grand in regard to food. Each soldier got
a new coat every two years; but annually, a waistcoat, cap, hat,
breeches, cravat, two pair of stockings, two pair of shoes, and as much
wood as he had occasion for in winter. They likewise got five sols [7]
a piece every day; which is augmented to thirty sols when they have any
particular labour for the king. When this is considered, it is not
surprising to find the men are very fresh, well fed, strong and lively
here. When a soldier falls sick he is brought to the hospital, where
the king provides him with a bed, food, medicines, and people to take
care of, and serve him. When some of them asked leave to be absent for
a day or two, to go abroad, it was generally granted them, if
circumstances would permit, and they enjoyed as usual their share of
provisions and money, but were obliged to get some of their comrades to
mount the guard for them as often as it came to their turns, for which
they gave them an equivalent. The governor and officers were duly
honoured by the soldiers; however, the soldiers and officers often
spoke together as comrades, without any ceremonies, and with a very
becoming freedom. The soldiers who are sent hither from France,
commonly serve till they are forty or fifty years old, after which they
are dismissed and allowed to settle upon, and cultivate a piece of
ground. But if they have agreed on their arrival to serve no longer
than a certain number of years, they are dismissed at the expiration of
their term. Those who are born here, commonly agree to serve the crown
during six, eight, or ten years; after which they are dismissed, and
set up for farmers in the country. The king presents each dismissed
soldier with a piece of land, being commonly 40 arpens [8] long and but
three broad, if the soil be of equal goodness throughout; but they get
somewhat more, if it be a worse ground [9]. As soon as a soldier
settles to cultivate such a piece of land, he is at first assisted by
the king, who supplies himself, his wife and children, with provisions,
during the three or four first years. The king likewise gives him a
cow, and the most necessary instruments for agriculture. Some soldiers
are sent to assist him in building a house, for which the king pays
them. These are great helps to a poor man, who begins to keep house,
and it seems that in a country where the troops are so highly
distinguished by the royal favour, the king cannot be at a loss for
soldiers. For the better cultivation and population of Canada, a plan
has been proposed some years ago, for sending 300 men over from France
every year, by which means the old soldiers may always be dismissed,
marry, and settle in the country. The land which was allotted to the
soldiers about this place, was very good, consisting throughout of a
deep mould, mixed with clay.
July the 11th. The harrows which they make use of here are made
entirely of wood, and of a triangular form. The ploughs seemed to be
less convenient. The wheels upon which the plough-beam is placed, are
as thick as the wheels of a cart, and all the wood-work is so clumsily
made that it requires a horse to draw the plough along a smooth field.
Rock-stones of different sorts lay scattered on the fields. Some were
from three to five feet high, and about three feet broad. They were
pretty much alike in regard to the kind of the stone, however, I
observed three different species in them.
1. Some consisted of a quartz, whose colour resembled sugar candy, and
which was mixed with a black small grained glimmer, a black horn-stone,
and a few minute grains of a brown spar. The quartz was most abundant
in the mixture; the glimmer was likewise in great quantity, but the
spar was inconsiderable. The several kinds of stones were well mixed,
and though the eye could distinguish them, yet no instrument could
separate them. The stone was very hard and compact, and the grains of
quartz looked very fine.
2. Some pieces consisted of grey particles of quartz, black glimmer,
and horn-stone, together with a few particles of spar, which made a
very close, hard, and compact mixture, only differing from the former
in colour.
3. A few of the stones consisted of a mixture of white quartz and black
glimmer, to which some red grains of quartz were added. The spar
(quartz) was most predominant in this mixture, and the glimmer appeared
in large flakes. This stone was not so well mixed as the former, and
was by far not so hard and so compact, being easily pounded.
The mountains on which fort St. Frederic is built, as likewise those on
which the above kinds of stone are found, consisted generally of a deep
black lime-stone, lying in lamellæ as slates do, and it might be called
a kind of slates, which can be turned into quicklime by fire [10]. This
lime-stone is quite black in the inside, and, when broken, appears to
be of an exceeding fine texture. There are some grains of a dark spar
scattered in it, which, together with some other inequalities, form
veins in it. The strata which ly uppermost in the mountains consist of
a grey lime-stone, which is seemingly no more than a variety of the
preceding. The black lime-stone is constantly found filled with
petrefactions of all kinds, and chiefly the following:
Pectinites, or petrefied Ostreæ Pectines. These petrefied shells were
more abundant than any others that have been found here, and sometimes
whole strata are met with, consisting merely of a quantity of shells of
this sort, grown together. They are generally small, never exceeding an
inch and a half in length. They are found in two different states of
petrefaction; one shews always the impressions of the elevated and
hollow surfaces of the shells, without any vestige of the shells
themselves. In the other appears the real shell sticking in the stone,
and by its light colour is easily distinguishable from the stone. Both
these kinds are plentiful in the stone; however, the impressions are
more in number than the real shells. Some of the shells are very
elevated, especially in the middle, where they form as it were a hump;
others again are depressed in the middle; but in most of them the
outward surface is remarkably elevated. The furrows always run
longitudinally, or from the top, diverging to the margin.
Petrefied Cornua Ammonis. These are likewise frequently found, but not
equal to the former in number: like the pectinitæ, they are found
really petrefied, and in impressions; amongst them were some petrefied
snails. Some of these Cornua Ammonis were remarkably big, and I do not
remember seeing their equals, for they measured above two feet in
diameter.
Different kinds of corals could be plainly seen in, and separated from,
the stone in which they lay. Some were white and ramose, or
Lithophytes; others were starry corals, or Madrepores; the latter were
rather scarce.
I must give the name of Stone-balls to a kind of stones foreign to me,
which are found in great plenty in some of the rock-stones. They were
globular, one half of them projecting generally above the rock, and the
other remaining in it. They consist of nearly parallel fibres, which
arise from the bottom as from a center, and spread over the surface of
the ball and have a grey colour. The outside of the balls is smooth,
but has a number of small pores, which externally appear to be covered
with a pale grey crust. They are from an inch to an inch and a half in
diameter.
Amongst some other kinds of sand, which are found on the shores of lake
Champlain, two were very peculiar, and commonly lay in the same place;
the one was black, and the other reddish brown, or granite coloured.
The black sand always lies uppermost, consists of very fine grains,
which, when examined by a microscope, appear to have a dark blue
colour, like that of a smooth iron, not attacked by rust. Some grains
are roundish, but most of them angular, with shining surfaces; and they
sparkle when the sun shines. All the grains of this sand without
exception are attracted by the magnet. Amongst these black or deep blue
grains, they meet with a few grains of a red or garnet coloured sand,
which is the same with the red sand which lies immediately under it,
and which I shall now describe. This red or garnet coloured sand is
very fine, but not so fine as the black sand. Its grains not only
participate of the colour of garnets, but they are really nothing but
pounded garnets. Some grains are round, others angulated; all shine and
are semipellucid; but the magnet has no effect on them, and they do not
sparkle so much in sunshine. This red sand is seldom found very pure,
it being commonly mixed with a white sand, consisting of particles of
quartz. The black and red sand is not found in every part of the shore,
but only in a few places, in the order before mentioned. The uppermost
or black sand lay about a quarter of an inch deep; when it was
carefully taken off, the sand under it became of a deeper red the
deeper it lay, and its depth was commonly greater than that of the
former. When this was carefully taken away, the white sand of quartz
appeared mixed very much at top with the red sand, but growing purer
the deeper it lay. This white sand was above four inches deep, had
round grains, which made it entirely like a pearl sand. Below this was
a pale grey angulated quartz sand. In some places the garnet coloured
sand lay uppermost, and this grey angulated one immediately under it,
without a grain of either the black or the white sand.
I cannot determine the origin of the black or steel-coloured sand, for
it was not known here whether there were iron mines in the
neighbourhood or not. But I am rather inclined to believe they may be
found in these parts, as they are common in different parts of Canada,
and as this sand is found on the shores of almost all the lakes, and
rivers in Canada, though not in equal quantities. The red or garnet
coloured sand has its origin hereabouts; for though the rocks near fort
St. Frederic contained no garnets, yet there are stones of different
sizes on the shores, quite different from the stones which form those
rocks; these stones are very full of grains of garnets, and when
pounded there is no perceptible difference between them and the red
sand. In the more northerly parts of Canada, or below Quebec, the
mountains themselves contain a great number of garnets. The
garnet-coloured sand is very common on the shores of the river St.
Lawrence. I shall leave out several observations which I made upon the
minerals hereabouts, as uninteresting to most of my readers.
The Apocynum androsæmifolium grows in abundance on hills covered with
trees, and is in full flower about this time; the French call it Herbe
à la puce. When the stalk is cut or tore, a white milky juice comes
out. The French attribute the same qualities to this plant, which the
poison-tree, or Rhus vernix, has in the English colonies; that its
poison is noxious to some persons, and harmless to others. The milky
juice, when spread upon the hands and body, has no bad effect on some
persons; whereas others cannot come near it without being blistered. I
saw a soldier whose hands were blistered all over, merely by plucking
the plant, in order to shew it me; and it is said its exhalations
affect some people, when they come within reach of them. It is
generally allowed here, that the lactescent juice of this plant, when
spread on any part of the human body not only swells the part, but
frequently corrodes the skin; at least there are few examples of
persons on whom it had no effect. As for my part, it has never hurt me,
though in presence of several people I touched the plant, and rubbed my
hands with the juice till they were white all over; and I have often
rubbed the plant in my hands till it was quite crushed, without feeling
the least inconvenience, or change on my hand. The cattle never touch
this plant.
July the 12th. Burdock, or Arctium Lappa, grows in several places about
the fort; and the governor told me, that its tender shoots are eaten in
spring as raddishes, after the exterior peel is taken off.
The Sison Canadense abounds in the woods of all North-America. The
French call it cerfeuil sauvage, and make use of it in spring, in green
soups, like chervil. It is universally praised here as a wholesome,
antiscorbutic plant, and as one of the best which can be had here in
spring.
The Asclepias Syriaca, or, as the French call it, le Cotonier, grows
abundant in the country, on the sides of hills which ly near rivers and
other situations, as well in a dry and open place in the woods, as in a
rich, loose soil. When the stalk is cut or broken it emits a lactescent
juice, and for this reason the plant is reckoned in some degree
poisonous. The French in Canada nevertheless use its tender shoots in
spring, preparing them like asparagus; and the use of them is not
attended with any bad consequences, as the slender shoots have not yet
had time to suck up any thing poisonous. Its flowers are very
odoriferous, and, when in season, they fill the woods with their
fragrant exhalations, and make it agreeable to travel in them;
especially in the evening. The French in Canada make a sugar of the
flowers, which for that purpose are gathered in the morning, when they
are covered all over with dew. This dew is expressed, and by boiling
yields a very good brown, palatable sugar. The pods of this plant when
ripe contain a kind of wool, which encloses the seed, and resembles
cotton, from whence the plant has got its French name. The poor collect
it, and fill their beds, especially their children’s, with it instead
of feathers. This plant flowers in Canada at the end of June and
beginning of July, and the seeds are ripe in the middle of September.
The horses never eat of this plant.
July the 16th. This morning I crossed lake Champlain to the high
mountain on its western side, in order to examine the plants and other
curiosities there. From the top of the rocks, at a little distance from
fort St. Frederic, a row of very high mountains appear on the western
shore of lake Champlain, extending from south to north; and on the
eastern side of this lake is another chain of high mountains, running
in the same direction. Those on the eastern side are not close to the
lake, being about ten or twelve miles from it; and the country between
it and them is low and flat, and covered with woods, which likewise
clothe the mountains, except in such places, as the fires, which
destroy the forests here, have reached them and burnt them down. These
mountains have generally steep sides, but sometimes they are found
gradually sloping. We crossed the lake in a canoe, which could only
contain three persons, and as soon as we landed we walked from the
shore to the top of the mountains. Their sides are very steep, and
covered with a mould, and some great rock-stones lay on them. All the
mountains are covered with trees; but in some places the forests have
been destroyed by fire. After a great deal of trouble we reached the
top of one of the mountains, which was covered with a dusty mould. It
was none of the highest; and some of those which were at a greater
distance were much higher, but we had no time to go to them; for the
wind encreased, and our boat was but a little one. We found no curious
plants, or any thing remarkable here.
When we returned to the shore we found the wind risen to such a height,
that we did not venture to cross the lake in our boat, and for that
reason I left the fellow to bring it back, as soon as the wind
subsided, and walked round the bay, which was a walk of about seven
English miles. I was followed by my servant, and for want of a road, we
kept close to the shore where we passed over mountains and sharp
stones; through thick forests and deep marshes, all which were known to
be inhabited by numberless rattle-snakes, of which we happily saw none
at all. The shore is very full of stones in some places, and covered
with large angulated rock-stones, which are sometimes roundish, and
their edges as it were worn off. Now and then we met with a small sandy
spot, covered with grey, but chiefly with the fine red sand which I
have before mentioned; and the black iron sand likewise occurred
sometimes. We found stones of a red glimmer of a fine texture, on the
mountains. Sometimes these mountains with the trees on them stood
perpendicular with the water-side, but in some places the shore was
marshy.
I saw a number of petrefied Cornua Ammonis in one place, near the
shore, among a number of stones and rocks. The rocks consist of a grey
limestone, which is a variety of the black one, and lies in strata, as
that does. Some of them contain a number of petrefactions, with and
without shells; and in one place we found prodigious large Cornua
Ammonis, about twenty inches in breadth. In some places the water had
wore off the stone, but could not have the same effect on the
petrefactions, which lay elevated above, and in a manner glued on the
stones.
The mountains near the shore are amazingly high and large, consisting
of a compact grey rock-stone, which does not ly in strata as the
lime-stone, and the chief of whose constituent parts are a grey quartz,
and a dark glimmer. This rock-stone reached down to the water, in
places where the mountains flood close to the shore; but where they
were at some distance from it, they were supplied by strata of grey and
black lime-stone, which reached to the water side, and which I never
have seen covered with the grey rocks.
The Zizania aquatica grows in mud, and in the most rapid parts of
brooks, and is in full bloom about this time.
July the 17th. The distempers which rage among the Indians are
rheumatisms and pleurisies, which arise from their being obliged
frequently to ly in moist parts of the woods at night; from the sudden
changes of heat and cold, to which the air is exposed here; and from
their being frequently loaded with too great a quantity of strong
liquor, in which case they commonly ly down naked in the open air,
without any regard to the season, or the weather. These distempers,
especially the pleurisies, are likewise very common among the French
here; and the governor told me he had once had a very violent fit of
the latter, and that Dr. Sarrasin had cured him in the following
manner, which has been found to succeed best here. He gave him
sudorifics, which were to operate between eight and ten hours; he was
then bled, and the sudorifics repeated; he was bled again, and that
effectually cured him.
Dr. Sarrasin was the royal physician at Quebec, and a correspondent of
the royal academy of sciences at Paris. He was possessed of great
knowledge in the practice of physic, anatomy, and other sciences, and
very agreeable in his behaviour. He died at Quebec, of a malignant
fever, which had been brought to that place by a ship, and with which
he was infected at an hospital, where he visited the sick. He left a
son, who likewise studied physic, and went to France to make himself
more perfect in the practical part of it, but he died there.
The intermitting fevers sometimes come amongst the people here, and the
venereal disease is common here. The Indians are likewise infected with
it; and many of them have had it, and some still have it; but they
likewise are perfectly possessed of the art of curing it. There are
examples of Frenchmen and Indians, infected all over the body with this
disease, who have been radically and perfectly cured by the Indians,
within five or six months. The French have not been able to find this
remedy out; though they know that the Indians employ no mercury, but
that their chief remedies are roots, which are unknown to the French. I
have afterwards heard what these plants were, and given an account of
them at large to the royal Swedish academy of sciences [11].
We are very well acquainted in Sweden with the pain caused by the
Tæniæ, or a kind of worms. They are less abundant in the British
North-American colonies; but in Canada they are very frequent. Some of
these worms, which have been evacuated by a person, have been several
yards long. It is not known, whether the Indians are afflicted with
them, or not. No particular remedies against them are known here, and
no one can give an account from whence they come, though the eating of
some fruits contributes, as is conjectured, to create them.
July the 19th. Fort St. Frederic is a fortification, on the southern
extremity of lake Champlain, situated on a neck of land, between that
lake and the river, which arises from the union of the river Woodcreek,
and lake St. Sacrement. The breadth of this river is here about a good
musket shot. The English call this fortress Crownpoint, but its French
name is derived from the French secretary of state, Frederic Maurepas,
in whose hands the direction and management of the French court of
admiralty was, at the time of the erection of this fort: for it is to
be observed, that the government of Canada is subject to the court of
admiralty in France, and the governor-general is always chosen out of
that court. As most of the places in Canada bear the names of saints,
custom has made it necessary to prefix the word Saint to the name of
the fortress. The fort is built on a rock, consisting of black
lime-slates, as aforesaid; it is nearly quadrangular, has high and
thick walls, made of the same lime-stone, of which there is a quarry
about half a mile from the fort. On the eastern part of the fort, is a
high tower, which is proof against bombshells, provided with very thick
and substantial walls, and well stored with cannon, from the bottom
almost to the very top; and the governor lives in the tower. In the
terre-plein of the fort is a well built little church, and houses of
stone for the officers and soldiers. There are sharp rocks on all sides
towards the land, beyond a cannon-shot from the fort, but among them
are some which are as high as the walls of the fort, and very near
them.
The soil about fort St. Frederic is said to be very fertile, on both
sides of the river; and before the last war a great many French
families, especially old soldiers, have settled there; but the king
obliged them to go into Canada, or to settle close to the fort, and to
ly in it at night. A great number of them returned at this time, and it
was thought that about forty or fifty families would go to settle here
this autumn. Within one or two musket-shots to the east of the fort, is
a wind-mill, built of stone with very thick walls, and most of the
flour which is wanted to supply the fort is ground here. This wind-mill
is so contrived, as to serve the purpose of a redoubt, and at the top
of it are five or six small pieces of cannon. During the last war,
there was a number of soldiers quartered in this mill, because they
could from thence look a great way up the river, and observe whether
the English boats approached; which could not be done from the fort
itself, and which was a matter of great consequence, as the English
might (if this guard had not been placed here) have gone in their
little boats close under the western shore of the river, and then the
hills would have prevented their being seen from the fort. Therefore
the fort ought to have been built on the spot where the mill stands,
and all those who come to see it, are immediately struck with the
absurdity of its situation. If it had been erected in the place of the
mill, it would have commanded the river, and prevented the approach of
the enemy; and a small ditch cut through the loose limestone, from the
river (which comes out of the lake St. Sacrement) to lake Champlain,
would have surrounded the fort with flowing water, because it would
have been situated on the extremity of the neck of land. In that case
the fort would always have been sufficiently supplied with fresh water,
and at a distance from the high rocks, which surround it in its present
situation. We prepared to-day to leave this place, having waited during
some days for the arrival of the yacht, which plies constantly all
summer between the forts St. John [12] and St. Frederic: during our
stay here, we had received many favours. The governor of the fort, Mr.
Lusignan, a man of learning and of great politeness, heaped obligations
upon us, and treated us with as much civility as if we had been his
relations. I had the honor of eating at his table during my stay here,
and my servant was allowed to eat with his. We had our rooms, &c. to
ourselves, and at our departure the governor supplied us with ample
provisions for our journey to fort St. John. In short, he did us more
favours than we could have expected from our own countrymen, and the
officers were likewise particularly obliging to us.
About eleven o’clock in the morning we set out, with a fair wind. On
both sides of the lake are high chains of mountains; with the
difference which I have before observed, that on the eastern shore, is
a low piece of ground covered with a forest, extending between twelve
and eighteen English miles, after which the mountains begin; and the
country behind them belongs to New England. This chain consists of high
mountains, which are to be considered as the boundaries between the
French and English possessions in these parts of North America. On the
western shore of the lake, the mountains reach quite to the water side.
The lake at first is but a French mile broad, but always encreases
afterwards. The country is inhabited within a French mile of the fort,
but after that, it is covered with a thick forest. At the distance of
about ten French miles from fort St. Frederic, the lake is four such
miles broad, and we perceive some islands in it. The captain of the
yacht said there were about sixty islands in that lake, of which some
were of a considerable size. He assured me that the lake was in most
parts so deep, that a line of two hundred yards could not fathom it;
and close to the shore, where a chain of mountains generally runs
across the country, it frequently has a depth of eighty fathoms.
Fourteen French miles from fort St. Frederic we saw four large islands
in the lake, which is here about six French miles broad. This day the
sky was cloudy, and the clouds, which were very low, seemed to surround
several high mountains, near the lake, with a fog; and from many
mountains the fog rose, as the smoke of a charcoal-kiln. Now and then
we saw a little river which fell into the lake: the country behind the
high mountains, on the western side of the lake, is, as I am told,
covered for many miles together with a tall forest, intersected by many
rivers and brooks, with marshes and small lakes, and very fit to be
inhabited. The shores are sometimes rocky, and sometimes sandy here.
Towards night the mountains decreased gradually; the lake is very
clear, and we observed neither rocks nor shallows in it. Late at night
the wind abated, and we anchored close to the shore, and spent one
night here.
July the 20th. This morning we proceeded with a fair wind. The place
where we passed the night, was above half way to fort St. John; for the
distance of that place from fort St. Frederic, across lake Champlain is
computed to be forty-one French miles; that lake is here about six
English miles in breadth. The mountains were now out of sight, and the
country low, plain, and covered with trees. The shores were sandy, and
the lake appeared now from four to six miles broad. It was really
broader, but the islands made it appear narrower.
We often saw Indians in bark-boats, close to the shore, which was
however not inhabited; for the Indians came here only to catch
sturgeons, wherewith this lake abounds, and which we often saw leaping
up into the air. These Indians lead a very singular life: At one time
of the year they live upon the small store of maize, beans, and melons,
which they have planted; during another period, or about this time,
their food is fish, without bread or any other meat; and another
season, they eat nothing but stags, roes, beavers, &c. which they shoot
in the woods, and rivers. They, however, enjoy long life, perfect
health, and are more able to undergo hardships than other people. They
sing and dance, are joyful, and always content; and would not, for a
great deal, exchange their manner of life for that which is preferred
in Europe.
When we were yet ten French miles from fort St. John, we law some
houses on the western side of the lake, in which the French had lived
before the last war, and which they then abandoned, as it was by no
means safe: they now returned to them again. These were the first
houses and settlements which we saw after we had left those about fort
St. Frederic.
There formerly was a wooden fort, or redoubt, on the eastern side of
the lake, near the water-side; and the place where it stood was shewn
me, which at present is quite overgrown with trees. The French built it
to prevent the incursions of the Indians, over this lake; and I was
assured that many Frenchmen had been slain in these places. At the same
time they told me, that they reckon four women to one man in Canada,
because annually several Frenchmen are killed on their expeditions,
which they undertake for the sake of trading with the Indians.
A windmill, built of stone, stands on the east side of the lake on a
projecting piece of ground. Some Frenchmen have lived near it; but they
left it when the war broke out, and are not yet come back to it. From
this mill to fort St. John they reckon eight French miles. The English,
with their Indians, have burnt the houses here several times, but the
mill remained unhurt.
The yacht which we went in to St. John was the first that was built
here, and employed on lake Champlain, for formerly they made use of
bateaux to send provisions over the lake. The Captain of the yacht was
a Frenchman, born in this country; he had built it, and taken the
soundings of the lake, in order to find out the true road, between fort
St. John and fort St. Frederic. Opposite the windmill the lake is about
three fathoms deep, but it grows more and more shallow, the nearer it
comes to fort St. John.
We now perceived houses on the shore again. The captain had otter-skins
in the cabin, which were perfectly the same, in colour and species,
with the European ones. Otters are said to be very abundant in Canada.
Seal-skins are here made use of to cover boxes and trunks, and they
often make portmantles of them in Canada. The common people had their
tobacco-pouches made of the same skins. The seals here are entirely the
same with the Swedish or European one, which are grey with black spots.
They are said to be plentiful in the mouth of the river St. Lawrence,
below Quebec, and go up that river as far as its water is salt. They
have not been found in any of the great lakes of Canada. The French
call them Loups marins. [13]
The French, in their colonies, spend much more time in prayer and
external worship, than the English, and Dutch settlers in the British
colonies. The latter have neither morning nor evening prayer in their
ships and yachts, and no difference is made between Sunday and other
days. They never, or very seldom, say grace at dinner. On the contrary,
the French here have prayers every morning and night on board their
shipping, and on Sundays they pray more than commonly: they regularly
say grace at their meals; and every one of them says prayers in private
as soon as he gets up. At fort St. Frederic all the soldiers assembled
together for morning and evening prayers. The only fault was, that most
of the prayers were read in Latin, which a great part of the people do
not understand. Below the aforementioned wind-mill, the breadth of the
lake is about a musket-shot, and it looks more like a river than a
lake. The country on both sides is low and flat, and covered with
woods. We saw at first a few scattered cottages along the shore; but a
little further, the country is inhabited without interruption. The lake
is here from six to ten foot deep, and forms several islands. During
the whole course of this voyage, the situation of the lake was always
directly from S. S. W. to N. N. E.
In some parts of Canada are great tracts of land belonging to single
persons; from these lands, pieces, of forty Arpens long, and four wide,
are allotted to each discharged soldier, who intends to settle here;
but after his household is established, he is obliged to pay the owner
of the lands six French Francs annually.
The lake was now so shallow in several places, that we were obliged to
trace the way for the yacht, by sounding the depth with branches of
trees. In other places opposite, it was sometimes two fathom deep.
In the evening, about sun set, we arrived at fort St. Jean, or St.
John, having had a continual change of rain, sun-shine, wind, and calm,
all the afternoon.
July the 21st. St. John is a wooden fort, which the French built in
1748, on the western shore of the mouth of lake Champlain, close to the
water-side. It was intended to cover the country round about it, which
they were then going to people, and to serve as a magazine for
provisions and ammunition, which were usually sent from Montreal to
fort St. Frederic; because they may go in yachts from hence to the last
mentioned place, which is impossible lower down, as about two gun-shot
further, there is a shallow full of stones, and very rapid water in the
river, over which they can only pass in bateaux, or flat vessels.
Formerly fort Chamblan, which lies four French miles lower, was the
magazine of provisions; but as they were forced first to send them
hither in bateaux, and then from hence in yachts, and the road to fort
Chamblan from Montreal being by land, and much round about, this fort
was erected. It has a low situation, and lies in a sandy soil, and the
country about it is likewise low, flat; and covered with woods. The
fort is quadrangular, and includes the space of one arpent square. In
each of the two corners which look towards the lake is a wooden
building, four stories high, the lower part of which is of stone to the
height of about a fathom and a half. In these buildings which are
polyangular, are holes for cannon and lesser fire-arms. In each of the
two other corners towards the country, is only a little wooden house,
two stories high. These buildings are intended for the habitations of
the soldiers, and for the better defence of the place; between these
houses, there are poles, two fathoms and a half high, sharpened at the
top, and driven into the ground close to one another. They are made of
the Thuya tree, which is here reckoned the best wood for keeping from
putrefaction, and is much preferable to fir in that point. Lower down
the palisades were double, one row within the other. For the
convenience of the soldiers, a broad elevated pavement, of more than
two yards in height, is made in the inside of the fort all along the
palisades, with a balustrade. On this pavement the soldiers stand and
fire through the holes upon the enemy, without being exposed to their
fire. In the last year, 1748, two hundred men were in garrison here;
but at this time there were only a governor, a commissary, a baker, and
six soldiers to take care of the fort and buildings, and to superintend
the provisions which are carried to this place. The person who now
commanded at the fort, was the Chevalier de Gannes, a very agreeable
gentleman, and brother-in-law to Mr. Lusignan, the governor of fort St.
Frederic. The ground about the fort, on both sides of the water, is
rich and has a very good soil; but it is still without inhabitants,
though it is talked of, that it should get some as soon as possible.
The French in all Canada call the gnats Marangoins, which name, it is
said, they have borrowed from the Indians. These insects are in such
prodigious numbers in the woods round fort St. John, that it would have
been more properly called fort de Marangoins. The marshes and the low
situation of the country, together with the extent of the woods,
contribute greatly to their multiplying so much; and when the woods
will be cut down, the water drained, and the country cultivated, they
probably will decrease in number, and vanish at last, as they have done
in other places.
The Rattle Snake, according to the unanimous accounts of the French, is
never seen in this neighbourhood, nor further north near Montreal and
Quebec; and the mountains which surround fort St. Frederic, are the
most northerly part on this side, where they have been seen. Of all the
snakes which are found in Canada to the north of these mountains, none
is poisonous enough to do any great harm to a man; and all without
exception run away when they see a man. My remarks on the nature and
properties of the rattle-snake, I have communicated to the royal
Swedish academy of sciences, [14] and thither I refer my readers.
July the 22d. This evening some people arrived with horses from
Prairie, in order to fetch us. The governor had sent for them at my
desire, because there were not yet any horses near fort St. John, the
place being only a year old, and the people had not had time to settle
near it. Those who led the horses, brought letters to the governor from
the governor-general of Canada, the Marquis la Galissonniere, dated at
Quebec the fifteenth of this month, and from the vice-governor of
Montreal, the Baron de Longueil, dated the twenty-first of the same
month. They mentioned that I had been particularly recommended by the
French court, and that the governor should supply me with every thing I
wanted, and forward my journey; and at the same time the governor
received two little casks of wine for me, which they thought would
relieve me on my journey. At night we drank the kings of France and
Sweden’s health, under a salute from the cannon of the fort, and the
health of the governor-general and others.
July the 23d. This morning we set out on our journey to Prairie, from
whence we intended to proceed to Montreal; the distance of Prairie from
fort St. John, by land, is reckoned six French miles, and from thence
to Montreal two lieues (leagues) and a half, by the river St. Lawrence.
At first we kept along the shore, so that we had on our right the
Riviere de St. Jean (St. John’s river). This is the name of the mouth
of the lake Champlain, which falls into the river St. Lawrence, and is
sometimes called Riviere de Champlain (Champlain river.) After we had
travelled about a French mile, we turned to the left from the shore.
The country was always low, woody, and pretty wet, though it was in the
midst of summer; so that we found it difficult to get forward. But it
is to be observed that fort St. John was only built last summer, when
this road was first made, and consequently it could not yet have
acquired a proper degree of solidity. Two hundred and sixty men were
three months at work, in making this road; for which they were fed at
the expence of the government, and each received thirty sols every day;
and I was told that they would again resume the work next autumn. The
country hereabouts is low and woody, and of course the residence of
millions of gnats and flies, which were very troublesome to us. After
we had gone about three French miles, we came out of the woods, and the
ground seemed to have been formerly a marsh, which was now dried up.
From hence we had a pretty good prospect on all sides. On our right
hand at a great distance we saw two high mountains, rising remarkably
above the rest; and they were not far from fort Champlain. We could
likewise from hence see the high mountain which lies near Montreal; and
our road went on nearly in a straight line. Soon after, we got again
upon wet and low grounds, and after that into a wood which consisted
chiefly of the fir with leaves which have a silvery underside. [15] We
found the soil which we passed over to-day, very fine and rich, and
when the woods will be cleared and the ground cultivated, it will
probably prove very fertile. There are no rocks, and hardly any stones
near the road.
About four French miles from fort St. John, the country makes quite
another appearance. It is all cultivated, and a continual variety of
fields with excellent wheat, pease, and oats, presented itself to our
view; but we saw no other kinds of corn. The farms stood scattered, and
each of them was surrounded by its corn fields, and meadows; the houses
are built of wood and very small. Instead of moss, which cannot be got
here, they employ clay for stopping up the crevices in the walls. The
roofs are made very much sloping, and covered with straw. The soil is
good, flat, and divided by several rivulets; and only in a few places
there are some little hills. The prospect is very fine from this part
of the road, and as far as I could see the country, it was cultivated;
all the fields were covered with corn, and they generally use
summer-wheat here. The ground is still very fertile, so that there is
no occasion for leaving it ly as fallow. The forests are pretty much
cleared, and it is to be feared that there will be a time, when wood
will become very scarce. Such was the appearance of the country quite
up to Prairie, and the river St. Lawrence, which last we had now always
in sight; and, in a word this country was, in my opinion the finest of
North-America, which I had hitherto seen.
About dinner-time we arrived at Prairie, which is situated on a little
rising ground near the river St. Lawrence. We staid here this day,
because I intended to visit the places in this neighbourhood, before I
went on.
Prairie de la Magdelene is a small village on the eastern side of the
river St. Lawrence, about two French miles and a half from Montreal,
which place lies N. W. from hence, on the other side of the river. All
the country round Prairie is quite flat, and has hardly any risings. On
all sides are large corn-fields, meadows, and pastures. On the western
side, the river St. Lawrence passes by, and has here a breadth of a
French mile and a half, if not more. Most of the houses in Prairie are
built of timber, with sloping wooden roofs, and the crevices in the
walls are stopped up with clay. There are some little buildings of
stone, chiefly of the black lime-stone, or of pieces of rock-stone, in
which latter the enchasement of the doors and windows was made of the
black lime-stone. In the midst of the village is a pretty church of
stone, with a steeple at the west end of it, furnished with bells.
Before the door is a cross, together with ladders, tongs, hammers,
nails, &c. which are to represent all the instruments made use of at
the crucifixion of our Saviour, and perhaps many others besides them.
The village is surrounded with palisades, from four yards to five high,
put up formerly as a barrier against the incursions of the Indians.
Without these palisades are several little kitchen and pleasure
gardens, but very few fruit-trees in them. The rising grounds along the
river, are very inconsiderable here. In this place there was a priest,
and a captain, who assumed the name of governor. The corn-fields round
the place are extensive, and sown with summer-wheat; but rye, barley
and maize are never seen. To the south-west of this place is a great
fall in the river St. Lawrence, and the noise which it causes, may be
plainly heard here. When the water in spring encreases in the river, on
account of the ice which then begins to dissolve, it sometimes happens
to rise so high as to overflow a great part of the fields, and, instead
of fertilizing them as the river Nile fertilizes the Egyptian fields by
its inundations, it does them much damage, by carrying a number of
grasses and plants on them, the seeds of which spread the worst kind of
weeds, and ruin the fields. These inundations oblige the people to take
their cattle a great way off, because the water covers a great tract of
land; but happily it never stays on it above two or three days. The
cause of these inundations is generally owing to the stopping of ice in
some part of the river.
The Zizania aquatica, or Folle Avoine grows plentiful in the rivulet,
or brook, which flows somewhat below Prairie.
July the 24th. This morning I went from Prairie in a bateau to
Montreal, upon the river St. Lawrence. The river is very rapid, but not
very deep near Prairie, so that the yacht cannot go higher than
Montreal, except in spring with the high water, when they can come up
to Prairie, but no further. The town of Montreal may be seen at
Prairie, and all the way down to it. On our arrival, there we found a
crowd of people at that gate of the town, where we were to pass
through. They were very desirous of seeing us, because they were
informed that some Swedes were to come to town; people of whom they had
heard something, but whom they had never seen; and we were assured by
every body, that we were the first Swedes that ever came to Montreal.
As soon as we were landed, the governor of the town sent a captain to
me, who desired I would follow him to the governor’s house, where he
introduced me to him. The Baron Longueuil was as yet vice-governor, but
he daily expected his promotion from France. He received me more
civilly and generously than I can well describe, and shewed me letters
from the governor-general at Quebec, the Marquis de la Galissonniere,
which mentioned that he had received orders from the French court to
supply me with whatever I should want, as I was to travel in this
country at the expence of his most Christian majesty. In short governor
Longueuil loaded me with greater favours than I could expect or even
imagine, both during my present stay and on my return from Quebec.
The difference between the manners and customs of the French in
Montreal and Canada, and those of the English in the American colonies,
is as great as that between the manners of those two nations in Europe.
The women in general are handsome here; they are well bred, and
virtuous with an innocent and becoming freedom. They dress out very
fine on Sundays; and though on the other days they do not take much
pains with other parts of their dress, yet they are very fond of
adorning their heads, the hair of which is always curled and powdered,
and ornamented with glittering bodkins and aigrettes. Every day but
Sunday, they wear a little neat jacket, and a short petticoat which
hardly reaches half the leg, and in this particular they seem to
imitate the Indian women. The heels of their shoes are high, and very
narrow, and it is surprizing how they walk on them. In their knowledge
of œconomy, they greatly surpass the English women in the plantations,
who indeed have taken the liberty of throwing all the burthen of
housekeeping upon their husbands, and sit in their chairs all day with
folded arms. [16] The women in Canada on the contrary do not spare
themselves, especially among the common people, where they are always
in the fields, meadows, stables, &c. and do not dislike any work
whatsoever. However, they seem rather remiss in regard to the cleaning
of the utensils, and apartments; for sometimes the floors, both in the
town and country, were hardly cleaned once in six months, which is a
disagreeable sight to one who comes from amongst the Dutch and English,
where the constant scouring and scrubbing of the floors, is reckoned as
important as the exercise of religion itself. To prevent the thick
dust, which is thus left on the floor, from being noxious to the
health, the women wet it several times a day, which renders it more
consistent; repeating the aspersion as often as the dust is dry and
rises again. Upon the whole, however, they are not averse to the taking
a part in all the business of housekeeping; and I have with pleasure
seen the daughters of the better sort of people, and of the governor
himself, not too finely dressed, and going into kitchens and cellars,
to look that every thing be done as it ought.
The men are extremely civil, and take their hats off to every person
indifferently whom they meet in the streets. It is customary to return
a visit the day after you have received one; though one should have
some scores to pay in one day.
I have been told by some among the French, who had gone a
beaver-hunting with the Indians to the northern parts of Canada, that
the animals, whose skins they endeavour to get, and which are there in
great plenty, are beavers, wild cats, or lynxs, and martens. These
animals are the more valued, the further they are caught to the north,
for their skins have better hair, and look better than those which are
taken more southward, and they became gradually better or worse, the
more they are northward or southward.
White Patridges [17] is the name which the French in Canada give to a
kind of birds, abounding during winter near Hudson’s Bay, and which are
undoubtedly our Ptarmigans, or Snow-hens (Tetrao Lagopus). They are
very plentiful at the time of a great frost, and when a considerable
quantity of snow happens to fall. They are described to me as having
rough white feet, and being white all over, except three or four black
feathers in the tail; and they are reckoned very fine eating. From
Edward’s Natural History of Birds (pag. 72.) it appears, that the
ptarmigans are common about Hudson’s Bay [18].
Hares are likewise said to be plentiful near Hudson’s Bay, and they are
abundant even in Canada, where I have often seen, and found them
perfectly corresponding with our Swedish hares. In summer they have a
brownish grey, and in winter a snowy white colour, as with us [19].
Mechanics, such as architecture, cabinet-work, turning, and the like,
were not yet so forward here as they ought to be; and the English, in
that particular, out do the French. The chief cause of this is, that
scarce any other people than dismissed soldiers come to settle here,
who have not had any opportunity of learning a mechanical trade, but
have sometimes accidentally, and through necessity been obliged to it.
There are however some, who have a good notion of mechanics, and I saw
a person here, who made very good clocks, and watches, though he had
had but very little instruction.
July the 27th. The common house-flies have but been observed in this
country about one hundred and fifty years ago, as I have been assured
by several persons in this town, and in Quebec. All the Indians assert
the same thing, and are of opinion that the common flies first came
over here, with the Europeans and their ships, which were stranded on
this coast. I shall not dispute this; however, I know, that whilst I
was in the desarts between Saratoga and Crownpoint, or fort St.
Frederic, and sat down to rest or to eat, a number of our common flies
always came, and settled on me. It is therefore dubious, whether they
have not been longer in America than the term above mentioned, or
whether they have been imported from Europe. On the other hand, it may
be urged that the flies were left in those desarts at the time when
fort Anne was yet in a good condition, and when the English often
travelled there and back again; not to mention that several Europeans,
both before and after that time, had travelled through those places,
and carried the flies with them, which were attracted by their
provisions.
Wild Cattle are abundant in the southern parts of Canada, and have been
there since times immemorial. They are plentiful in those parts,
particularly where the Illinois Indians live, which are nearly in the
same latitude with Philadelphia; but further to the north they are
seldom observed. I saw the skin of a wild ox to-day; it was as big as
one of the largest ox hides in Europe, but had better hair. The hair is
dark brown, like that on a brown bear-skin. That which is close to the
skin, is as soft as wool. This hide was not very thick; and in general
they do not reckon them so valuable as bear-skins in France. In winter
they are spread on the floors, to keep the feet warm. Some of these
wild cattle, as I am told, have a long and fine wool, as good, if not
better, than sheep wool. They make stockings, cloth, gloves, and other
pieces of worsted work of it, which look as well as if they were made
of the best sheep wool; and the Indians employ it for several uses. The
flesh equals the best beef in goodness and fatness. Sometimes the hides
are thick, and may be made use of as cow-hides are in Europe. The wild
cattle in general are said to be stronger and bigger, than European
cattle, and of a brown red colour. Their horns are but short, though
very thick close to the head. These and several other qualities, which
they have in common with, and in greater perfection than the tame
cattle, have induced some to endeavour to tame them; by which means
they would obtain the advantages arising from their goodness of hair,
and, on account of their great strength, be able to employ them
successfully in agriculture. With this view some have repeatedly got
young wild calves, and brought them up in Quebec, and other places,
among the tame cattle; but they commonly died in three or four years
time; and though they have seen people every day, yet they have always
retained a natural ferocity. They have constantly been very shy,
pricked up their ears at the sight of a man, and trembled, or run
about; so that the art of taming them has not hitherto been found out.
Some have been of opinion, that these cattle cannot well bear the cold;
as they never go north of the place I mentioned, though the summers be
very hot, even in those northern parts. They think that, when the
country about the Illinois will be better peopled, it will be more easy
to tame these cattle, and that afterwards they might more easily be
used to the northerly climates [20]. The Indians and French in Canada,
make use of the horns of these creatures to put gun-powder in. I have
briefly mentioned the wild cattle in the former parts of this journey
[21].
The peace, which was concluded between France and England, was
proclaimed this day. The soldiers were under arms; the artillery on the
walls was fired off, and some salutes were given by the small
fire-arms. All night some fireworks were exhibited, and the whole town
was illuminated. All the streets were crowded with people, till late at
night. The governor invited me to supper, and to partake of the joy of
the inhabitants. There were present a number of officers, and persons
of distinction; and the festival concluded with the greatest joy.
July the 28th. This morning I accompanied the governor, baron
Longueuil, and his family, to a little island called Magdelene, which
is his own property. It lies in the river St. Lawrence, directly
opposite to the town, on the eastern side. The governor had here a very
neat house, though it was not very large, a fine extensive garden, and
a court-yard. The river passes between the town and this island, and is
very rapid. Near the town it is deep enough for yachts; but towards the
island it grows more shallow, so that they are obliged to push the
boats forwards with poles. There was a mill on the island, turned by
the mere force of the stream, without an additional mill-dam.
The smooth sumach, or Rhus glabra, grows in great plenty here. I have
no where seen it so tall as in this place, where it had sometimes the
height of eight yards, and a proportionable thickness.
Sassafras is planted here; for it is never found wild in these parts,
fort Anne being the most northerly place where I have found it wild.
Those shrubs which were on the island, had been planted many years ago;
however, they were but small shrubs, from two to three feet high, and
scarce so much. The reason is, because the stem is killed every winter,
almost down to the very root, and must produce new shoots every spring,
as I have found from my own observations here; and so it appeared to be
near the forts Anne, Nicholson, and Oswego. It will therefore be in
vain to attempt to plant sassafras in a very cold climate.
The red Mulberry-trees (Morus rubra, Linn.) are likewise planted here.
I saw four or five of them about five yards high, which the governor
told me, had been twenty years in this place, and were brought from
more southerly parts, since they do not grow wild near Montreal. The
most northerly place, where I have found it growing spontaneously, is
about twenty English miles north of Albany, as I have been assured by
the country people, who live in that place, and who at the same time
informed me, that it was very scarce in the woods. When I came to
Saratoga, I enquired whether any of these mulberry-trees had been found
in that neighbourhood? but every body told me, that they were never
seen in those parts, but that the before mentioned place, twenty miles
above Albany, is the most northern one where they grow. Those
mulberry-trees, which were planted on this island, succeed very well,
though they are placed in a poor soil. Their foliage is large and
thick, but they did not bear any fruits this year. However, I was
informed that they can bear a considerable degree of cold.
The Waterbeech was planted here in a shady place, and was grown to a
great height. All the French hereabouts call it Cotonier [22]. It is
never found wild near the river St. Lawrence; nor north of fort St.
Frederic, where it is now very scarce.
The red Cedar is called Cedre rouge by the French, and it was likewise
planted in the governor’s garden, whither it had been brought from more
southern parts, for it is not to be met with in the forests hereabouts.
However, it came on very well here.
About half an hour after seven in the evening we left this pleasant
island, and an hour after our return the baron de Longueuil received
two agreeable pieces of news at once. The first was, that his son, who
had been two years in France, was returned; and the second, that he had
brought with him the royal patents for his father, by which he was
appointed governor of Montreal, and the country belonging to it.
They make use of fans here, which are made of the tails of the wild
turkeys. As soon as the birds are shot, their tails are spread like
fans, and dried, by which means they keep their figure. The ladies and
the men of distinction in town wear these fans, when they walk in the
streets, during the intenseness of the heat.
All the grass on the meadows round Montreal, consists chiefly of a
species of Meadow-grass, or the Poa capillaris, Linn. [23] This is a
very slender grass, which grows very close, and succeeds even on the
driest hills. It is however not rich in foliage; and the slender stalk
is chiefly used for hay. We have numerous kinds of grasses in Sweden,
which make infinitely finer meadows than this.
July the 30th. The wild Plumb-trees grow in great abundance on the
hills, along the rivulets about the town. They were so loaded with
fruit, that the boughs were quite bent downwards by the weight. The
fruit was not yet ripe, but when it comes to that perfection, it has a
red colour and a fine taste, and preserves are sometimes made of it.
Black Currants (Ribes nigrum, Linn.) are plentiful in the same places,
and its berries were ripe at this time. They are very small, and not by
far so agreeable as those in Sweden.
Parsneps grow in great abundance on the rising banks of rivers, along
the corn-fields, and in other places. This led me to think, that they
were original natives of America, and not first brought over by the
Europeans. But on my journey into the country of the Iroquois, where no
European ever had a settlement, I never once saw it, though the soil
was excellent; and from hence it appears plain enough, that it was
transported hither from Europe, and is not originally an American
plant; and therefore it is in vain sought for in any part of this
continent except among the European settlements.
August the 1st. The governor-general of Canada commonly resides at
Quebec; but he frequently goes to Montreal, and generally spends the
winter there. In summer he chiefly resides at Quebec, on account of the
king’s ships, which arrive there during that season, and bring him
letters, which he must answer; besides other business which comes in
about that time. During his residence in Montreal he lives in the
castle, as it is called, which is a large house of stone, built by
governor-general Vaudreuil, and still belonging to his family, who hire
it to the king. The governor-general de la Galissonniere is said to
like Montreal better than Quebec, and indeed the situation of the
former is by far the more agreeable one.
They have in Canada scarce any other but paper-currency. I hardly ever
saw any coin, except French sols, consisting of brass, with a very
small mixture of silver; they were quite thin by constant circulation,
and were valued at a sol and a half. The bills are not printed, but
written. Their origin is as follows. The French king having found it
very dangerous to send money for the pay of the troops, and other
purposes, over to Canada, on account of privateers, shipwrecks, and
other accidents; he ordered that instead of it the intendant, or king’s
steward, at Quebec, or the commissary at Montreal, is to write bills
for the value of the sums which are due to the troops, and which he
distributes to each soldier. On these bills is inscribed, that they
bear the value of such or such a sum, till next October; and they are
signed by the intendant, or the commissary; and in the interval they
bear the value of money. In the month of October, at a certain stated
time, every one brings the bills in his possession to the intendant at
Quebec, or the commissary at Montreal, who exchanges them for bills of
exchange upon France, which are paid there in lawful money, at the
king’s exchequer, as soon as they are presented. If the money is not
yet wanted, the bill may be kept till next October, when it may be
exchanged by one of those gentlemen, for a bill upon France. The paper
money can only be delivered in October, and exchanged for bills upon
France. They are of different values, and some do not exceed a livre,
and perhaps some are still less. Towards autumn when the merchants
ships come in from France, the merchants endeavour to get as many bills
as they can, and change them for bills upon the French treasury. These
bills are partly printed, spaces being left for the name, sum, &c. But
the first bill, or paper currency is all wrote, and is therefore
subject to be counterfeited, which has sometimes been done; but the
great punishments, which have been inflicted upon the authors of these
forged bills, and which generally are capital, have deterred people
from attempting it again; so that examples of this kind are very scarce
at present. As there is a great want of small coin here, the buyers, or
sellers, were frequently obliged to suffer a small loss, and could pay
no intermediate prices between one livre and two [24].
They commonly give one hundred and fifty livres a year to a faithful
and diligent footman, and to a maid-servant of the same character one
hundred livres. A journeymen to an artist gets three or four livres a
day, and a common labouring man gets thirty or forty sols a day. The
scarcity of labouring people occasions the wages to be so high; for
almost every body finds it so easy to set up as a farmer in this
uncultivated country, where he can live well, and at a small expence,
that he does not care to serve and work for others.
Montreal is the second town in Canada, in regard to size and wealth;
but it is the first on account of its fine situation, and mild climate.
Somewhat above the town, the river St. Lawrence divides into several
branches, and by that means forms several islands, among which the isle
of Montreal is the greatest. It is ten French miles long, and near four
broad, in its broadest part. The town of Montreal is built on the
eastern side of the island, and close to one of the most considerable
branches of the river St. Lawrence; and thus it receives a very
pleasant, and advantageous situation. The town has a quadrangular form,
or rather it is a rectangular parallelogram, the long and eastern side
of which extends along the great branch of the river. On the other side
it is surrounded with excellent corn-fields, charming meadows, and
delightful woods. It has got the name of Montreal from a great
mountain, about half a mile westwards of the town, and lifting its head
far above the woods. Mons. Cartier, one of the first Frenchmen who
surveyed Canada more accurately, called this mountain so, on his
arrival in this island, in the year 1535, when he visited the mountain,
and the Indian town Hoshelaga near it. The priests who, according to
the Roman catholic way, would call every place in this country after
some saint or other, called Montreal, Ville Marie, but they have not
been able to make this name general, for it has always kept its first
name. It is pretty well fortified, and surrounded with a high and thick
wall. On the east side it has the river St. Lawrence, and on all the
other sides a deep ditch filled with water, which secures the
inhabitants against all danger from the sudden incursions of the
enemy’s troops. However, it cannot long stand a regular siege, because
it requires a great garrison, on account of its extent; and because it
consists chiefly of wooden houses. Here are several churches, of which
I shall only mention that belonging to the friars of the order of St.
Sulpitius, that of the Jesuits, that of the Franciscan friars, that
belonging to the nunnery, and that of the hospital; of which the first
is however by far the finest, both in regard to its outward and inward
ornaments, not only in this place, but in all Canada. The priests of
the seminary of St. Sulpitius have a fine large house, where they live
together. The college of the Franciscan friars is likewise spacious,
and has good walls, but it is not so magnificent as the former. The
college of the Jesuits is small, but well built. To each of these three
buildings are annexed fine large gardens, for the amusement, health,
and use of the communities to which they belong. Same of the houses in
the town are built of stone, but most of them are of timber, though
very neatly built. Each of the better sort of houses has a door towards
the street, with a seat on each side of it, for amusement and
recreation in the morning and evening. The long streets are broad and
strait, and divided at right angles by the short ones: some are paved,
but most of them very uneven. The gates of the town are numerous; on
the east side of the town towards the river are five, two great and
three lesser ones; and on the other side are likewise several. The
governor-general of Canada, when he is at Montreal, resides in the
castle, which the government hires for that purpose of the family of
Vaudreuil; but the governor of Montreal is obliged to buy or hire a
house in town; though I was told, that the government contributed
towards paying the rents.
In the town is a Nunnery, and without its walls half a one; for though
the last was quite ready, however, it had not yet been confirmed by the
pope. In the first they do not receive every girl that offers herself;
for their parents must pay about five hundred ecus, or crowns, for
them. Some indeed are admitted for three hundred ecus, but they are
obliged to serve those who pay more than they. No poor girls are taken
in.
The king has erected a hospital for sick soldiers here. The sick person
there is provided with every thing he wants, and the king pays twelve
sols every day for his stay, attendance, &c. The surgeons are paid by
the king. When an officer is brought to this hospital, who is fallen
sick in the service of the crown, he receives victuals and attendance
gratis: but if he has got a sickness in the execution of his private
concerns, and comes to be cured here, he must pay it out of his own
purse. When there is room enough in the hospital, they likewise take in
some of the sick inhabitants of the town and country. They have the
medicines, and the attendance of the surgeons, gratis, but must pay
twelve sols per day for meat, &c.
Every Friday is a market-day, when the country people come to the town
with provisions, and those who want them must supply themselves on that
day, because it is the only market-day in the whole week. On that day
likewise a number of Indians come to town, to sell their goods, and buy
others.
The declination of the magnetic needle was here ten degrees and
thirty-eight minutes, west. Mr. Gillion, one of the priests here, who
had a particular taste for mathematicks and astronomy, had drawn a
meridian in the garden of the seminary, which he said he had examined
repeatedly by the sun and stars, and found to be very exact. I compared
my compass with it, taking care, that no iron was near it, and found
its declination just the same, as that which I have before mentioned.
According to Mons. Gillion’s observations, the latitude of Montreal is
forty-five degrees and twenty-seven minutes.
Monsr. Pontarion, another priest, had made thermometrical observations
in Montreal, from the beginning of this year 1749. He made use of
Reaumur’s thermometer, which he placed sometimes in a window half open,
and sometimes in one quite open, and accordingly it will seldom mark
the greatest degree of cold in the air. However, I shall give a short
abstract of his observations for the winter months. In January the
greatest cold was on the 18th day of the month, when the Reaumurian
thermometer was twenty-three degrees below the freezing point. The
least degree of cold was on the 31st of the same month, when it was
just at the freezing point, but most of the days of this month it was
from twelve to fifteen degrees below the freezing point. In February
the greatest cold was on the 19th, and 25th, when the thermometer was
fourteen degrees below the freezing point; and the least was on the 3d
day of that month, when it rose eight degrees above the freezing point;
but it was generally eleven degrees below it. In March the greatest
cold was on the 3d, when it was ten degrees below the freezing point,
and on the 22d, 23d, and 24th, it was mildest, being fifteen degrees
above it: in general it was four degrees below it. In April the
greatest degree of cold happened on the 7th, the thermometer being five
degrees below the freezing point; the 25th was the mildest day, it
being twenty degrees above the freezing point; but in general it was
twelve degrees above it. These are the contents chiefly of Mons.
Pontarion’s observations during those months; but I found, by the
manner he made his observations, that the cold had every day been from
four to six degrees greater, than he had marked it. He had likewise
marked in his journal, that the ice in the river St. Lawrence broke on
the 3d of April at Montreal, and only on the 20th day of that month at
Quebec. On the 3d of May some trees began to flower at Montreal, and on
the 12th the hoary frost was so great, that the trees were quite
covered with it, as with snow. The ice in the river close to this town
is every winter above a French foot thick, and sometimes it is two of
such feet, as I was informed by all whom I consulted on that head.
Several of the friars here told me, that the summers were remarkably
longer in Canada, since its cultivation, than they used to be before;
it begins earlier, and ends later. The winters on the other hand are
much shorter; but the friars were of opinion, that they were as hard as
formerly, though they were not of the same duration; and likewise, that
the summer at present was no hotter, than it used to be. The coldest
winds at Montreal are those from the north and north-west.
August the 2d. Early this morning we left Montreal, and went in a
bateau on our journey to Quebec, in company with the second major of
Montreal, M. de Sermonvile. We fell down the river St. Lawrence, which
was here pretty broad on our left; on the north-west side was the isle
of Montreal, and on the right a number of other isles, and the shore.
The isle of Montreal was closely inhabited along the river; and it was
very plain, and the rising land near the shore consisted of pure mould,
and was between three or four yards high. The woods were cut down along
the river-side, for the distance of an English mile. The
dwelling-houses were built of wood, or stone, indiscriminately, and
white-washed on the outside. The other buildings, such as barns,
stables, &c. were all of wood. The ground next to the river was turned
either into corn-fields, or meadows. Now and then we perceived churches
on both sides of the river, the steeples of which were generally on
that side of the church, which looked towards the river, because they
are not obliged here to put the steeples on the west end of the
churches. Within six French miles of Montreal we saw several islands of
different sizes on the river, and most of them were inhabited; and if
some of them were without houses on them, they were sometimes turned
into corn-fields, but generally into meadows. We saw no mountains,
hills, rocks, or stones to-day, the country being flat throughout, and
consisting of pure mould.
All the farms in Canada stand separate from each other, so that each
farmer has his possessions entirely distinct from those of his
neighbour. Each church, it is true, has a little village near it; but
that consists chiefly of the parsonage, a school for the boys and girls
of the place, and of the houses of tradesmen, but rarely of
farm-houses; and if that was the case, yet their fields were separated.
The farm-houses hereabouts are generally built all along the rising
banks of the river, either close to the water or at some distance from
it, and about three or four arpens from each other. To some farms are
annexed small orchards; but they are in general without them; however,
almost every farmer has a kitchen-garden.
I have been told by all those who have made journies to the southern
parts of Canada, and to the river Mississippi, that the woods there
abound with peach-trees, which bear excellent fruit, and that the
Indians of those parts say, that those trees have been there since
times immemorial.
The farm-houses are generally built of stone, but sometimes of timber,
and have three or four rooms. The windows are seldom of glass, but most
frequently of paper. They have iron stoves in one of the rooms, and
chimnies in the rest. The roofs are covered with boards. The crevices
and chinks are filled up with clay. The other buildings are covered
with straw.
There are several Crosses put up with the road side, which is parallel
to the shores of the river. These crosses are very common in Canada,
and are put up to excite devotion in the travellers. They are made of
wood, five or six yards high, and proportionally broad. In that side
which looks towards the road is a square hole, in which they place an
image of our Saviour, the cross, or of the holy Virgin, with the child
in her arms; and before that they put a piece of glass, to prevent its
being spoiled by the weather. Those crosses which are not far from
churches, are very much adorned, and they put up about them all the
instruments which they think the Jews employed in crucifying our
Saviour, such as a hammer, tongs, nails, a flask of vinegar, and
perhaps many more than were really made use of. A figure of the cock,
which crowed when St. Peter denied our Lord, is commonly put at the top
of the cross.
The country on both sides was very delightful to-day, and the fine
state of its cultivation, added greatly to the beauty of the scene. It
could really be called a village, beginning at Montreal, and ending at
Quebec, which is a distance of more than one hundred and eighty miles;
for the farm-houses are never above five arpens, and sometimes but
three, asunder, a few places excepted. The prospect is exceedingly
beautiful, when the river goes on for some miles together in a strait
line, because it then shortens the distances between the houses, and
makes them form exactly one continued village.
All the women in the country, without exception, wear caps of some kind
or other. Their jackets are short, and so are their petticoats, which
scarce reach down to the middle of their legs; and they have a silver
cross hanging down on the breast. In general they are very laborious;
however, I saw some, who, like the English women in the colonies, did
nothing but prattle all the day. When they have any thing to do within
doors, they (especially the girls) commonly sing songs, in which the
words Amour and Cœur are very frequent. In the country it is usual,
that when the husband receives a visit from persons of rank, and dines
with them, his wife stands behind and serves him; but in the towns, the
ladies are more distinguished, and would willingly assume an equal, if
not a superior, power to their husbands. When they go out of doors they
wear long cloaks, which cover all their other clothes, and are either
grey, brown, or blue. The men sometimes make use of them, when they are
obliged to go into the rain. The women have the advantage of being in a
deshabille under these cloaks, without any body’s perceiving it.
We sometimes saw wind-mills near the farms. They were generally built
of stone, with a roof of boards, which, together with its flyers, could
be turned to the wind occasionally.
The breadth of the river was not always equal to-day; in the narrowest
place, it was about a quarter of an English mile broad; in other parts
it was near two English miles. The shore was sometimes high and steep,
and sometimes low, or sloping.
At three o’clock this afternoon we passed by the river, which falls
into the river St. Lawrence, and comes from lake Champlain, in the
middle of which latter is a large island. The yachts which go between
Montreal and Quebec, go on the south-east side of this island, because
it is deeper there; but the boats prefer the north-west side, because
it is nearer, and yet deep enough for them. Besides this island there
are several more hereabouts, which are all inhabited. Somewhat further,
the country on both sides the river is uninhabited, till we come to the
Lac St. Pierre; because it is so low, as to be quite overflowed at
certain times of the year. To make up for this deficiency, the country,
I am told, is as thickly inhabited further from the river, as we found
it along the banks of the river.
Lac St. Pierre is a part of the river St. Lawrence, which is so broad
that we could hardly see any thing but sky and water before us, and I
was every where told, that it is seven French miles long, and three
broad. From the middle of this lake as it is called, you see a large
high country in the west, which appears above the woods. In the lake
are many places covered with a kind of rush, or Scirpus palustris,
Linn. There are no houses in sight on either side of the lake, because
the land is rather too low there; and in spring the water rises so
high, that they may go with boats between the trees. However, at some
distance from the shores, where the ground is higher, the farms are
close together. We saw no islands in the lake this afternoon, but the
next day we met with some.
Late in the evening we left lake St. Pierre, and rowed up a little
river called Riviere de Loup, in order to come to a house where we
might pass the night. Having rowed about an English mile, we found the
country inhabited on both sides of the river. Its shores are high; but
the country in general is flat. We passed the night in a farm-house.
The territory of Montreal extends to this place; but here begins the
jurisdiction of the governor of Trois Rivieres, to which place they
reckon eight French miles from hence.
August the 3d. At five o’clock in the morning we set out again, and
first rowed down the little river till we came into the lake St.
Pierre, which we went downwards. After we had gone a good way, we
perceived a high chain of mountains in the north-west, which were very
much elevated above the low, flat country. The north-west shore of lake
St. Pierre was now in general very closely inhabited; but on the
south-east side we saw no houses, and only a country covered with
woods, which is sometimes said to be under water, but behind which
there are, as I am told, a great number of farms. Towards the end of
the lake, the river went into its proper bounds again, being not above
a mile and a half broad, and afterwards it grows still narrower. From
the end of Lake St. Pierre to Trois Rivieres, they reckon three French
miles, and about eleven o’clock in the morning we arrived at the latter
place, where we attended divine service.
Trois Rivieres, is a little market town, which had the appearance of a
large village; it is however reckoned among the three great towns of
Canada, which are Quebec, Montreal, and Trois Rivieres. It is said to
ly in the middle between the two first, and thirty French miles distant
from each. The town is built on the north side of the river St.
Lawrence, on a flat, elevated sand, and its situation is very pleasant.
On one side the river passes by, which is here an English mile and a
half broad. On the other side, are fine corn-fields, though the soil is
very much mixed with sand. In the town are two churches of stone, a
nunnery, and a house for the friars of the order of St. Francis. This
town is likewise the seat of the third governor in Canada, whose house
is likewise of stone. Most of the other houses are of timber a single
story high, tolerably well built, and stand very much asunder; and the
streets are crooked. The shore here consists of sand, and the rising
grounds along it are pretty high. When the wind is very violent here,
it raises the sand, and blows it about the streets, making it very
troublesome to walk in them. The nuns, which are about twenty-two in
number, are reckoned very ingenious in all kinds of needle-work. This
town formerly flourished more than any other in Canada, for the Indians
brought their goods to it from all sides; but since that time they go
to Montreal and Quebec, and to the English, on account of their wars
with the Iroquese, or Five Nations, and for several other reasons, so
that this town is at present very much reduced by it. Its present
inhabitants live chiefly by agriculture, though the neighbouring
iron-works may serve in some measure to support them. About an English
mile below the town, a great river falls into the river St. Lawrence,
but first divides into three branches, so that it appears as if three
rivers disembogued themselves there. This has given occasion to call
the river and this town, Trois Rivieres (the Three Rivers).
The tide goes about a French mile above Trois Rivieres, though it is so
trifling as to be hardly observable. But about the equinoxes, and at
the new moons and full moons in spring and autumn, the difference
between the highest and lowest water is two feet. Accordingly the tide
in this river goes very far up, for from the above mentioned place to
the sea they reckon about a hundred and fifty French miles.
Whilst my company were resting, I went on horseback to view the
iron-work. The country which I passed through was pretty high, sandy,
and generally flat. I saw neither stones nor mountains here.
The iron-work, which is the only one in this country, lies three miles
to the west of Trois Rivieres. Here are two great forges, besides two
lesser ones to each of the great ones, and under the same roof with
them. The bellows were made of wood, and every thing else, as it is in
Swedish forges. The melting ovens stand close to the forges, and are
the same as ours. The ore is got two French miles and a half from the
iron works, and is carried thither on sledges. It is a kind of moor ore
[25], which lies in veins, within six inches or a foot from the surface
of the ground. Each vein is from six to eighteen inches deep, and below
it is a white sand. The veins are surrounded with this sand on both
sides, and covered at the top with a thin mould. The ore is pretty rich
and lies in loose lumps in the veins, of the size of two fists, though
there are a few which are near eighteen inches thick. These lumps are
full of holes, which are filled with ockre. The ore is so soft that it
may be crushed betwixt the fingers. They make use of a grey lime-stone,
which is broke in the neighbourhood, for promoting the fusibility of
the ore; to that purpose they likewise employ a clay marle, which is
found near this place. Charcoals are to be had in great abundance here,
because all the country round this place is covered with woods, which
have never been stirred. The charcoals from ever-green trees, that is,
from the fir kind, are best for the forge, but those of deciduous trees
are best for the smelting oven. The iron which is here made, was to me
described as soft, pliable, and tough, and is said to have the quality
of not being attacked by rust so easily as other iron; and in this
point there appears a great difference between the Spanish iron and
this in ship-building. This iron-work was first founded in 1737, by
private persons, who afterwards ceded it to the king; they cast cannon
and mortars here, of different sizes, iron stoves which are in use all
over Canada, kettles, &c. not to mention the bars which are made here.
They have likewise tried to make steel here, but cannot bring it to any
great perfection, because they are unacquainted with the best manner of
preparing it. Here are many officers and overseers, who have very good
houses, built on purpose for them. It is agreed on all hands, that the
revenues of the iron-work do not pay the expences which the king must
every year be at in maintaining it. They lay the fault on the bad state
of population, and say that the few inhabitants in the country have
enough to do with agriculture, and that it therefore costs great
trouble and large sums, to get a sufficient number of workmen. But
however plausible this may appear, yet it is surprizing that the king
should be a loser in carrying on this work; for the ore is easily
broken, very near the iron-work, and very fusible. The iron is good,
and can be very conveniently dispersed over the country. This is
moreover the only iron-work in the country, from which every body must
supply himself with iron tools, and what other iron he wants. But the
officers and servants belonging to the iron-work, appear to be in very
affluent circumstances. A river runs down from the iron-work, into the
river St. Lawrence, by which all the iron can be sent in boats
throughout the country at a low rate. In the evening I returned again
to Trois Rivieres.
August the 4th. At the dawn of day we left this place and went on
towards Quebec. We found the land on the north side of the river
somewhat elevated, sandy, and closely inhabited along the water side.
The south-east shore, we were told, is equally well inhabited; but the
woods along that shore prevented our seeing the houses, which are built
further up in the country, the land close to the river being so low as
to be subject to annual inundations. Near Trois Rivieres, the river
grows somewhat narrow; but it enlarges again, as soon as you come a
little below that place, and has the breadth of above two English
miles.
As we went on, we saw several churches of stone, and often very well
built ones. The shores of the river are closely inhabited for about
three quarters of an English mile up the country; but beyond that the
woods and the wilderness encrease. All the rivulets falling into the
river St. Lawrence are likewise well inhabited on both sides. I
observed throughout Canada, that the cultivated lands ly only along the
river St. Lawrence, and the other rivers in the country, the environs
of towns excepted, round which the country is all cultivated and
inhabited within the distance of twelve or eighteen English miles. The
great islands in the river are likewise inhabited.
The shores of the river now became higher, more oblique and steep,
however they consisted chiefly of earth. Now and then some rivers or
great brooks fall into the river St. Lawrence, among which one of the
most considerable is the Riviere Puante, which unites on the south-east
side with the St. Lawrence, about two French miles below Trois
Rivieres, and has on its banks, a little way from its mouth, a town
called Becancourt which is wholly inhabited by Abenakee Indians, who
have been converted to the Roman catholic religion, and have Jesuits
among them. At a great distance, on the north-west side of the river,
we saw a chain of very high mountains, running from north to south,
elevated above the rest of the country, which is quite flat here
without any remarkable hills.
Here were several lime-kilns along the river; and the lime-stone
employed in them is broke in the neighbouring high grounds. It is
compact and grey, and the lime it yields is pretty white.
The fields here are generally sown with wheat, oats, maize, and pease.
Gourds and water-melons are planted in abundance near the farms.
A Humming bird (Trochilus Colubris) flew among the bushes, in a place
where we landed to-day. The French call it Oiseau mouche, and say it is
pretty common in Canada; and I have seen it since several times at
Quebec.
About five o’clock in the afternoon we were obliged to take our night’s
lodgings on shore, the wind blowing very strong against us, and being
attended with rain. I found that the nearer we came to Quebec, the more
open and free from woods was the country. The place where we passed the
night, is distant from Quebec twelve French miles.
They have a very peculiar method of catching fish near the shore here.
They place hedges along the shore, made of twisted oziers, so close
that no fish can get through them, and from one foot to a yard high,
according to the different depth of the water. For this purpose they
choose such places where the water runs off during the ebb, and leaves
the hedges quite dry. Within this inclosure they place several weels,
or fish-traps, in the form of cylinders, but broader below. They are
placed upright, and are about a yard high, and two feet and a half
wide: on one side near the bottom is an entrance for the fishes, made
of twigs, and sometimes of yarn made into a net. Opposite to this
entrance, on the other side of the weel, looking towards the lower part
of the river, is another entrance, like the first, and leading to a box
of boards about four foot long, two deep, and two broad. Near each of
the weels is a hedge, leading obliquely to the long hedge, and making
an acute angle with it. This latter hedge is made in order to lead the
fish into the trap, and it is placed on that end of the long hedge
which looks towards the upper part of the river; now when the tide
comes up the river, the fish, and chiefly the eels, go up with it along
the river side; when the water begins to ebb, the fish likewise go down
the river, and meeting with the hedges, they swim along them, till they
come through the weels into the boxes of boards, at the top of which
there is a hole with a cover, through which the fish could be taken
out. This apparatus is chiefly made on account of the eels. In some
places hereabouts they place nets instead of the hedges of twigs.
The shores of the river now consisted no more of pure earth; but of a
species of slate. They are very steep and nearly perpendicular here,
and the slates of which they consist are black, with a brown cast; and
divisible into thin shivers, no thicker than the back of a knife. These
slates moulder as soon as they are exposed to the open air, and the
shore is covered with grains of small sand, which are nothing but
particles of such mouldered slates. Some of the strata run horizontal,
others obliquely, dipping to the south and rising to the north, and
sometimes the contrary way. Sometimes they form bendings like large
semicircles: sometimes a perpendicular line cuts off the strata, to the
depth of two feet; and the slates on both sides of the line from a
perpendicular and smooth wall. In some places hereabouts, they find
amongst the slates, a stratum about four inches thick of a grey,
compact, but pretty soft limestone, of which the Indians for many
centuries have made, and the French at present still make,
tobacco-pipes [26].
August the 5th. This morning, we continued our journey by rowing, the
contrary wind hindering us from sailing. The appearance of the shores,
was the same as yesterday; they were high, pretty steep, and quite
perpendicular; and consisted of the black slate before described. The
country at the top was a plain without eminences, and closely inhabited
along the river, for about the space of an English mile and a half
in-land. Here are no islands in this part of the river, but several
stony places, perceptible at low water only, which have several times
proved fatal to travellers. The breadth of the river varies; in some
parts it was a little more than three quarters of a mile, in others
half a mile, and in some above two miles. The inhabitants made use of
the same method of catching eels along the shores here, as that which I
have just before mentioned. In many places they make use of nets made
of osiers instead of the hedge.
Bugs (Cimex lectularius) abound in Canada; and I met with them in every
place where I lodged, both in the towns and country, and the people
know of no other remedy for them than patience.
The Crickets (Gryllus domesticus) are also abundant in Canada,
especially in the country, where these disagreeable guests lodge in the
chimnies; nor are they uncommon in the towns. They stay here both
summer and winter, and frequently cut clothes in pieces for pastime.
The Cockroaches (Blatta orientalis) have never been found in the houses
here.
The shores of the river grow more sloping as you come nearer to Quebec.
To the northward appears a high ridge of mountains. About two French
miles and a half from Quebec, the river becomes very narrow, the shores
being within the reach of a musket shot from each other. The country on
both sides was sloping, hilly, covered with trees, and had many small
rocks; the shore was stony. About four o’clock in the afternoon we
happily arrived at Quebec. The city does not appear till one is close
to it, the prospect being intercepted by a high mountain on the south
side. However, a part of the fortifications appears at a good distance,
being situate on the same mountain. As soon as the soldiers, who were
with us, saw Quebec, they called out, that all those who had never been
there before, should be ducked, if they did not pay something to
release themselves. This custom even the governor-general of Canada is
obliged to submit to, on his first journey to Montreal. We did not care
when we came in sight of this town to be exempted from this old custom,
which is very advantageous to the rowers, as it enables them to spend a
merry evening on their arrival at Quebec, after their troublesome
labour.
Immediately after my arrival, the officer who had accompanied me from
Montreal, led me to the palace of the then vice-govenor-general of
Canada, the marquis la Galissonniere, a nobleman of uncommon qualities,
who behaved towards me with extraordinary goodness, during the time he
staid in this country. He had already ordered some apartments to be got
ready for me, and took care to provide me with every thing I wanted;
besides honouring me so far to invite me to his table, almost every day
I was in town.
August the 6th. Quebec, the chief city in Canada, lies on the western
shore of the river St. Lawrence, close to the water’s edge, on a neck
of land, bounded by that river on the east side, and by the river St.
Charles on the north side; the mountain, on which the town is built,
rises still higher on the south side, and behind it begin great
pastures; and the same mountain likewise extends a good way westward.
The city is distinguished into the lower and the upper [27]. The lower
lies on the river, eastward of the upper. The neck of land, I mentioned
before, was formed by the dirt and filth, which had from time to time
been accumulated there, and by a rock which lay that way, not by any
gradual diminution of the water. The upper city lies above the other,
on a high hill, and takes up five or six times the space of the lower,
though it is not quite so populous. The mountain, on which the upper
city is situated, reaches above the houses of the lower city.
Notwithstanding the latter are three or four stories high, and the
view, from the palace, of the lower city (part of which is immediately
under it) is enough to cause a swimming of the head. There is only one
easy way of getting to the upper city, and there part of the mountain
has been blown up. This road is very steep, notwithstanding it is made
winding and serpentine. However, they go up and down it in carriages,
and with waggons. All the other roads up the mountain are so steep,
that it is very difficult to climb to the top by them. Most of the
merchants live in the lower city, where the houses are built very close
together. The streets in it are narrow, very rugged, and almost always
wet. There is likewise a church, and a small market-place. The upper
city is inhabited by people of quality, by several persons belonging to
the different offices, by tradesmen, and others. In this part are the
chief buildings of the town, among which the following are worthy
particular notice.
I. The Palace is situated on the west or steepest side of the mountain,
just above the lower city. It is not properly a palace, but a large
building of stone, two stories high, extending north and south. On the
west side of it is a court-yard, surrounded partly with a wall, and
partly with houses. On the east side, or towards the river, is a
gallery as long as the whole building, and about two fathom broad,
paved with smooth flags, and included on the outsides by iron rails,
from whence the city and the river exhibit a charming prospect. This
gallery serves as a very agreeable walk after dinner, and those who
come to speak with the governor-general wait here till he is at
leisure. The palace is the lodging of the governor-general of Canada,
and a number of soldiers mount the guard before it, both at the gate
and in the court-yard; and when the governor, or the bishop, comes in
or goes out, they must all appear in arms, and beat the drum. The
governor-general has his own chapel where he hears prayers; however, he
often goes to mass at the church of the Recollets [28], which is very
near the palace.
II. The Churches in this town are seven or eight in number, and all
built of stone.
1. The Cathedral church is on the right hand, coming from the lower to
the upper city, somewhat beyond the bishop’s house. The people were at
present employed in ornamenting it. On its west side is a round
steeple, with two divisions, in the lower of which are some bells. The
pulpit, and some other parts within the church, are gilt. The seats are
very fine.
2. The Jesuits church is built in the form of a cross, and has a round
steeple. This is the only church that has a clock, and I shall mention
it more particularly below.
3. The Recollets church is opposite the gate of the palace, on the west
side, looks well, and has a pretty high pointed steeple, with a
division below for the bells.
4. The church of the Ursulines has a round spire.
5. The church of the hospital.
6. The bishop’s chapel.
7. The church in the lower city was built in 1690, after the town had
been delivered from the English, and is called Notre Dame de la
Victoire. It has a small steeple in the middle of the roof, square at
the bottom, and round at the top.
8. The little chapel of the governor-general, may likewise be ranked
amongst these churches.
III. The bishop’s house is the first, on the right hand, coming from
the lower to the upper town. It is a fine large building, surrounded by
an extensive court-yard and kitchen-garden on one side, and by a wall
on the other.
IV. The college of the Jesuits, which I will describe more
particularly. It has a much more noble appearance, in regard to its
size and architecture, than the palace itself, and would be proper for
a palace if it had a more advantageous situation. It is about four
times as large as the palace, and is the finest building in town. It
stands on the north side of a market, on the south side of which is the
cathedral.
V. The house of the Recollets lies to the west, near the palace and
directly over against it, and consists of a spacious building, with a
large orchard, and kitchen-garden. The house is two stories high. In
each story is a narrow gallery with rooms and halls on one, or both
sides.
VI. The Hôtel de Dieu, where the sick are taken care of, shall be
described in the sequel. The nuns, that serve the sick, are of the
Augustine order.
VII. The house of the clergy [29] is a large building, on the
north-east side of the cathedral. Here is on one side a spacious court,
and on the other, towards the river, a great orchard, and
kitchen-garden. Of all the buildings in the town none has so fine a
prospect as that in the garden belonging to this house, which lies on
the high shore, and looks a good way down the river. The Jesuits on the
other hand have the worst, and hardly any prospect at all from their
college; nor have the Recollets any fine views from their house. In
this building all the clergy of Quebec lodge with their superior. They
have large pieces of land in several parts of Canada, presented to them
by the government, from which they derive a very plentiful income.
VIII. The convent of the Ursuline nuns shall be mentioned in the
sequel.
These are all the chief public buildings in the town, but to the
north-west, just before the town, is
IX. The house of the intendant, a public building, whose size makes it
fit for a palace. It is covered with tin, and stands in a second lower
town, situated southward upon the river St. Charles. It has a large and
fine garden on its north side. In this house all the deliberations
concerning this province, are held; and the gentlemen who have the
management of the police and the civil power meet here, and the
intendant generally presides. In affairs of great consequence the
governor-general is likewise here. On one side of this house is the
store-house of the crown, and on the other the prison.
Most of the houses in Quebec are built of stone, and in the upper city
they are generally but one story high, the public buildings excepted. I
saw a few wooden houses in the town, but they must not be rebuilt when
decayed. The houses and churches in the city are not built of bricks,
but the black lime-slates of which the mountain consists, whereon
Quebec stands. When these lime-slates are broke at a good depth in the
mountain, they look very compact at first, and appear to have no
shivers, or lamellæ, at all; but after being exposed a while to the
air, they separate into thin leaves. These slates are soft, and easily
cut; and the city-walls, together with the garden-walls, consist
chiefly of them. The roofs of the public buildings are covered with
common slates, which are brought from France, because there are none in
Canada.
The slated roofs have for some years withstood the changes of air and
weather, without suffering any damage. The private houses have roofs of
boards, which are laid parallel to the spars, and sometimes to the
eaves, or sometimes obliquely. The corners of houses are made of a grey
small grained lime-stone, which has a strong smell, like the
stink-stone [30], and the windows are generally enchased with it. This
lime-stone is more useful in those places than the lime-slates, which
always shiver in the air. The outsides of the houses are generally
white-washed. The windows are placed on the inner side of the walls;
for they have sometimes double windows in winter. The middle roof has
two, or at most three spars, covered with boards only. The rooms are
warmed in winter by small iron stoves, which are removed in summer. The
floors are very dirty in every house, and have all the appearance of
being cleaned but once every year.
The Powder magazine stands on the summit of the mountain, on which the
city is built, and southward of the palace.
The streets in the upper city have a sufficient breadth, but are very
rugged, on account of the rock on which it lies; and this renders them
very disagreeable and troublesome, both to foot-passengers and
carriages. The black lime-slates basset out and project every where
into sharp angles, which cut the shoes in pieces. The streets cross
each other at all angles, and are very crooked.
The many great orchards and kitchen-gardens, near the house of the
Jesuits, and other public and private buildings, make the town appear
very large, though the number of houses it contains is not very
considerable. Its extent from south to north is said to be about six
hundred toises, and from the shore of the river along the lower town,
to the western wall between three hundred and fifty, and four hundred
toises. It must be here observed, that this space is not yet wholly
inhabited; for on the west and south side, along the town walls, are
large pieces of land without any buildings on them, and destined to be
built upon in future times, when the number of inhabitants will be
encreased in Quebec.
The bishop, whose see is in the city, is the only bishop in Canada. His
diocese extends to Louisiana, on the Mexican gulf southward, and to the
south-seas westward.
No bishop, the pope excepted, ever had a more extensive diocese. But
his spiritual flock is very inconsiderable at some distance from
Quebec, and his sheep are often many hundred miles distant from each
other.
Quebec is the only sea-port and trading town in all Canada, and from
thence all the produce of the country is exported. The port is below
the town in the river, which is there about a quarter of a French mile
broad, twenty-five fathoms deep, and its ground is very good for
anchoring. The ships are secured from all storms in this port; however,
the north-east wind is the worst, because it can act more powerfully.
When I arrived here, I reckoned thirteen great and small vessels, and
they expected more to come in. But it is to be remarked, that no other
ships than French ones can come into the port, though they may come
from any place in France, and likewise from the French possessions in
the West-Indies. All the foreign goods, which are found in Montreal,
and other parts of Canada, must be taken from hence. The French
merchants from Montreal on their side, after making a six months stay
among several Indian nations, in order to purchase skins of beasts and
furrs, return about the end of August, and go down to Quebec in
September or October, in order to sell their goods there. The privilege
of selling the imported goods, it is said, has vastly enriched the
merchants of Quebec; but this is contradicted by others, who allow that
there are a few in affluent circumstances, but that the generality
possess no more than is absolutely necessary for their bare
subsistence, and that several are very much in debt, which they say is
owing to their luxury and vanity. The merchants dress very finely, and
are extravagant in their repasts; and their ladies are every day in
full dress, and as much adorned as if they were to go to court.
The town is surrounded on almost all sides by a high wall, and
especially towards the land. It was not quite completed when I was
there, and they were very busy in finishing it. It is built of the
above mentioned black lime-slate, and of a dark-grey sand-stone. For
the corners of the gates they have employed a grey lime-stone. They
have not made any walls towards the water side, but nature seems to
have worked for them, by placing a rock there which it is impossible to
ascend. All the rising land thereabouts is likewise so well planted
with cannon, that it seems impossible for an enemy’s ships or boats to
come to the town without running into imminent danger of being sunk. On
the land side the town is likewise guarded by high mountains so that
nature and art have combined to fortify it.
Quebec was founded by its former governor, Samuel de Champlain, in the
year 1608. We are informed by history, that its rise was very slow. In
1629 towards the end of July it was taken by two Englishmen Lewis and
Thomas Kerk, by capitulation, and surrendered to them by the above
mentioned de Champlain. At that time, Canada and Quebec were wholly
destitute of provisions, so that they looked upon the English more as
their deliverers, than their enemies. The abovementioned Kerks, were
the brothers of the English admiral David Kerk, who lay with his fleet
somewhat lower in the river. In the year 1632, the French got the town
of Quebec, and all Canada returned to them by the peace. It is
remarkable, that the French were doubtful whether they should reclaim
Canada from the English or leave it to them. The greater part were of
opinion that to keep it would be of no advantage to France, because the
country was cold; and the expences far exceeded its produce; and
because France could not people so extensive a country without
weakening herself, as Spain had done before. That it was better to keep
the people in France, and employ them in all sorts of manufactures,
which would oblige the other European powers who have colonies in
America to bring their raw goods to French ports, and take French
manufactures in return. Those on the other hand who had more extensive
views knew that the climate was not so rough as it had been
represented. They likewise believed that that which caused the expences
was a fault of the company, because they did not manage the country
well. They would not have many people sent over at once, but little by
little, so that France might not feel it. They hoped that this colony
would in future times make France powerful, for its inhabitants would
become more and more acquainted with the herring, whale, and cod
fisheries, and likewise with the taking of seals; and that by this
means Canada would become a school for training up seamen. They further
mentioned the several forts of furrs, the conversion of the Indians,
the ship-building, and the various uses of the extensive woods. And
lastly that it would be a considerable advantage to France, even though
they should reap no other benefit, to hinder by this means the progress
of the English in America, and of their encreasing power, which would
otherwise become insupportable to France; not to mention several other
reasons. Time has shewn that these reasons were the result of mature
judgment, and that they laid the foundation to the rise of France. It
were to be wished that we had been of the same opinion in Sweden, at a
time when we were actually in possession of New Sweden, the finest and
best province in all North America, or when we were yet in a condition
to get the possession of it. Wisdom and foresight does not only look
upon the present times, but even extends its views to futurity.
In the year 1663 at the beginning of February, the great earthquake was
felt in Quebec and a great part of Canada, and there are still some
vestiges of its effects at that time; however, no lives were lost.
On the 16th of October 1690, Quebec was besieged by the English general
William Phips, who was obliged to retire a few days after with great
loss. The English have tried several times to repair their losses, but
the river St. Lawrence has always been a very good defence for this
country. An enemy, and one that is not acquainted with this river,
cannot go upwards in it, without being ruined; for in the neighbourhood
of Quebec, it abounds with hidden rocks, and has strong currents in
some places, which oblige the ships to make many windings.
The name of Quebec it is said is derived from a Norman word, on account
of its situation on a neck or point of land. For when one comes up in
the river by l’Isle d’Orleans, that part of the river St. Lawrence does
not come in sight, which lies above the town, and it appears as if the
river St. Charles which lies just before, was a continuation of the St.
Lawrence. But on advancing further the true course of the river comes
within sight, and has at first a great similarity to the mouth of a
river or a great bay. This has given occasion to a sailor, who saw it
unexpectedly, to cry out in his provincial dialect Que bec [31], that
is, what a point of land! and from hence it is thought the city
obtained its name. Others derive it from the Algonkin word Quebego or
Quebec signifying that which grows narrow, because the river becomes
narrower as it comes nearer to the town.
The river St. Lawrence, is exactly a quarter of a French mile, or three
quarters of an English mile broad at Quebec. The salt water never comes
up to the town in it, and therefore the inhabitants can make use of the
water in the river for their kitchens, &c. All accounts agree that
notwithstanding the breadth of this river, and the violence of its
course, especially during ebb, it is covered with ice during the whole
winter, which is strong enough for walking, and a carriage may go over
it. It is said to happen frequently that, when the river has been open
in May, there are such cold nights in this month, that it freezes
again, and will bear walking over. This is a clear proof of the
intenseness of the frost here, especially when one considers that which
I shall mention immediately after, about the ebbing and flowing of the
tide in this river. The greatest breadth of the river at its mouth, is
computed to be twenty-six French miles or seventy-eight English miles,
though the boundary between the sea, and the river cannot well be
ascertained as the latter gradually looses itself in, and unites with
the former. The greatest part of the water contained in the numerous
lakes of Canada, four or five of which are like large seas, is forced
to disembogue into the sea by means of this river alone. The navigation
up this river from the sea is rendered very dangerous by the strength
of the current, and by the number of sand-banks, which often arise in
places where they never were before. The English have experienced this
formation of new sands once or twice, when they intend to conquer
Canada. Hence the French have good reasons to look upon the river as a
barrier to Canada [32].
The tide goes far beyond Quebec in the river St. Lawrence, as I have
mentioned above. The difference between high and low water is generally
between fifteen and sixteen feet, French measure; but with the new and
full moon, and when the wind is likewise favourable, the difference is
seventeen or eighteen feet, which is indeed very considerable.
August the 7th. Ginseng is the current French name in Canada, of a
plant, the root of which, has a very great value in China [33]. It has
been growing since times immemorial in the Chinese Tartary and in
Corea, where it is annually collected and brought to China. Father Du
Halde says, it is the most precious, and the most useful of all the
plants in eastern Tartary, and attracts, every year, a number of people
into the deserts of that country. The Mantechoux-Tartars call it
Orhota, that is the most noble, or the queen of plants [34]. The
Tartars and Chinese praise it very much, and ascribe to it the power of
curing several dangerous diseases, and that of restoring to the body
new strength, and supplying the loss caused by the exertion of the
mental, and corporeal faculties. An ounce of Ginseng bears the
surprizing price of seven or eight ounces of silver at Peking. When the
French botanists in Canada first saw a figure of it, they remembered to
have seen a similar plant in this country. They were confirmed in their
conjecture by considering that several settlements in Canada, ly under
the same latitude with those parts of the Chinese Tartary, and China,
where the true Ginseng grows wild. They succeeded in their attempt, and
found the same Ginseng wild and abundant in several parts of
North-America, both in French and English plantations, in plain parts
of the woods. It is fond of shade, and of a deep rich mould, and of
land which is neither wet nor high. It is not every where very common,
for sometimes one may search the woods for the space of several miles
without finding a single plant of it; but in those spots where it grows
it is always found in great abundance. It flowers in May and June, and
its berries are ripe at the end of August. It bears transplanting very
well, and will soon thrive in its new ground. Some people here, who
have gathered the berries, and put them into their kitchen gardens,
told me that they lay one or two years in the ground without coming up.
The Iroquese, or Five (Six) Nations, call the Ginseng roots
Garangtoging, which it is said signifies a child, the roots bearing a
faint resemblance to it: but others are of opinion that they mean the
thigh and leg by it, and the roots look pretty like it. The French use
this root for curing the asthma, as a stomachic, and to promote
fertility in woman. The trade which is carried on with it here is very
brisk; for they gather great quantities of it, and send them to France,
from whence they are brought to China, and sold there to great
advantage [35]. It is said the merchants in France met with amazing
success in this trade at the first outset, but by continuing to send
the Ginseng over to China, its price is fallen considerably there, and
consequently in France and Canada; however, they still find their
account in it. In the summer of 1748, a pound of Ginseng was sold for
six Francs, or Livres, at Quebec; but its common price here is one
hundred Sols, or five Livres. During my stay in Canada, all the
merchants at Quebec and Montreal, received orders from their
correspondents in France to send over a quantity of Ginseng, there
being an uncommon demand for it this summer. The roots were accordingly
collected in Canada with all possible diligence; the Indians especially
travelled about the country in order to collect as much as they could
together, and to sell it to the merchants at Montreal. The Indians in
the neighbourhood of this town were likewise so much taken up with this
business, that the French farmers were not able during that time to
hire a single Indian, as they commonly do, to help them in the harvest.
Many people feared lest by continuing for several successive years, to
collect these plants without leaving one or two in each place to
propagate their species, there would soon be very few of them left;
which I think is very likely to happen, for by all accounts they
formerly grew in abundance round Montreal, but at present there is not
a single plant of it to be found, so effectually have they been rooted
out. This obliged the Indians this summer to go far within the English
boundaries to collect these roots. After the Indians have sold the
fresh roots to the merchants, the latter must take a great deal of
pains with them. They are spread on the floor to dry, which commonly
requires two months and upwards, according as the season is wet or dry.
During that time they must be turned once or twice every day, lest they
should putrify or moulder. Ginseng has never been found far north of
Montreal. The superior of the clergy, here and several other people,
assured me that the Chinese value the Canada Ginseng as much as the
Tartarian [36]; and that no one ever had been entirely acquainted with
the Chinese method of preparing it. However it is thought that amongst
other preparations they dip the roots in a decoction of the leaves of
Ginseng. The roots prepared by the Chinese are almost transparent, and
look like horn in the inside; and the roots which are fit for use, must
be heavy and compact in the inside.
The plant which throughout Canada bears the name of Herba capillaris is
likewise one of those with which a great trade is carried on in Canada.
The English in their plantations call it Maiden-hair; it grows in all
their North-American colonies, which I travelled through, and likewise
in the southern parts of Canada; but I never found it near Quebec. It
grows in the woods in shady places and in a good soil [37]. Several
people in Albany and Canada, assured me that its leaves were very much
used instead of tea, in consumptions, coughs, and all kinds of pectoral
diseases. This they have learnt from the Indians, who have made use of
this plant for these purposes since times immemorial. This American
maiden-hair is reckoned preferable in surgery to that which we have in
Europe [38]; and therefore they send a great quantity of it to France,
every year. The price is different, and regulated according to the
goodness of the plant, the care in preparing it, and the quantity which
is to be got. For if it be brought to Quebec in great abundance, the
price falls; and on the contrary it rises, when the quantity gathered
is but small. Commonly the price at Quebec is between five and fifteen
sols a pound. The Indians went into the woods about this time, and
travelled far above Montreal in quest of this plant.
The Kitchen herbs, succeed very well here. The white cabbage is very
fine, but sometimes suffers greatly from worms. Onions (Allium cepa)
are very much in use here, together with other species of leeks. They
likewise plant several species of gourds, melons, sallads, wild succory
or wild endive (Cichorium Intybus), several kinds of pease, beans,
French beans, carrots, and cucumbers. They have plenty of red beets,
horseradishes and common raddishes, thyme, and marjoram. Turneps are
sown in abundance, and used chiefly in winter. Parsneps are sometimes
eaten, though not very common. Few people took notice of potatoes; and
neither the common (Solanum tuberosum) nor the Bermuda ones
(Convolvulus Batatas) were planted in Canada. When the French here are
asked why they do not plant potatoes, they answer that they cannot find
any relish in them, and they laugh at the English who are so fond of
them. Throughout all North-America the root cabbage [39] (Brassica
gongylodes, Linn.) is unknown to the Swedes, English, Dutch, Irish,
Germans, and French. Those who have been employed in sowing and
planting kitchen herbs in Canada, and have had some experience in
gardening, told me that they were obliged to send for fresh seeds from
France every year, because they commonly loose their strength here in
the third generation, and do not produce such plants as would equal the
original ones in taste and goodness.
The Europeans have never been able to find any characters, much less
writings, of books, among the Indians, who have inhabited North-America
since time immemorial, and seem to be all of one nation, and speak the
same language. These Indians have therefore lived in the greatest
ignorance and darkness, during some centuries, and are totally
unacquainted with the state of their country before the arrival of the
Europeans, and all their knowledge of it consists in vague traditions,
and mere fables. It is not certain whether any other nations possessed
America, before the present Indian inhabitants came into it, or whether
any other nations visited this part of the globe, before Columbus
discovered it. It is equally unknown, whether the Christian religion
was ever preached here in former times. I conversed with several
Jesuits, who undertook long journies in this extensive country, and
asked them, whether they had met with any marks that there had formerly
been some Christians among the Indians which lived here? but they all
answered, they had not found any. The Indians have ever been as
ignorant of architecture and manual labour, as of science and writing.
In vain does one seek for well built towns and houses, artificial
fortifications, high towers and pillars, and such like, among them,
which the old world can shew, from the most antient times. Their
dwelling-places are wretched huts of bark, exposed on all sides to
wind, and rain. All their masonry-work consists in placing a few grey
rock-stones on the ground, round their fire-place, to prevent the
firebrands from spreading too far in their hut, or rather to mark out
the space intended for the fire-place in it. Travellers do not enjoy a
tenth part of the pleasure in traversing these countries, which they
must receive on their journies through our old countries, where they,
almost every day, meet with some vestige or other of antiquity: now an
antient celebrated town presents itself to view; here the remains of an
old castle; there a field where, many centuries ago, the most powerful,
and the most skilful generals, and the greatest kings, fought a bloody
battle; now the native spot and residence of some great or learned man.
In such places the mind is delighted in various ways, and represents
all past occurrences in living colours to itself. We can enjoy none of
these pleasures in America. The history of the country can be traced no
further, than from the arrival of the Europeans; for every thing that
happened before that period, is more like a fiction or a dream, than
any thing that really happened. In later times there have, however,
been found a few marks of antiquity, from which it may be conjectured,
that North-America was formerly inhabited by a nation more versed in
science, and more civilized, than that which the Europeans found on
their arrival here; or that a great military expedition was undertaken
to this continent, from these known parts of the world.
This is confirmed by an account, which I received from Mr. de
Verandrier, who has commanded the expedition to the south-sea in
person, of which I shall presently give an account. I have heard it
repeated by others, who have been eye-witnesses of every thing that
happened on that occasion. Some years before I came into Canada, the
then governor-general, Chevalier de Beauharnois, gave Mr. de Verandrier
an order to go from Canada, with a number of people, on an expedition
across North-America to the south-sea, in order to examine, how far
those two places are distant from each other, and to find out, what
advantages might accrue to Canada, or Louisiana, from a communication
with that ocean. They set out on horseback from Montreal, and went as
much due west as they could, on account of the lakes, rivers, and
mountains, which fell in their way. As they came far into the country,
beyond many nations, they sometimes met with large tracts of land, free
from wood, but covered with a kind of very tall grass, for the space of
some days journey. Many of these fields were every where covered with
furrows, as if they had been ploughed and sown formerly. It is to be
observed, that the nations, which now inhabit North-America, could not
cultivate the land in this manner, because they never made use of
horses, oxen, ploughs, or any instruments of husbandry, nor had they
ever seen a plough before the Europeans came to them. In two or three
places, at a considerable distance from each other, our travellers met
with impressions of the feet of grown people and children, in a rock;
but this seems to have been no more than a Lusus Naturæ. When they came
far to the west, where, to the best of their knowledge, no Frenchmen,
or European, had ever been, they found in one place in the woods, and
again on a large plain, great pillars of stone, leaning upon each
other. The pillars consisted of one single stone each, and the
Frenchmen could not but suppose, that they had been erected by human
hands. Sometimes they have found such stones laid upon one another,
and, as it were, formed into a wall. In some of those places where they
found such stones, they could not find any other sorts of stones. They
have not been able to discover any characters, or writing, upon any of
these stones, though they have made a very careful search after them.
At last they met with a large stone, like a pillar, and in it a smaller
stone was fixed, which was covered on both sides with unknown
characters. This stone, which was about a foot of French measure in
length, and between four or five inches broad, they broke loose, and
carried to Canada with them, from whence it was sent to France, to the
secretary of state, the count of Maurepas. What became of it afterwards
is unknown to them, but they think it is yet preserved in his
collection. Several of the Jesuits, who have seen and handled this
stone in Canada, unanimously affirm, that the letters on it, are the
same with those which in the books, containing accounts of Tataria, are
called Tatarian characters [40], and that, on comparing both together,
they found them perfectly alike. Notwithstanding the questions which
the French on the south-sea expedition asked the people there,
concerning the time when, and by whom those pillars were erected? what
their traditions and sentiments concerning them were? who had wrote the
characters? what was meant by them? what kind of letters they were? in
what language they were written? and other circumstances; yet they
could never get the least explication, the Indians being as ignorant of
all those things, as the French themselves. All they could say was,
that these stones had been in those places, since times immemorial. The
places where the pillars flood were near nine hundred French miles
westward of Montreal. The chief intention of this journey, viz. to come
to the south-sea, and to examine its distance from Canada, was never
attained on this occasion. For the people sent out for that purpose,
were induced to take part in a war between some of the most distant
Indian nations, in which some of the French were taken prisoners, and
the rest obliged to return. Among the last and most westerly Indians
they were with, they heard that the south-sea was but a few days
journey off; that they (the Indians) often traded with the Spaniards on
that coast, and sometimes likewise they went to Hudson’s Bay, to trade
with the English. Some of these Indians had houses, which were made of
earth. Many nations had never seen any Frenchmen; they were commonly
clad in skins, but many were quite naked.
All those who had made long journies in Canada to the south, but
chiefly westward, agreed that there were many great plains destitute of
trees, where the land was furrowed, as if it had been ploughed. In what
manner this happened, no one knows; for the corn-fields of a great
village, or town, of the Indians, are scarce above four or six of our
acres in extent; whereas those furrowed plains sometimes continue for
several days journey, except now and then a small smooth spot, and here
and there some rising grounds.
I could not hear of any more vestiges of antiquity in Canada,
notwithstanding my careful enquiries after them. In the continuation of
my journey, for the year 1750 [41], I shall find an opportunity of
speaking of two other remarkable curiosities. Our Swedish Mr. George
Westmann, A. M. has clearly, and circumstantially shewn, that our
Scandinavians, chiefly the northern ones, long before Columbus’s time,
have undertaken voyages to North-America; see his dissertation on that
subject, which he read at Abo in 1747, for obtaining his degree.
August the 8th. This morning I visited the largest nunnery in Quebec.
Men are prohibited from visiting under very heavy punishments; except
in some rooms, divided by iron rails, where the men and women, that do
not belong to the convent, stand without, and the nuns within the
rails, and converse with each other. But to encrease the many favours
which the French nation heaped upon me, as a Swede, the
governor-general got the bishop’s leave for me to enter the convent,
and see its construction. The bishop alone has the power of granting
this favour, but he does it very sparingly. The royal physician, and a
surgeon, are however at liberty to go in as often as they think proper.
Mr. Gaulthier, a man of great knowledge in physic and botany, was at
present the royal physician here, and accompanied me to the convent. We
first saw the hospital, which I shall presently describe, and then
entered the convent, which forms a part of the hospital. It is a great
building of stone, three stories high, divided in the inside into long
galleries, on both sides of which are cells, halls, and rooms. The
cells of the nuns are in the highest story, on both sides of the
gallery; they are but small; not painted in the inside, but hung with
paper pictures of saints, and of our Saviour on the cross. A bed with
curtains, and good bed-clothes, a little narrow desk, and a chair or
two, is the whole furniture of a cell. They have no fires in winter,
and the nuns are forced to ly in the cold cells. On the gallery is a
stove, which is heated in winter, and as all the rooms are left open,
some warmth can by this means come into them. In the middle story are
the rooms where they pass the day together. One of these is the room,
where they are at work; this is large, finely painted and adorned, and
has an iron stove. Here they were at their needle-work, embroidering,
gilding, and making flowers of silk, which bear a great similarity to
the natural ones. In a word, they were all employed in such nice works,
as were suitable to ladies of their rank in life. In another hall they
assemble to hold their juntos. Another apartment contains those who are
indisposed; but such as are more dangerously ill, have rooms to
themselves. The novices, and new comers, are taught and instructed in
another hall. Another is destined for their refectory, or dining-room,
in which are tables on all sides; on one side of it is a small desk, on
which is laid a French book, concerning the life of those saints who
are mentioned in the New Testament. When they dine, all are silent; one
of the eldest gets into the desk, and reads a part of the book before
mentioned; and when they are gone through it, they read some other
religious book. During the meal, they sit on that side of the table,
which is turned towards the wall. Almost in every room is a gilt table,
on which are placed candles, together with the picture of our Saviour
on the cross, and of some saints: before these tables they say their
prayers. On one side is the church, and near it a large gallery,
divided from the church by rails, so that the nuns could only look into
it. In this gallery they remain during divine service, and the
clergyman is in the church, where the nuns reach him his sacerdotal
clothes through a hole, for they are not allowed to go into the vestry,
and to be in the same room with the priest. There are still several
other rooms and halls here, the use of which I do not remember. The
lowest story contains a kitchen, bake-house, several butteries, &c. In
the garrets they keep their corn, and dry their linen. In the middle
story is a balcony on the outside, almost round the whole building,
where the nuns are allowed to take air. The prospect from the convent
is very fine on every side; the river, the fields, and the meadows out
of town, appear there to great advantage. On one side of the convent is
a large garden, in which the nuns are at liberty to walk about; it
belongs to the convent, and is surrounded with a high wall. There is a
quantity of all sorts of fruits in it. This convent, they say, contains
about fifty nuns, most of them advanced in years, scarce any being
under forty years of age. At this time there were two young ladies
among them, who were instructed in those things, which belong to the
knowledge of nuns. They are not allowed to become nuns immediately
after their entrance, but must pass through a noviciate of two or three
years, in order to try, whether they will be constant. For during that
time it is in their power to leave the convent, if a monastic life does
not suit their inclinations. But as soon as they are received among the
nuns, and have made their vows, they are obliged to continue their
whole life in it: if they appear willing to change their mode of life,
they are locked up in a room, from whence they can never get out. The
nuns of this convent never go further from it, than to the hospital,
which lies near it, and even makes a part of it. They go there to
attend the sick, and to take care of them. I was told by several people
here, some of which were ladies, that none of the nuns went into a
convent, till she had attained to an age in which she had small hopes
of ever getting a husband. The nuns of all the three convents in Quebec
looked very old, by which it seems, that there is some foundation for
this account. All agree here, that the men are much less numerous in
Canada, than the women; for the men die on their voyages; many go to
the West-Indies, and either settle, or die, there; many are killed in
battles, &c. Hence there seems to be a necessity of some women going
into convents.
The hospital, as I have before mentioned, makes a part of the convent.
It consists of two large halls, and some rooms near the apothecary’s
shop. In the halls are two rows of beds on each side, within each
other. The beds next to the wall are furnished with curtains, the
outward ones are without them. In each bed are fine bed-clothes, with
clean double sheets. As soon as a sick person has left his bed, it is
made again, in order to keep the hospital in cleanliness, and order.
The beds are two or three yards distant, and near each is a small
table. There are good iron stoves, and fine windows in this hall. The
nuns attend the sick people, and bring them meat, and other
necessaries. Besides them there are some men who attend, and a surgeon.
The royal physician is likewise obliged to come hither, once or twice
every day, look after every thing, and give prescriptions. They
commonly receive sick soldiers into this hospital, who are very
numerous in July and August, when the king’s ships arrive, and in time
of war. But at other times, when no great number of soldiers are sick,
other poor people can take their places, as far as the number of empty
beds will reach. The king finds every thing here that is requisite for
the sick persons, viz. provisions, medicines, fewel, &c. Those who are
very ill, are put into separate rooms, in order that the noise in the
great hall may not be troublesome to them.
The civility of the inhabitants here is more refined than that of the
Dutch and English, in the settlements belonging to Great Britain; but
the latter, on the other hand, do not idle their time away in dressing,
as the French do here. The ladies, especially, dress and powder their
hair every day, and put their locks in papers every night; which idle
custom was not introduced in the English settlements. The gentlemen
wear generally their own hair; but some have wigs. People of rank are
used to wear laced cloaths, and all the crown-officers wear swords. All
the gentlemen, even those of rank, the governor-general excepted, when
they go into town on a day that looks likely for rain, carry their
cloaks on their left arm. Acquaintances of either sex, who have not
seen each other for some time, on meeting again salute with mutual
kisses.
The plants which I have collected in Canada, and which I have partly
described, I pass over as I have done before, that I may not tire the
patience of my readers by a tedious enumeration. If I should crowd my
journal with my daily botanical observations, and descriptions of
animals, birds, insects, ores, and the like curiosities, it would be
swelled to six or ten times its present size [42]. I therefore spare
all these things, consisting chiefly of dry descriptions of natural
curiosities, for a Flora Canadensis, and other such like things. The
same I must say in regard to the observations I have made in physic. I
have carefully collected all I could on this journey, concerning the
medicinal use of the American plants, and the simples, some of which
they reckon infallible [43], in more than one place. But physic not
being my principal study (though from my youth I always was fond of it)
I may probably have omitted remarkable circumstances in my accounts of
medicines and simples, though one cannot be too accurate in such cases.
The physicians would therefore reap little or no benefit from such
remarks, or at least they would not find them as they ought to be. This
will excuse me for avoiding, as much as possible, to mention such
things as belong to physic, and are above my knowledge. Concerning the
Canada plants, I can here add, that the further you go northward, the
more you find the plants are the same with the Swedish ones: thus, on
the north side of Quebec, a fourth part of the plants, if not more, are
the same with the spontaneous plants in Sweden. A few plants and trees,
which have a particular quality, or are applied to some particular use,
shall, however, be mentioned in a few words, in the sequel.
The Rein-deer Moss (Lichen rangiferinus) grows plentiful in the woods
round Quebec. M. Gaulthier, and several other gentlemen, told me, that
the French, on their long journies through the woods, on account of
their fur trade with the Indians, sometimes boil this moss, and drink
the decoction, for want of better food, when their provisions are at an
end; and they say it is very nutritive. Several Frenchmen, who have
been in the Terra Labrador, where there are many rein-deer (which the
French and Indians here call Cariboux) related, that all the land there
is in most places covered with this rein-deer moss, so that the ground
looks as white as snow.
August the 10th. This day I dined with the Jesuits. A few days before,
I paid my visit to them; and the next day their president, and another
father Jesuit, called on me, to invite me to dine with them to-day. I
attended divine service in their church, which is a part of their
house. It is very fine within, though it has no seats; for every one is
obliged to kneel down during the service. Above the church is a small
steeple, with a clock. The building the Jesuits live in is
magnificently built, and looks exceeding fine, both without and within;
which gives it a similarity to a fine palace. It consists of stone, is
three stories high, exclusive of the garret, covered with slates, and
built in a square form, like the new palace at Stockholm, including a
large court. Its size is such, that three hundred families would find
room enough in it; though at present there were not above twenty
Jesuits in it. Sometimes there is a much greater number of them,
especially when those return, who have been sent as missionaries into
the country. There is a long walk along all the sides of the square, in
every story, on both sides of which are either cells, halls, or other
apartments for the friars; and likewise their library, apothecary-shop,
&c. Every thing is very well regulated, and the Jesuits are very well
accommodated here. On the outside is their college, which is on two
sides surrounded with great orchards and kitchen-gardens, in which they
have fine walks. A part of the trees here, are the remains of the
forest which stood here when the French began to build this town. They
have besides planted a number of fruit-trees; and the garden is stocked
with all sorts of plants for the use of the kitchen. The Jesuits dine
together in a great hall. There are tables placed all round it along
the walls, and seats between the tables and the walls, but not on the
other side. Near one wall is a pulpit, upon which one of the fathers
gets during the meal, in order to read some religious book; but this
day it was omitted, all the time being employed in conversation. They
dine very well, and their dishes are as numerous as at the greatest
feasts. In this spacious building you do not see a single woman; all
are fathers, or brothers; the latter of which are young men, brought up
to be Jesuits. They prepare the meal, and bring it upon table; for the
common servants are not admitted.
Besides the bishop, there are three kinds of clergymen in Canada; viz.
Jesuits, priests, and recollets. The Jesuits are, without doubt, the
most considerable; therefore they commonly say here, by way of proverb,
that a hatchet is sufficient to sketch out a recollet; a priest cannot
be made without a chissel; but a Jesuit absolutely requires the pencil
[44]; to shew how much one surpasses the others. The Jesuits are
commonly very learned, studious, and are very civil and agreeable in
company. In their whole deportment there is something pleasing; it is
no wonder therefore that they captivate the minds of people. They
seldom speak of religious matters; and if it happens, they generally
avoid disputes. They are very ready to do any one a service; and when
they see that their assistance is wanted, they hardly give one time to
speak of it, falling to work immediately, to bring about what is
required of them. Their conversation is very entertaining and learned,
so that one cannot be tired of their company. Among all the Jesuits I
have conversed with in Canada, I have not found one who was not
possessed of these qualities in a very eminent degree. They have large
possessions in this country, which the French king gave them. At
Montreal they have likewise a fine church, and a little neat house,
with a small but pretty garden within. They do not care to become
preachers to a congregation in the town and country; but leave these
places, together with the emoluments arising from them, to the priests.
All their business here is to convert the heathens; and with that view
their missionaries are scattered over every part of this country. Near
every town and village, peopled by converted Indians, are one or two
Jesuits, who take great care that they may not return to paganism, but
live as Christians ought to do. Thus there are Jesuits with the
converted Indians in Tadoussac, Lorette, Becancourt, St. François,
Sault St. Louis, and all over Canada. There are likewise Jesuit
missionaries with those who are not converted; so that there is
commonly a Jesuit in every village belonging to the Indians, whom he
endeavours on all occasions to convert. In winter he goes on their
great hunts, where he is frequently obliged to suffer all imaginable
inconveniencies; such as walking in the snow all day; lying in the open
air all winter; being out both in good and bad weather, the Indians not
regarding any kind of weather; lying in the Indian huts, which often
swarm with fleas and other vermin, &c. The Jesuits undergo all these
hardships for the sake of converting the Indians, and likewise for
political reasons. The Jesuits are of great use to their king; for they
are frequently able to persuade the Indians to break their treaty with
the English, to make war upon them, to bring their furs to the French,
and not to permit the English to come amongst them. But there is some
danger attending these attempts; for when the Indians are in liquor,
they sometimes kill the missionaries who live with them; calling them
spies, or excusing themselves by saying that the brandy had killed
them. These are accordingly the chief occupations of the Jesuits here.
They do not go to visit the sick in the town, they do not hear the
confessions, and attend at no funerals. I have never seen them go in
processions in remembrance of the Virgin Mary, and other saints. They
seldom go into a house in order to get meat; and though they be
invited, they do not like to stay, except they be on a journey. Every
body sees, that they are, as it were, selected from the other people,
on account of their superior genius and qualities. They are here
reckoned a most cunning set of people, who generally succeed in their
undertakings, and surpass all others in acuteness of understanding. I
have therefore several times observed that they have enemies in Canada.
They never receive any others into their society, but persons of very
promising parts; so that there are no blockheads among them. On the
other hand, the priests receive the best kind of people among their
order they can meet with; and in the choice of monks, they are yet less
careful. The Jesuits who live here, are all come from France; and many
of them return thither again, after a stay of a few years here. Some
(five or six of which are yet alive) who were born in Canada, went over
to France, and were received among the Jesuits there; but none of them
ever came back to Canada. I know not what political reason hindered
them. During my stay in Quebec, one of the priests, with the bishop’s
leave, gave up his priesthood, and became a Jesuit. The other priests
were very ill pleased with this, because it seemed as if he looked upon
their condition as too mean for himself. Those congregations in the
country that pay rents to the Jesuits, have, however, divine service
performed by priests, who are appointed by the bishop; and the
land-rent only belongs to the Jesuits. Neither the priests nor the
Jesuits carry on any trade with furs and skins, leaving that entirely
to the merchants.
This afternoon I visited the building called the Seminary, where all
the priests live in common. They have a great house, built of stone,
with walks in it, and rooms on each side. It is several stories high,
and close to it is a fine garden, full of all sorts of fruit-trees and
pot-herbs, and divided by walks. The prospect from hence is the finest
in Quebec. The priests of the seminary are not much inferior to the
Jesuits in civility; and therefore I spent my time very agreeably in
their company.
The priests are the second and most numerous class of the clergy in
this country; for most of the churches, both in towns and villages (the
Indian converts excepted) are served by priests. A few of them are
likewise missionaries. In Canada are two seminaries; one in Quebec, the
other in Montreal. The priests of the seminary in Montreal are of the
order of St. Sulpitius, and supply only the congregation on the isle of
Montreal, and the town of the same name. At all the other churches in
Canada, the priests belonging to the Quebec seminary officiate. The
former, or those of the order of St. Sulpitius, all come from France;
and I was assured that they never suffer a native of Canada to come
among them. In the seminary at Quebec, the natives of Canada make the
greater part. In order to fit the children of this country for orders,
there are schools at Quebec and St. Joachim; where the youths are
taught Latin, and instructed in the knowledge of those things and
sciences, which have a more immediate connexion with the business they
are intended for. However, they are not very nice in their choice; and
people of a middling capacity are often received among them. They do
not seem to have made great progress in Latin; for notwithstanding the
service is read in that language, and they read their Latin Breviary,
and other books, every day, yet most of them found it very difficult to
speak it. All the priests in the Quebec seminary are consecrated by the
bishop. Both the seminaries have got great revenues from the king; that
in Quebec has above thirty thousand livres. All the country on the west
side of the river St. Lawrence, from the town of Quebec to bay St.
Paul, belongs to this seminary, besides their other possessions in the
country. They lease the land to the settlers for a certain rent, which,
if it be annually paid according to their agreement, the children or
heirs of the settlers may remain in an undisturbed possession of the
lands. A piece of land, three arpens [45] broad, and thirty, forty, or
fifty arpens long, pays annually an ecu [46], and a couple of chickens,
or some other additional trifle. In such places as have convenient
water-falls, they have built water-mills, or saw-mills, from which they
annually get considerable sums. The seminary of Montreal possesses the
whole ground on which that town stands, together with the whole isle of
Montreal. I have been assured, that the ground-rent of the town and
isle is computed at seventy thousand livres; besides what they get for
saying masses, baptizing, holding confessions, attending at marriages
and funerals, &c. All the revenues of ground-rent belong to the
seminaries alone, and the priests in the country have no share in them.
But as the seminary in Montreal, consisting only of sixteen priests,
has greater revenues than it can expend, a large sum of money is
annually sent over to France, to the chief seminary there. The
land-rents belonging to the Quebec seminary are employed for the use of
the priests in it, and for the maintenance of a number of young people,
who are brought up to take orders. The priests who live in the country
parishes, get the tythe from their congregation, together with the
perquisites on visiting the sick, &c. In small congregations, the king
gives the priests an additional sum. When a priest in the country grows
old, and has done good services, he is sometimes allowed to come into
the seminary in town. The seminaries are allowed to place the priests
on their own estates; but the other places are in the gift of the
bishop.
The recollets are the third class of clergymen in Canada. They have a
fine large dwelling house here, and a fine church, where they
officiate. Near it is a large and fine garden, which they cultivate
with great application. In Montreal, and Trois Rivieres, they are
lodged almost in the same manner as here. They do not endeavour to
choose cunning fellows amongst them, but take all they can get. They do
not torment their brains with much learning; and I have been assured,
that after they have put on their monastic habit, they do not study to
increase their knowledge, but forget even what little they knew before.
At night they generally ly on mats, or some other hard matrasses;
however, I have sometimes seen good beds in the cells of some of them.
They have no possessions here, having made vows of poverty, and live
chiefly on the alms which people give them. To this purpose, the young
monks, or brothers, go into the houses with a bag, and beg what they
want. They have no congregations in the country, but sometimes they go
among the Indians as missionaries. In each fort, which contains forty
men, the king keeps one of these monks, instead of a priest, who
officiates there. The king gives him lodging, provisions, servants, and
all he wants; besides two hundred livres a year. Half of it he sends to
the community he belongs to; the other half he reserves for his own
use. On board the king’s ships are generally no other priests than
these friars, who are therefore looked upon as people belonging to the
king. When one of the chief priests [47] in the country dies, and his
place cannot immediately be filled up, they send one of these friars
there, to officiate whilst the place is vacant. Part of these monks
come over from France, and part are natives of Canada. There are no
other monks in Canada besides these, except now and then one of the
order of St. Austin or some other, who comes with one of the king’s
ships, but goes off with it again.
August the 11th. This morning I took a walk out of town, with the royal
physician M. Gaulthier, in order to collect plants, and to see a
nunnery at some distance from Quebec. This monastery which is built
very magnificently of stone, lies in a pleasant spot, surrounded with
corn-fields, meadows, and woods, from whence Quebec and the river St.
Lawrence may be seen; a hospital for poor old people, cripples, &c.
makes part of the monastery, and is divided into two halls, one for
men, the other for women. The nuns attend both sexes, with this
difference however, that they only prepare the meal for the men and
bring it in to them, give them physick, and take the cloth away when
they have eaten, leaving the rest for male servants. But in the hall
where the women are, they do all the work that is to be done. The
regulation in the hospital was the same as in that at Quebec. To shew
me a particular favour, the bishop, at the desire of the Marquis la
Galissonniere, governor-general of Canada, granted me leave to see this
nunnery likewise, where no man is allowed to enter, without his leave,
which is an honour he seldom confers on any body. The abbess led me and
M. Gaulthier through all the apartments, accompanied by a great number
of nuns. Most of the nuns here are of noble families and one was the
daughter of a governor. Many of them are old, but there are likewise
some very young ones among them, who looked very well. They seemed all
to be more polite than those in the other nunnery. Their rooms are the
same as in the last place, except some additional furniture in their
cells; the beds are hung with blue curtains; there are a couple of
small bureaux, a table between them and some pictures on the walls.
There are however no stoves in any cell. But those halls and rooms, in
which they are assembled together, and in which the sick ones ly, are
supplied with an iron stove. The number of nuns is indeterminate here,
and I saw a great number of them. Here are likewise some probationers
preparing for their reception among the nuns. A number of little girls
are sent hither by their parents, to be instructed by the nuns in the
principles of the christian religion, and in all sorts of ladies work.
The convent at a distance looks like a palace, and, as I am told, was
founded by a bishop, who they say is buried in a part of the church.
We botanized till dinner-time in the neighbouring meadows, and then
returned to the convent to dine with a venerable old father recollet,
who officiated here as a priest. The dishes were all prepared by nuns,
and as numerous and various as on the tables of great men. There were
likewise several sorts of wine, and many preserves. The revenues of
this monastery are said to be considerable. At the top of the building
is a small steeple with a bell. Considering the large tracts of land
which the king has given in Canada to convents, Jesuits, priests, and
several families of rank, it seems he has very little left for himself.
Our common rasp-berries, are so plentiful here on the hills, near
corn-fields, rivers and brooks, that the branches look quite red on
account of the number of berries on them. They are ripe about this
time, and eaten as a desert after dinner, both fresh and preserved.
The Mountain Ash, or Sorb-tree [48] is pretty common in the woods
hereabouts.
They reckon the north-east wind the most piercing of all, here. Many of
the best people here, assured me, that this wind when it is very
violent in winter, pierces through walls of a moderate thickness, so
that the whole wall on the inside of the house is covered with snow, or
a thick hoar frost; and that a candle placed near a thinner wall is
almost blown out by the wind which continually comes through. This wind
damages the houses which are built of stone, and forces the owners to
repair them very frequently on the north-east side. The north and
north-east winds are likewise reckoned very cold here. In summer the
north wind is generally attended with rain.
The difference of climate between Quebec and Montreal is on all hands
allowed to be very great. The wind and weather of Montreal are often
entirely different from what they are at Quebec. The winter there is
not near so cold as in the last place. Several sorts of fine pears will
grow near Montreal; but are far from succeeding at Quebec, where the
frost frequently kills them. Quebec has generally more rainy weather,
spring begins later, and winter sooner than at Montreal, where all
sorts of fruits ripen a week or two earlier than at Quebec.
August the 12th. This afternoon I and my servant went out of town, to
stay in the country for a couple of days that I might have more leisure
to examine the plants which grow in the woods here, and the state of
the country. In order to proceed the better, the governor-general had
sent for an Indian from Lorette to shew us the way, and teach us what
use they make of the spontaneous plants hereabouts. This Indian was an
Englishman by birth, taken by the Indians thirty years ago, when he was
a boy, and adopted by them, according to their custom, instead of a
relation of theirs killed by the enemy. Since that time he constantly
stayed with them, became a Roman Catholic and married an Indian woman;
he dresses like an Indian, speaks English and French, and many of the
Indian languages. In the wars between the French and English, in this
country, the French Indians have made many prisoners of both sexes in
the English plantations, adopted them afterwards, and they married with
people of the Indian nations. From hence the Indian blood in Canada is
very much mixed with European blood, and a great part of the Indians
now living, owe their origin to Europe. It is likewise remarkable, that
a great part of the people they had taken during the war and
incorporated with their nations, especially the young people, did not
choose to return to their native country, though their parents and
nearest relations came to them and endeavoured to persuade them to it,
and though it was in their power to do it. The licentious life led by
the Indians, pleased them better than that of their European relations;
they dressed like the Indians, and regulated all their affairs in their
way. It is therefore difficult to distinguish them, except by their
colour, which is somewhat whiter than that of the Indians. There are
likewise examples of some Frenchmen going amongst the Indians and
following their way of life. There is on the contrary scarce one
instance of an Indian’s adopting the European customs; but those who
were taken prisoners in the war, have always endeavoured to come to
their own people again, even after several years of captivity, and
though they enjoyed all the privileges that were ever possessed by the
Europeans in America.
The lands, which we passed over, were every where laid out into
corn-fields, meadows, or pastures. Almost all round us the prospect
presented to our view farms and farm-houses, and excellent fields and
meadows. Near the town the land is pretty flat, and intersected now and
then by a clear rivulet. The roads are very good, broad, and lined with
ditches on each side, in low grounds. Further from the town, the land
rises higher and higher, and consists as it were of terraces, one above
another. This rising ground is, however, pretty smooth, chiefly without
stones, and covered with rich mould. Under that is the black
lime-slate, which is so common hereabouts, and is divided into small
shivers, and corroded by the air. Some of the strata were horizontal,
others perpendicular; I have likewise found such perpendicular strata
of lime-states in other places, in the neighbourhood of Quebec. All the
hills are cultivated; and some are adorned with fine churches, houses,
and corn-fields. The meadows are commonly in the vallies, though some
were likewise on eminencies. Soon after we had a fine prospect from one
of these hills. Quebec appeared very plain to the eastward, and the
river St. Lawrence could likewise be seen; further distant, on the
south-east side of that river, appears a long chain of high mountains,
running generally parallel to if, though many miles distant from it. To
the west again, at some distance from the rising lands where we were,
the hills changed into a long chain of very high mountains, lying very
close to each other, and running parallel likewise to the river, that
is nearly from south to north. These high mountains consist of a grey
rock-stone, composed of several kinds of stone, which I shall mention
in the sequel. These mountains seem to prove, that the lime-slates are
of as antient a date as the grey rock-stone, and not formed in later
times; for the amazing large grey rocks ly on the top of the mountains,
which consist of black lime-slates.
The high meadows in Canada are excellent, and by far preferable to the
meadows round Philadelphia, and in the other English colonies. The
further I advanced northward here, the finer were the meadows, and the
turf upon them was better and closer. Almost all the grass here is of
two kinds, viz. a species of the narrow leaved meadow grass [49]; for
its spikes [50] contain either three or four flowers; which are so
exceedingly small, that the plant might easily be taken for a bent
grass [51]; and its seeds have several small downy hairs at the bottom.
The other plant, which grows grows in the meadows, is the white clover
[52]. These two plants form the hay in the meadows; they stand close
and thick together, and the meadow grass (poa) is pretty tall, but has
very thin stalks. At the root of the meadow grass, the ground was quite
covered with clover, so that one cannot wish for finer meadows, than
are found here. Almost all the meadows have been formerly corn-fields,
as appears from the furrows on the ground, which still remained. They
can be mown but once every summer, as spring commences very late.
They were now busied with making hay, and getting it in, and I was
told, they had begun about a week ago. They have hay-stacks near most
of their meadows, and on the wet ones, they make use of conic
hay-stacks. Their meadows are commonly without enclosures, the cattle
being in the pastures on the other side of the woods, and having
cowherds to take care of them where they are necessary.
The corn-fields are pretty large. I saw no drains any where, though
they seemed to be wanting in some places. They are divided into ridges,
of the breadth of two or three yards broad, between the furrows. The
perpendicular height of the middle of the ridge, from the level to the
ground, is near one foot. All their corn is summer-corn; for as the
cold in winter destroys the corn which lies in the ground, they never
sow in autumn. I found white wheat most commonly in the fields. They
have likewise large fields with pease, oats, in some places summer-rye,
and now and then barley. Near almost every farm I met with cabbages,
pumpions, and melons. The fields are not always sown, but ly fallow
every two years. The fallow-fields are not ploughed in summer, so the
weeds grow without restraint in them, and the cattle are allowed to go
on them all summer [53].
The houses in the country are built promiscuously of stone, or wood. To
those of stone they do not employ bricks, as there is not yet any
considerable quantity of bricks made here. They therefore take what
stones they can find in the neighbourhood, especially the black
lime-slates. These are quite compact when broke, but shiver when
exposed to the air; however, this is of little consequence, as the
stones stick fast in the wall, and do not fall asunder. For want of it,
they sometimes make their buildings of lime-stone, or sand-stone, and
sometimes of grey rock-stone. The walls of such houses are commonly two
foot thick, and seldom thinner. The people here can have lime every
where in this neighbourhood. The greater part of the houses in the
country, are built of wood, and sometimes plaistered over on the
outside. The chinks in the walls are filled with clay, instead of moss.
The houses are seldom above one story high. In every room is either a
chimney or stove, or both together. The stoves have the form of an
oblong square; some are entirely of iron, about two feet and a half
long, one foot and a half, or two feet, high, and near a foot and a
half broad; these iron stoves are all cast at the iron-works at Trois
Rivieres. Some are made of bricks, or stones, not much larger than the
iron stoves, but covered at top with an iron plate. The smoke from the
stoves is conveyed up the chimney, by an iron pipe. In summer the
stoves are removed.
This evening we arrived at Lorette, where we lodged with the Jesuits.
August the 13th. In the morning we continued our journey through the
woods to the high mountains, in order to see what scarce plants and
curiosities we could get there. The ground was flat at first, and
covered with a thick wood all round, except in marshy places. Near half
the plants, which are to be met with here, grow in the woods and
morasses of Sweden.
We saw wild Cherry-trees here, of two kinds, which are probably mere
varieties, though they differ in several respects. Both are pretty
common in Canada, and both have red berries. One kind, which is called
Cerisier by the French, tastes like our Alpine cherries, and their acid
contracts the mouth, and cheeks. The berries of the other sort have an
agreeable sourness, and a pleasant taste [54].
The three-leaved Hellebore [55] grows in great plenty in the woods, and
in many places it covers the ground by itself. However, it commonly
chooses mossy places, that are not very wet; and the wood-sorrel [56],
with the Mountain Enchanter’s Nightshade [57], are its companions. Its
seeds were not yet ripe, and most of the stalks had no seeds at all.
This plant is called Tissavoyanne jaune by the French, all over Canada.
Its leaves and stalks are used by the Indians, for giving a fine yellow
colour to several kinds of work, which they make of prepared skins. The
French, who have learnt this from them, dye wool and other things
yellow with this plant.
We climbed with a great deal of difficulty to the top of one of the
highest mountains here, and I was vexed to find nothing at its summit,
but what I had seen in other parts of Canada before. We had not even
the pleasure of a prospect, because the trees, with which the mountain
is covered, obstructed it. The trees that grow here are a kind of
hornbeam, or Carpinus Ostrya, Linn. the American elm, the red maple,
the sugar-maple, that kind of maple which cures scorched wounds (which
I have not yet described), the beech, the common birch-tree, the
sugar-birch [58], the sorb-tree, the Canada pine, called Perusse, the
mealy-tree with dentated leaves [59], the ash, the cherry-tree,
(Cerisier) just before described, and the berry-bearing yew.
The Gnats in this wood were more numerous than we could have wished.
Their bite caused a blistering of the skin; and the Jesuits at Lorette
said, the best preservative against their attacks is to rub the face,
and naked parts of the body, with grease. Cold water they reckon the
best remedy against the bite, when the wounded places are washed with
it, immediately after.
At night we returned to Lorette, having accurately examined the plants
of note we met with to-day.
August the 14th. Lorette is a village, three French miles to the
westward of Quebec. Inhabited chiefly by Indians of the Huron nation,
converted to the Roman catholic religion. The village lies near a
little river, which falls over a rock there, with a great noise, and
turns a saw-mill, and a flour-mill. When the Jesuit, who is now with
them, arrived among them, they lived in their usual huts, which are
made like those of the Laplanders. They have since laid aside this
custom, and built all their houses after the French fashion. In each
house are two rooms, viz. their bed-room, and the kitchen on the
outside before it. In the room is a small oven of stone, covered at top
with an iron plate. Their beds are near the wall, and they put no other
clothes on them, than those which they are dressed in. Their other
furniture and utensils, look equally wretched. Here is a fine little
church, with a steeple and bell. The steeple is raised pretty high, and
covered with white tin plates. They pretend, that there is some
similarity between this church in its figure and disposition, and the
Santa Casa at Loretto in Italy, from whence this village has got its
name. Close to the church is a house built of stone, for the clergymen,
who are two Jesuits, that constantly live here. The divine service is
as regularly attended here, as in any other Roman catholic church; and
I was pleased with seeing the alacrity of the Indians, especially of
the women, and hearing their good voices, when they sing all sorts of
hymns in their own language. The Indians dress chiefly like the other
adjacent Indian nations; the men, however, like to wear waistcoats, or
jackets, like the French. The women keep exactly to the Indian dress.
It is certain, that these Indians and their ancestors, long since, on
being converted to the Christian religion, have made a vow to God,
never to drink strong liquors. This vow they have kept pretty
inviolable hitherto, so that one seldom sees one of them drunk, though
brandy and other strong liquors are goods, which other Indians would
sooner be killed for, than part with them.
These Indians have made the French their patterns in several things,
besides the houses. They all plant maize; and some have small fields of
wheat, and rye. Many of them keep cows. They plant our common
sun-flower [60] in their maize-fields, and mix the seeds of it into
their sagamite, or maize-soup. The maize, which they plant here, is of
the small sort, which ripens sooner than the other: its grains are
smaller, but give more and better flour in proportion. It commonly
ripens here at the middle, sometimes however, at the end of August.
The Swedish winter-wheat, and winter-rye, has been tried in Canada, to
see how well it would succeed; for they employ nothing but summer-corn
here, it having been found, that the French wheat and rye dies here in
winter, if it be sown in autumn. Dr. Sarrazin has therefore (as I was
told by the eldest of the two Jesuits here) got a small quantity of
wheat and rye, of the winter-corn sort from Sweden. It was sown in
autumn, not hurt by the winter, and bore fine corn. The ears were not
so large as those of the Canada corn, but weighed near twice as much,
and gave a greater quantity of finer flour, than that summer-corn.
Nobody could tell me, why the experiments have not been continued. They
cannot, I am told, bake such white bread here, of the summer-corn, as
they can in France, of their winter-wheat. Many people have assured me,
that all the summer-corn, now employed here, came from Sweden, or
Norway: for the French, on their arrival, found the winters in Canada
too severe for the French winter-corn, and their summer-corn did not
always ripen, on account of the shortness of summer. Therefore they
began to look upon Canada, as little better than an useless country,
where nobody could live; till they fell upon the expedient of getting
their summer-corn from the most northern parts of Europe, which has
succeeded very well.
This day I returned to Quebec, making botanical observations by the
way.
August the 15th. The new governor-general of all Canada, the marquis de
la Jonquiere, arrived last night in the river before Quebec; but it
being late, he reserved his public entrance for to-day. He had left
France on the second of June, but could not reach Quebec before this
time, on account of the difficulty which great ships find in passing
the sands in the river St. Lawrence. The ships cannot venture to go up,
without a fair wind, being forced to run in many bendings, and
frequently in a very narrow channel. To-day was another great feast, on
account of the Ascension of the Virgin Mary, which is very highly
celebrated in Roman catholic countries. This day was accordingly doubly
remarkable, both on account of the holiday, and of the arrival of the
new governor-general, who is always received with great pomp, as he
represents a vice-roy here.
About eight o’clock the chief people in town assembled at the house of
Mr. de Vaudreuil, who had lately been nominated governor of Trois
Rivieres, and lived in the lower town, and whose father had likewise
been governor-general of Canada. Thither came likewise the marquis de
la Galissonniere, who had till now been governor-general, and was to
sail for France, with the first opportunity. He was accompanied by all
the people belonging to the government. I was likewise invited to see
this festivity. At half an hour after eight the new governor-general
went from the ship into a barge, covered with red cloth, upon which a
signal with cannons was given from the ramparts, for all the bells in
the town to be set a-ringing. All the people of distinction went down
to the shore to salute the governor, who, on alighting from the barge,
was received by the marquis la Galissonniere. After they had saluted
each other, the commandant of the town addressed the new
governor-general in a very elegant speech, which he answered very
concisely; after which all the cannon on the ramparts gave a general
salute. The whole street, up to the cathedral, was lined with men in
arms, chiefly drawn out from among the burghesses. The governor-general
then walked towards the cathedral, dressed in a suit of red, with
abundance of gold lace. His servants went before him in green, carrying
fire-arms on their shoulders. On his arrival at the cathedral, he was
received by the bishop of Canada, and the whole clergy assembled. The
bishop was arrayed in his pontifical robes, and had a long gilt tiara
on his head, and a great crozier of massy silver in his hand. After the
bishop had addressed a short speech to the governor-general, a priest
brought a silver crucifix on a long stick, (two priests with lighted
tapers in their hands, going on each side of it) to be kissed by the
governor. The bishop and the priests then went through the long walk,
up to the choir. The servants of the governor-general followed with
their hats on, and arms on their shoulders. At last came the
governor-general and his suite, and after them a crowd of people. At
the beginning of the choir the governor-general, and the general de la
Galissonniere, stopt before a chair covered with red cloth, and stood
there during the whole time of the celebration of the mass, which was
celebrated by the bishop himself. From the church he went to the
palace, when the gentlemen of note in the town, afterwards went to pay
their respects to him. The religious of the different orders, with
their respective superiors, likewise came to him, to testify their joy
on account of his happy arrival. Among the numbers that came to visit
him, none staid to dine, but those that were invited beforehand, among
which I had the honour to be. The entertainment lasted very long, and
was as elegant as the occasion required.
The governor-general, marquis de la Jonquiere, was very tall, and at
that time something above sixty years old. He had fought a desperate
naval battle with the English in the last war, but had been obliged to
surrender, the English being, as it was told, vastly superior in the
number of ships and men. On this occasion he was wounded by a ball,
which entered one side of his shoulder, and came out at the other. He
was very complaisant, but knew how to preserve his dignity, when he
distributed favours.
Many of the gentlemen, present at this entertainment, asserted that the
following expedient had been successfully employed to keep wine, beer,
or water, cool during summer. The wine, or other liquor, is bottled;
the bottles are well corked, hung up into the air, and wrapped in wet
clouts. This cools the wine in the bottles, notwithstanding it was
quite warm before. After a little while the clouts are again made wet,
with the coldest water that is to be had, and this is always continued.
The wine, or other liquor, in the bottles is then always colder, than
the water with which the clouts are made wet. And though the bottles
should be hung up in the sunshine, the above way of proceeding will
always have the same effect [61].
August the 16th. The occidental Arbor vitæ [62], is a tree which grows
very plentiful in Canada, but not much further south. The most
southerly place I have seen it in, is a place a little on the south
side of Saratoga, in the province of New-York, and likewise near
Casses, in the same province, which places are in forty-two degrees and
ten minutes north latitude.
Mr. Bartram, however, informed me, that he had found a single tree of
this kind in Virginia, near the falls in the river James. Doctor Colden
likewise asserted, that he had seen it in many places round his seat
Coldingham, which lies between New-York, and Albany, about forty-one
degrees thirty minutes north latitude. The French, all over Canada,
call it Cedre blanc. The English and Dutch in Albany, likewise call it
the white Cedar. The English in Virginia, have called a Thuya, which
grows with them, a Juniper.
The places and the soil where it grows best, are not always alike,
however it generally succeeds in such ground where its roots have
sufficient moisture. It seems to prefer swamps, marshes, and other wet
places to all others, and there it grows pretty tall. Stony hills, and
places where a number of stones ly together, covered with several kinds
of mosses [63], seemed to be the next in order where it grows. When,
the sea shores were hilly, and covered with mossy stones, the Thuya
seldom failed to grow on them. It is likewise seen now and then on the
hills near rivers, and other high grounds, which are covered with a
dust like earth or mould; but it is to be observed that such places
commonly carry a sourish water with them, or receive moisture from the
upper countries. I have however seen it growing in some pretty dry
places; but there it never comes to any considerable size. It is pretty
frequent in the clefts of mountains, but cannot grow to any remarkable
height or thickness. The tallest trees, I have found in the woods in
Canada, were about thirty or thirty-six feet high. A tree of exactly
ten inches diameter had ninety-two rings round the stem [64]; another
of one foot and two inches in diameter had one hundred and forty-two
rings [65].
The inhabitants of Canada generally make use of this tree in the
following cases. It being reckoned the most durable wood in Canada, and
which best withstands putrefaction, so as to remain undamaged for above
a man’s age, enclosures of all kinds are scarce made of any other than
this wood. all the posts which are driven into the ground, are made of
the Thuya wood. The palisades round the forts in Canada are likewise
made of the same wood. The planks in the houses are made of it; and the
thin narrow pieces of wood which form both the ribs and the bottom of
the bark-boats, commonly made use of here, are taken from this wood,
because it is pliant enough for the purpose, especially whilst it is
fresh, and likewise because it is very light. The Thuya wood is
reckoned one of the best for the use of lime-kilns. Its branches are
used all over Canada for besoms; and the twigs and leaves of it being
naturally bent together, seem to be very proper for the purpose. The
Indians make such besoms and bring them to the towns for sale, nor do I
remember having seen any besoms of any other wood. The fresh branches
have a peculiar, agreeable scent, which is pretty strongly smelled in
houses where they make use of besoms of this kind.
This Thuya is made use of for several medicinal purposes. The
commandant of Fort St. Frederic, M. de Lusignan could never
sufficiently praise its excellence for rheumatic pains. He told me he
had often seen it tried, with remarkable good success, upon several
persons, in the following manner. The fresh leaves are pounded in a
mortar, and mixed with hog’s grease, or any other grease. This is
boiled together till it becomes a salve, which is spread on linen, and
applied to the part where the pain is. The salve gives certain relief
in a short time. Against violent pains, which move up and down in the
thighs, and sometimes spread all over the body, they recommend the
following remedy. Take of the leaves of a kind of Polypody [66]
four-fifths, and of the cones of the Thuya one-fifth, both reduced to a
coarse powder by themselves, and mixed together afterwards. Then pour
milk-warm water on it, so as to make a poultice, which spread on linen,
and wrap it round the body: but as the poultice burns like fire, they
commonly lay a cloth between it and the body, otherwise it would burn
and scorch the skin. I have heard this remedy praised beyond measure,
by people who said they had experienced its good effects. An Iroquese
Indian told me, that a decoction of Thuya leaves was used as a remedy
for the cough. In the neighbourhood of Saratoga, they use this
decoction in the intermitting fevers.
The Thuya tree keeps its leaves, and is green all winter. Its feeds are
ripe towards the end of September, old style. The fourth of October of
this year, 1749, some of the cones, especially those which flood much
exposed to the heat of the sun, had already dropt their seeds, and all
the other cones were opening in order to shed them. This tree has, in
common with many other American trees, the quality of growing plentiful
in marches and thick woods, which may be with certainty called its
native places. However, there is scarce a single Thuya tree in those
places which bears seeds; if, on the other hand, a tree accidentally
stands on the outside of a wood, on the sea shore, or in a field, where
the air can freely come at it, it is always full of seeds. I have found
this to be the case with the Thuya, on innumerable occasions. It is the
same likewise with the sugar-maple, the maple which is good for healing
scorched wounds, the white fir-tree, the pine called Perusse, the
mulberry-tree and several others.
August the 17th. This day I went to see the nunnery of the Ursulines,
which is disposed nearly in the same way as the two other nunneries. It
lies in the town and has a very fine church. The nuns are renowned for
their piety, and they go less abroad than any others. The men are
likewise not allowed to go into this monastery, but by the special
licence of the bishop, which is given as a great favour; the royal
physician, and the surgeon are alone entitled to go in as often as they
please, to visit the sick. At the desire of the marquis de la
Galissonniere the bishop granted me leave to visit this monastery
together with the royal physician Mr. Gaulthier. On our arrival we were
received by the abbess, who was attended by a great number of nuns, for
the most part old ones. We saw the church; and, it being Sunday, we
found some nuns on every side of it kneeling by themselves and saying
prayers. As soon as we came into the church, the abbess and the nuns
with her dropt on their knees, and so did M. Gaulthier and myself. We
then went to an apartment or small chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary,
at the entrance of which, they all fell on their knees again. We
afterwards saw the kitchen, the dining hall and the apartment they work
in, which is large and fine. They do all sorts of neat work there, gild
pictures, make artificial flowers, &c. The dining hall is disposed in
the same manner as in the other two monasteries. Under the tables are
small drawers for each nun to keep her napkin, knife and fork, and
other things in. Their cells are small, and each nun has one to
herself. The walls are not painted; a little bed, a table with a
drawer, and a crucifix, and pictures of saints on it, and a chair,
constitute the whole furniture of a cell. We were then led into a room
full of young ladies about twelve years old and below that age, lent
hither by their parents to be instructed in reading, and in matters of
religion. They are allowed to go to visit their relations once a day,
but must not stay away long. When they have learnt reading, and have
received instructions in religion, they return to their parents again.
Near the monastery, is a fine garden, which is surrounded with a high
wall. It belongs to this institution, and is stocked with all sorts of
kitchen-herbs and fruit-trees. When the nuns are at work, or during
dinner, every thing is silent in the rooms, unless some one of them
reads to the others; but after dinner, they have leave to take a walk
for an hour or two in the garden, or to divert themselves within-doors.
After we had seen every thing remarkable here, we took our leave, and
departed.
About a quarter of a Swedish mile to the west of Quebec, is a well of
mineral waters, which carries a deal of iron ocker with it, and has a
pretty strong taste. M. Gaulthier said, that he had prescribed it with
success in costive cases and the like diseases.
I have been assured, that there are no snakes in the woods and fields
round Quebec, whose bite is poisonous; so that one can safely walk in
the grass. I have never found any that endeavoured to bite, and all
were very fearful. In the south parts of Canada, it is not adviseable
to be off one’s guard.
A very small species of black ants [67] live in ant-hills, in high
grounds, in woods; they look exactly like our Swedish ants, but are
much less.
August the 21st. To-day there were some people of three Indian nations
in this country with the governor-general, viz. Hurons, Mickmacks, and
Anies [68]; the last of which are a nation of Iroquese, and allies of
the English, and were taken prisoners in the last war.
The Hurons are some of the same Indians with those who live at Lorette,
and have received the christian religion. They are tall, robust people,
well shaped, and of a copper colour. They have short black hair, which
is shaved on the forehead, from one ear to the other. None of them wear
hats or caps. Some have ear-rings, others not. Many of them have the
face painted all over with vermillion; others have only strokes of it
on the forehead, and near the ears; and some paint their hair with
vermillion. Red is the colour they chiefly make use of in painting
themselves; but I have likewise seen some, who had daubed their face
with a black colour. Many of them have figures in the face, and on the
whole body, which are stained into the skin, so as to be indelible. The
manner of making them shall be described in the sequel. These figures
are commonly black; some have a snake painted in each cheek, some have
several crosses, some an arrow, others the sun, or any thing else their
imagination leads them to. They have such figures likewise on the
breast, thighs, and other parts of the body; but some have no figures
at all. They wear a shirt, which is either white or checked, and a
shaggy piece of cloth, which is either blue or white, with a blue or
red stripe below. This they always carry over their shoulders, or let
it hang down, in which case they wrap it round their middle. Round
their neck, they have a string of violet wampums, with little white
wampums between them. These wampums are small, of the figure of oblong
pearls, and made of the shells which the English call clams [69]. I
shall make a more particular mention of them in the sequel. At the end
of the wampum strings, many of the Indians wear a large French silver
coin, with the king’s effigy, on their breasts. Others have a large
shell on the breast, of a fine white colour, which they value very
high, and is very dear; others, again, have no ornament at all round
the neck. They all have their breasts uncovered. Before them hangs
their tobacco-pouch, made of the skin of an animal, and the hairy side
turned outwards. Their shoes are made of skins, and bear a great
resemblance to the shoes without heels, which the women in Finland make
use of. Instead of stockings, they wrap the legs in pieces of blue
cloth, as I have seen the Russian boors do.
The Mickmacks are dressed like the Hurons, but distinguish themselves
by their long strait hair, of a jetty-black colour. Almost all the
Indians have black strait hair; however, I have met with a few, whose
hair was pretty much curled. But it is to be observed, that it is
difficult to judge of the true complexion of the Canada Indians, their
blood being mixed with the Europeans, either by the adopted prisoners
of both sexes, or by the Frenchmen, who travel in the country, and
often contribute their share towards the encrease of the Indian
families, their women not being very shy. The Mickmacks are commonly
not so tall as the Hurons. I have not seen any Indians whose hair was
as long and strait as theirs. Their language is different from that of
the Hurons; therefore there is an interpreter here for them on purpose.
The Anies are the third kind of Indians which came hither. Fifty of
them went out in the war, being allies of the English, in order to
plunder in the neighbourhood of Montreal. But the French, being
informed of their scheme, laid an ambush, and killed with the first
discharge of their guns forty-four of them; so that only the four who
were here to-day saved their lives, and two others, who were ill at
this time. They are as tall as the Hurons, whose language they speak.
The Hurons seem to have a longer, and the Anies a rounder face. The
Anies have something cruel in their looks; but their dress is the same
as that of the other Indians. They wear an oblong piece of white tin
between the hair which lies on the neck. One of those I saw had taken a
flower of the rose mallow, out of a garden, where it was in full
blossom at this time, and put it among the hair at the top of his head.
Each of the Indians has a tobacco-pipe of grey lime-stone, which is
blackened afterwards, and has a long tube of wood. There were no Indian
women present at this interview. As soon as the governor-general came
in, and was seated in order to speak with them, the Mickmacks sat down
on the ground, like Laplanders, but the other Indians took chairs.
There is no printing-press in Canada, tho’ there formerly was one: but
all books are brought from France, and all the orders made in the
country are written, which extends even to the paper-currency. They
pretend that the press is not yet introduced here, lest it should be
the means of propagating libels against the government, and religion.
But the true reason seems to ly in the poorness of the country, as no
printer could put off a sufficient number of books for his subsistence;
and another reason may be, that France may have the profit arising from
the exportation of books hither.
The meals here are in many respects different from those in the English
provinces. This perhaps depends upon the difference of custom, taste,
and religion, between the two nations. They eat three meals a day, viz.
breakfast, dinner, and supper. They breakfast commonly between seven
and eight. For the French here rise very early, and the
governor-general can be spoke to at seven o’clock, which is the time
when he has his levee. Some of the men dip a piece of bread in brandy,
and eat it; others take a dram of brandy, and eat a piece of bread
after it. Chocolate is likewise very common for breakfast, and many of
the ladies drink coffee. Some eat no breakfast at all. I have never
seen tea made use of; perhaps because they can get coffee and chocolate
from the French provinces in South-America; but must get tea from
China, for which it is not worth their while to send the money out of
their country. Dinner is pretty exactly at noon. People of quality have
a great variety of dishes, and the rest follow their example, when they
invite strangers. The loaves are oval, and baked of wheat flour. For
each person they put a plate, napkin, spoon, and fork. Sometimes they
likewise give knives; but they are generally omitted, all the ladies
and gentlemen being provided with their own knives. The spoons and
forks are of silver, and the plates of Delft ware. The meal begins with
a soup, with a good deal of bread in it. Then follow fresh meats of
various kinds, boiled, and roasted, poultry, or game, fricassees,
ragoos, &c. of several sorts; together with different kinds of sallads.
They commonly drink red claret at dinner, mixed with water; and spruce
beer is likewise much in use. The ladies drink water, and sometimes
wine. After dinner the fruit and sweet-meats are served up, which are
of many different kinds, viz. walnuts from France, or Canada, either
ripe, or pickled; almonds, raisins, haselnuts, several kinds of
berries, which are ripe in the summer season, such as currants,
cran-berries, which are preserved in treacle; many preserves in sugar
as straw-berries, rasp-berries, black-berries, and moss-berries. Cheese
is likewise a part of the desert, and so is milk, which they eat last
of all with sugar. Friday and Saturday they eat no flesh, according to
the Roman catholic rites; but they well know how to guard against
hunger. On those days they boil all sorts of kitchen-herbs, and fruit;
fishes, eggs, and milk, prepared in various ways. They cut cucumbers
into slices, and eat them with cream, which is a very good dish.
Sometimes they put whole cucumbers on the table, and every body that
likes them takes one, peels, and slices it, and dips the slices into
salt, eating them like raddishes. Melons abound here, and are always
eaten with sugar. They never put any sugar into wine, or brandy, and
upon the whole, they and the English do not use half so much sugar, as
we do in Sweden; though both nations have large sugar-plantations in
their West-Indian possessions. They say no grace before, or after their
meals, but only cross themselves, which is likewise omitted by some.
Immediately after dinner, they drink a dish of coffee, without cream.
Supper is commonly at seven o’clock, or between seven and eight at
night, and the dishes the same as at dinner. Pudding and punch is not
to be met with here, though the latter is well known.
August the 23d. In many places hereabouts they use their dogs to fetch
water out of the river. I saw two great dogs to-day put before a little
cart, one before the other. They had neat harness, like horses, and
bits in their mouths. In the cart was a barrel. The dogs are directed
by a boy, who runs behind the cart, and as soon as they come to the
river, they jump in, of their own accord. When the barrel is filled,
the dogs draw their burthen up the hill again, to the house they belong
to. I have frequently seen dogs employed in this manner, during my stay
at Quebec. Sometimes they put but one dog before the water-carts, which
are made small on purpose. The dogs are not very great, hardly of the
size of our common farmers dogs. The boys that attend them have great
whips, with which they make them go on occasionally. I have seen them
fetch not only water, but likewise wood, and other things. In winter it
is customary in Canada, for travellers to put dogs before little
sledges, made on purpose to hold their clothes, provisions, &c. Poor
people commonly employ them on their winter-journies, and go on foot
themselves. Almost all the wood, which the poorer people in this
country fetch out of the woods in winter, is carried by dogs, which
have therefore got the name of horses of the poor people. They commonly
place a pair of dogs before each load of wood. I have likewise seen
some neat little sledges, for ladies to ride in, in winter; they are
drawn by a pair of dogs, and go faster on a good road, than one would
think. A middle-sized dog is sufficient to draw a single person, when
the roads are good. I have been told by old people, that horses were
very scarce here in their youth, and almost all the land-carriage was
then effected by dogs. Several Frenchmen, who have been among the
Esquimaux on Terra Labrador, have assured me, that they not only make
use of dogs for drawing drays, with their provisions, and other
necessaries, but are likewise drawn by them themselves, in little
sledges.
August the 25th. The high hills, to the west of the town, abound with
springs. These hills consist of the black lime-slate, before mentioned,
and are pretty steep, so that it is difficult to get to the top. Their
perpendicular height is about twenty or four and twenty yards. Their
summits are destitute of trees, and covered with a thin crust of earth,
lying on the lime-slates, and are employed for corn-fields, or
pastures. It seems inconceivable therefore, from whence these naked
hills could take so many running springs, which in some places gush out
of the hills, like torrents. Have these hills the quality of attracting
the water out of the air in the day time, or at night? Or are the
lime-slates more apt to it, than others?
All the horses in Canada are strong, well made, swift, as tall as the
horses of our cavalry, and of a breed imported from France. The
inhabitants have the custom of docking the tails of their horses, which
is rather hard upon them here, as they cannot defend themselves against
the numerous swarms of gnats, gad-flies, and horse-flies. They put the
horses one before the other in their carts, which has probably
occasioned the docking of their tails, as the horses would hurt the
eyes of those behind them, by moving their tails backwards and
forwards. The governor-general, and a few of the chief people in town,
have coaches, the rest make use of open horse-chairs. It is a general
complaint, that the country people begin to keep too many horses, by
which means the cows are kept short of food in winter.
The cows have likewise been imported from France, and are of the size
of our common Swedish cows. Every body agreed that the cattle, which
were born of the original French breed, never grow up to the same size.
This they ascribe to the cold winters, during which they are obliged to
put their cattle into stables, and give them but little food. Almost
all the cows have horns, a few, however, I have seen without them. A
cow without horns would be reckoned an unheard of curiosity in
Pensylvania. Is not this to be attributed to the cold? The cows give as
much milk here as in France. The beef and veal at Quebec, is reckoned
fatter and more palatable than at Montreal. Some look upon the salty
pastures below Quebec, as the cause of this difference. But this does
not seem sufficient; for most of the cattle, which are sold at Quebec,
have no meadows with Arrow-headed grass [70], on which they graze. In
Canada the oxen draw with the horns, but in the English colonies they
draw with their withers, as horses do. The cows vary in colour;
however, most of them are either red, or black.
Every countryman commonly keeps a few sheep, which supply him with as
much wool as he wants to cloth himself with. The better sort of clothes
are brought from France. The sheep degenerate here, after they are
brought from France, and their progeny still more so. The want of food
in winter is said to cause this degeneration.
I have not seen any goats in Canada, and I have been assured that there
are none. I have seen but very few in the English colonies, and only in
their towns, where they are kept on account of some sick people, who
drink the milk by the advice of their physicians.
The harrows are triangular; two of the sides are six feet, and the
third four feet long. The teeth, and every other part of the harrows
are of wood. The teeth are about five inches long, and about as much
distant from each other.
The prospect of the country about a quarter of a mile Swedish, north of
Quebec, on the west side of the river St. Lawrence, is very fine. The
country is very steep towards the river, and grows higher as you go
further from the water. In many places it is naturally divided into
terraces. From the heights, one can look a great way: Quebec appears
very plain to the south, and the river St. Lawrence to the east, on
which were vessels sailing up and down. To the west are the high
mountains, which the hills of the river end with. All the country is
laid out for corn-fields, meadows, and pastures; most of the fields
were sown with wheat, many with white oats, and some with pease.
Several fine houses and farms are interspersed all over the country,
and none are ever together. The dwelling-house is commonly built of
black lime-slates, and generally white-washed on the outside. Many
rivulets and brooks roll down the high grounds, above which the great
mountains ly, and which consist entirely of the black lime-slates, that
shiver in pieces in the open air. On the lime-slates lies a mould of
two or three feet in depth. The soil in the corn-fields is always mixed
with little pieces of the lime-slate. All the rivulets cut their beds
deep into the ground; so that their shores are commonly of lime-slate.
A dark-grey lime-stone is sometimes found among the strata, which, when
broke, smells like stink-stone.
They were now building several ships below Quebec, for the king’s
account. However, before my departure, an order arrived from France,
prohibiting the further building of ships of war, except those which
were already on the stocks; because they had found, that the ships
built of American oak do not last so long as those of European oak.
Near Quebec is found very little oak, and what grows there is not fit
for use, being very small; therefore they are obliged to fetch their
oak timber from those parts of Canada which border upon New-England.
But all the North-American oaks have the quality of lasting longer, and
withstanding putrefaction better, the further north they grow, and vice
versâ. The timber from the confines of New-England is brought in floats
or rafts on the rivers near those parts, and near the lake St. Pierre,
which fall into the great river St. Lawrence. Some oak is likewise
brought from the country between Montreal and Fort St. Frederic, or
Fort Champlain; but it is not reckoned so good as the first, and the
place it comes from is further distant.
August the 26th. They shewed a green earth, which had been brought to
the general, marquis de la Galissonniere, from the upper parts of
Canada. It was a clay, which cohered very fast together, and was of a
green colour throughout, like verdigrease. [71]
All the brooks in Canada contain crawfish, of the same kind with ours.
The French are fond of eating them, and say they are vastly decreased
in number since they have begun to catch them.
The common people in the country, seem to be very poor. They have the
necessaries of life, and but little else. They are content with meals
of dry bread and water, bringing all other provisions, such as butter,
cheese, flesh, poultry, eggs, &c. to town, in order to get money for
them, for which they buy clothes and brandy for themselves, and dresses
for their women. Notwithstanding their poverty, they are always
chearful, and in high spirits.
August the 29th. By the desire of the governor-general, marquis de la
Jonquiere, and of marquis de la Galissonniere, I set out, with some
French gentlemen, to visit the pretended silver-mine, or the lead-mine,
near the bay St. Paul. I was glad to undertake this journey, as it gave
me an opportunity of seeing a much greater part of the country, than I
should otherwise have done. This morning therefore we set out on our
tour in a boat, and went down the river St. Lawrence.
The harvest was now at hand, and I saw all the people at work in the
corn-fields. They had began to reap wheat and oats, a week ago.
The prospect near Quebec is very lively from the river. The town lies
very high, and all the churches, and other buildings, appear very
conspicuous. The ships in the river below ornament the landscape on
that side. The powder magazine, which stands at the summit of the
mountain, on which the town is built, towers above all the other
buildings.
The country we passed by afforded a no less charming sight. The river
St. Lawrence flows nearly from south to north here; on both sides of it
are cultivated fields, but more on the west side than on the east side.
The hills on both shores are steep, and high. A number of fine hills,
separated from each other, large fields, which looked quite white from
the corn with which they are covered, and excellent woods of deciduous
trees, made the country round us look very pleasant. Now and then we
saw a church of stone, and in several places brooks fell from the hills
into the river. Where the brooks are considerable, there they have made
saw-mills, and water-mills.
After rowing for the space of a French mile and a half, we came to the
isle of Orleans, which is a large island, near seven French miles and a
half long, and almost two of those miles broad, in the widest part. It
lies in the middle of the river St. Lawrence, is very high, has steep
and very woody shores. There are some places without trees, which have
farm-houses below, quite close to the shore. The isle itself is well
cultivated, and nothing but fine houses of stone, large corn-fields,
meadows, pastures, woods of deciduous trees, and some churches built of
stone, are to be seen on it.
We went into that branch of the river which flows on the west side of
the isle of Orleans, it being the shortest. It is reckoned about a
quarter of a French mile broad, but ships cannot take this road, on
account of the sand-banks, which ly here near the projecting points of
land, and on account of the shallowness of the water, the rocks, and
stones at the bottom. The shores on both sides still kept the same
appearance as before. On the west side, or on the continent, the hills
near the river consist throughout of black lime-slate, and the houses
of the peasants are made of this kind of stone, white-washed on the
outside. Some few houses are of different kinds of stone. The row of
ten mountains, which is on the west side of the river, and runs nearly
from south to north, gradually comes nearer to the river: for at Quebec
they are near two French miles distant from the shore; but nine French
miles lower down the river, they are almost close to the shore. These
mountains are generally covered with woods, but in some places the
woods have been destroyed by accidental fires. About eight French miles
and a half from Quebec, on the west side of the river, is a church,
called St. Anne, close to the shore. This church is remarkable, because
the ships from France and other parts, as soon as they are got so far
up the river St. Lawrence, as to get sight of it, give a general
discharge of their artillery, as a sign of joy, that they have past all
danger in the river, and have escaped all the sands in it.
The water had a pale red colour, and was very dirty in those parts of
the river, which we saw to-day, though it was every where computed
above six fathoms deep. Somewhat below St. Anne, on the west side of
the river St. Lawrence, another river, called la Grande Riviere, or the
Great River, falls in it. Its water flows with such violence, as to
make its way almost into the middle of the branch of the river St.
Lawrence, which runs between the continent, and the isle of Orleans.
About two o’clock in the afternoon the tide began to flow up the river,
and the wind being likewise against us, we could not proceed any
farther, till the tide began to ebb. We therefore took up our night
lodgings in a great farm, belonging to the priests in Quebec, near
which is a fine church, called St. Joachim, after a voyage of about
eight French miles. We were exceeding well received here. The king has
given all the country round about this place to the seminary, or the
priests at Quebec, who have leased it to farmers, who have built houses
on it. Here are two priests, and a number of young boys, whom they
instruct in reading, writing, and Latin. Most of these boys are
designed for priests: Directly opposite this farm, to the eastward, is
the north-east point, or the extremity of the isle of Orleans.
All the gardens in Canada abound with red currant shrubs, which were at
first brought over from Europe. They grow excessively well here, and
the shrubs, or bushes, are quite red, being covered all over with the
berries.
The wild vines [72] grow pretty plentifully in the woods. In all other
parts of Canada they plant them in the gardens, near arbours, and
summer-houses. The summer-houses are made entirely of laths, over which
the vines climb with their tendrils, and cover them entirely with their
foliage, so as to shelter them entirely from the heat of the sun. They
are very refreshing and cool, in summer.
The strong contrary winds obliged us to ly all night at St. Joachim.
August the 30th. This morning we continued our journey in spite of the
wind, which was very violent against us. The water in the river begins
to get a brackish taste, when the tide is highest, somewhat below St.
Joachim, and the further one goes down, the more the saline taste
encreases. At first the western shore of the river has fine, but low
corn-fields, but soon after the high mountains run close to the river
side. Before they come to the river the hilly shores consist of black
lime-slate; but as soon as the high mountains appear on the river side,
the lime-slates disappear. For the stone, of which the high mountains
consist, is a chalky rock-stone, mixed with glimmer and quartz [73].
The glimmer is black; the quartz partly violet, and partly grey. All
the four constituent parts are so well mixed together, as not to be
easily separated by an instrument, though plainly distinguishable with
the eye. During our journey to-day, the breadth of the river was
generally three French miles. They shewed me the turnings the ships are
obliged to sail in, which seem to be very troublesome, as they are
obliged to bear away for either shore, as occasion requires, or as the
rocks and sands in the river oblige them to do.
For the distance of five French miles we had a very dangerous passage
to go through; for the whole western shore, along which we rowed,
consists of very high and steep mountains, where we could not have
found a single place to land with safety, during the space of five
miles, in case a high wind had arisen. There are indeed two or three
openings, or holes, in the mountains, into which one could have drawn
the boat, in the greatest danger. But they are so narrow, that in case
the boat could not find them in the hurry, it would inevitably be
dashed against the rocks. These high mountains are either quite bare,
or covered with some small firs, standing far asunder. In some places
there are great clefts, going down the mountains, in which trees grow
very close together, and are taller than on the other parts of the
mountain; so that those places look like quick-hedges, planted on the
solid rock. A little while after we passed a small church, and some
farms round it. The place is called Petite Riviere, and they say, its
inhabitants are very poor, which seems very probable. They have no more
land to cultivate, than what lies between the mountains and the river,
which in the widest part is not above three musket shot, and in most
parts but one broad. About seventeen French miles from Quebec the water
is so salty in the river, that no one can drink it, our rowers
therefore provided themselves with a kettle full of fresh water this
morning. About five o’clock in the evening, we arrived at bay St. Paul,
and took our lodgings with the priests, who have a fine large house
here, and entertained us very hospitably.
Bay St. Paul is a small parish, about eighteen French miles below
Quebec, lying at some distance from the shore of a bay formed by the
river, on a low plain. It is surrounded by high mountains on every
side, one large gap excepted, which is over-against the river. All the
farms are at some distance from each other. The church is reckoned one
of the most ancient in Canada; which seems to be confirmed by its bad
architecture, and want of ornaments; for the walls are formed of pieces
of timber, erected at about two feet distance from each other,
supporting the roof. Between these pieces of timber, they have made the
walls of the church of lime-slate. The roof is flat. The church has no
steeple, but a bell fixed above the roof, in the open air. Almost all
the country in this neighbourhood belongs to the priests, who have
leased it to the farmers. The inhabitants live chiefly upon agriculture
and making of tar, which last is sold at Quebec.
This country being low, and situated upon a bay of the river, it may be
conjectured, that this flat ground was formerly part of the bottom of
the river, and formed itself, either by a decrease of water in the
river, or by an encrease of earth, which was carried upon it from the
continent by the brooks, or thrown on it by storms. A great part of the
plants, which are to be met with here, are likewise marine; such as
glass-wort, sea milk-wort, and sea-side pease [74]. But when I have
asked the inhabitants, whether they find shells in the ground by
digging for wells, they always answered in the negative. I received the
same answer from those who live in the low fields directly north of
Quebec, and all agreed, that they never found any thing by digging, but
different kinds of earth and sand.
It is remarkable, that there is generally a different wind in the bay
from that in the river, which arises from the high mountains, covered
with tall woods, with which it is surrounded on every side but one. For
example, when the wind comes from the river, it strikes against one of
the mountains at the entrance of the bay, it is reflected, and
consequently takes a direction quite different from what it had before.
I found sand of three kinds upon the shore; one is a clear coarse sand,
consisting of angulated grains of quartz, and is very common on the
shore; the other is a fine black sand, which I have likewise found in
abundance on the shores of lake Champlain, [75] and which is common all
over Canada. Almost every grain of it is attracted by the magnet.
Besides this, there is a granet coloured sand [76], which is likewise
very fine. This may owe its origin to the granet coloured grains of
sand, which are to be found in all the stones and mountains here near
the shore. The sand may have arisen from the crumbled pieces of some
stones, or the stones may have been composed of it. I have found both
this and the black sand on the shores, in several parts of this
journey; but the black sand was always the most plentiful.
August the 31st. All the high hills in the neighbourhood sent up a
smoke this morning, as from a charcoal-kiln.
Gnats are innumerable here; and as soon as one looks out of doors, they
immediately attack him; and they are still worse in the woods. They are
exactly the same gnats as our common Swedish ones, being only somewhat
less than the North-American gnats all are. Near Fort St. Jean, I have
likewise seen gnats which were the same with ours, but they were
somewhat bigger, almost of the size of our crane-flies [77]. Those
which are here, are beyond measure blood-thirsty. However, I comforted
myself, because the time of their disappearance was near at hand.
This afternoon we went still lower down the river St. Lawrence, to a
place, where, we were told, there were silver or lead mines. Somewhat
below bay St. Paul, we passed a neck of land, which consists entirely
of a grey, pretty compact lime-stone, lying in dipping, and almost
perpendicular strata. It seems to be merely a variety of the black
lime-slates. The strata dip to the south-east, and basset out to the
north-west. The thickness of each is from ten to fifteen inches. When
the stone is broken, it has a strong smell, like stink-stone. We kept,
as before, to the western shore of the river, which consists of nothing
but steep mountains and rocks. The river is not above three French
miles broad here. Now and then we could see stripes in the rock of a
fine white, loose, semi-opaque spar. In some places of the river are
pieces of rock as big as houses, which had rolled from the mountains in
spring. The places they formerly occupied are plainly to be seen.
In several places, they have eel-traps in the river, like those I have
before described [78].
By way of amusement, I wrote down a few Algonkin words, which I learnt
from a Jesuit who has been a long time among the Algonkins. They call
water, mukuman; the head, ustigon; the heart, uta; the body, veetras;
the foot, ukhita; a little boat, ush; a ship, nabikoan; fire, skute;
hay, maskoosee; the hare, whabus; (they have a verb, which expresses
the action of hunting hares, derived from the noun); the marten,
whabistanis; the elk, moosu [79] (but so that the final u is hardly
pronounced); the rein-deer, atticku; the mouse, mawitulsis. The Jesuit
who told me those particulars, likewise informed me, that he had great
reason to believe, that, if any Indians here owed their origin to
Tataria, he thought the Algonkins certainly did; for their language is
universally spoken in that part of North-America, which lies far to the
west of Canada, towards Asia. It is said to be a very copious language;
as for example, the verb to go upon the ice, is entirely different in
the Algonkin from to go upon dry land, to go upon the mountains, &c.
Late at night we arrived at Terre d’Eboulement, which is twenty-two
French miles from Quebec, and the last cultivated place on the western
shore of the river St. Lawrence. The country lower down is said to be
so mountainous, that no body can live in it, there not being a single
spot of ground, which could be tilled. A little church, belonging to
this place, stands on the shore, near the water.
No walnut-trees grow near this village, nor are there any kinds of them
further north of this place. At bay St. Paul, there are two or three
walnut-trees of that species which the English call butter-nut-trees;
but they are looked upon as great rarities, and there are no others in
the neighbourhood.
Oaks of all kinds, will not grow near this place, nor lower down, or
further north.
Wheat is the kind of corn which is sown in the greatest quantities
here. The soil is pretty fertile, and they have sometimes got
twenty-four or twenty-six bushels from one, though the harvest is
generally ten or twelve fold. The bread here is whiter than any where
else in Canada.
They sow plenty of oats, and it succeeds better than the wheat.
They sow likewise a great quantity of peas, which yield a greater
encrease than any corn; and there are examples of its producing an
hundred fold.
Here are but few birds; and those that pass the summer here, migrate in
autumn; so that there are no other birds than snow-birds, red
partridges, and ravens, in winter. Even crows do not venture to expose
themselves to the rigours of winter, but take flight in autumn.
The Bull-frogs live in the pools of this neighbourhood. Fire flies are
likewise to be found here.
Instead of candles, they make use of lamps in country places, in which
they burn train-oil of porpesses, which is the common oil here. Where
they have none of it, they supply its place with train-oil of seals.
September the 1st. There was a woman with child in this village, who
was now in the fifty-ninth year of her age. She had not had the
catamenia during eighteen years. In the year 1748, she got the
small-pox, and now she was very big. She said she was very well, and
could feel the motions of the fœtus. She looked very well, and had her
husband alive. This being an uncommon case, she was brought to the
royal physician, M. Gaulthier, who accompanied us on this journey.
At half an hour after seven this morning we went down the river. The
country near Terre d’Eboulement is high, and consists of hills of a
loose mould, which ly in three or four rows above each other, and are
all well cultivated, and mostly turned into corn-fields; though there
are likewise meadows and pastures.
The great earthquake which happened in Canada, in February, 1663, and
which is mentioned by Charlevoix [80], has done considerable damage to
this place. Many hills tumbled down; and a great part of the
corn-fields on the lowest hills were destroyed. They shewed me several
little islands, which arose in the river on this occasion.
There are pieces of black lime-slate scattered on those hills, which
consist of mould. For the space of eight French miles along the side of
the river, there is not a piece of lime-slate to be seen; but instead
of it, there are high grey mountains, consisting of a rock-stone, which
contains a purple and a crystaline quartz, mixed with lime-stone, and
black glimmer. The roots of these mountains go into the water. We now
begin to see the lime-slates again.
Here are a number of Terns [81], which fly about, and make a noise
along the shore.
The river is here computed at about four French miles broad.
On the sides of the river, about two French miles inland, there are
such terraces of earth as at Terre d’Eboulement; but soon after they
are succeeded by high disagreeable mountains.
Several brooks fall into the river here, over the steep shores, with a
great noise. The shores are sometimes several yards high, and consist
either of earth, or of rock-stone.
One of these brooks, which flows over a hill of lime-stone, contains a
mineral water. It has a strong smell of sulphur, is very clear, and
does not change its colour, when mixed with gall-apples. If it is
poured into a silver cup, it looks as if the cup was gilt; and the
water leaves a sediment of a crimson colour at the bottom. The stones
and pieces of wood, which ly in the water, are covered with a slime,
which is pale grey at the top, and black at the bottom of the stone.
This slime has not much pungency, but tastes like oil of tobacco. My
hands had a sulphureous smell all day, because I had handled some of
the slimy stones.
The black lime-slate now abounds again, near the level of the water. It
lies in strata, which are placed almost perpendicularly near each
other, inclining a little towards W. S. W. Each stratum is between ten
and fifteen inches thick. Most of them are shivered into thin leaves at
the top, towards the day; but in the inside, whither neither sun, nor
air and water can penetrate, they are close and compact. Some of these
stones are not quite black, but have a greyish cast.
About noon we arrived at Cap aux Oyes, or Geese Cape, which has
probably got its name from the number of wild geese which the French
found near it, on their first arrival in Canada. At present, we saw
neither geese, nor any kind of birds here, a single raven excepted.
Here we were to examine the renowned metallic veins in the mountain;
but found nothing more than small veins of a fine white spar,
containing a few specks of lead ore. Cap aux Oyes is computed
twenty-two, or twenty-five French miles distant from Quebec. I was most
pleased by finding, that most of the plants are the same as grow in
Sweden; a proof of which I shall produce in the sequel.
The sand-reed [82] grows in abundance in the sand, and prevents its
being blown about by the wind.
The sea-lyme grass [83] likewise abounds on the shores. Both it and the
preceding plant are called Seigle de mer [84] by the French. I have
been assured that these plants grow in great plenty in Newfoundland,
and on other North-American shores; the places covered with them
looking, at a distance, like corn-fields; which might explain the
passage in our northern accounts, of the excellent wine land [85],
which mentions, that they had found whole fields of wheat growing wild.
The sea-side plantain [86] is very frequent on the shore. The French
boil its leaves in a broth on their sea-voyages, or eat them as a
sallad. It may likewise be pickled like samphire.
The bear-berries [87] grow in great abundance here. The Indians,
French, English, and Dutch, in those parts of North-America, which I
have seen, call them Sagackhomi, and mix the leaves with tobacco for
their use.
Gale, or sweet willow [88], is likewise abundant here. The French call
it Laurier, and some Poivrier. They put the leaves into their broth, to
give it a pleasant taste.
The sea-rocket [89] is, likewise, not uncommon. Its root is pounded,
mixed with flour, and eaten here, when there is a scarcity of bread.
The sorb-tree, or mountain-ash, the cranberry-bush, the juniper-tree,
the sea-side pease, the Linnæa, and many other Swedish plants, are
likewise to be met with here.
We returned to bay St. Paul to-day. A grey seal swam behind the boat
for some time, but was not near enough to be shot at.
September the 2d. This morning we went to see the silver or lead veins.
They ly a little on the south-side of the mills, belonging to the
priests. The mountain in which the veins ly, has the same constituent
parts, as the other high grey rocks in this place, viz. a rock-stone
composed of a whitish or pale grey lime-stone, a purple or almost
garnet-coloured quartz, and a black glimmer. The lime-stone is in
greater quantities here than the other parts; and it is so fine as to
be hardly visible. It effervesces very strongly with aqua fortis. The
purple or garnet-coloured quartz is next in quantity; lies scattered in
exceeding small grains, and strikes fire when struck with a steel. The
little black particles of glimmer follow next; and last of all, the
transparent crystalline speckles of quartz. There are some small grains
of spar in the lime-stone. All the different kinds of stone are very
well mixed together, except that the glimmer now and then forms little
veins and lines. The stone is very hard; but when exposed to sun-shine
and the open air, it changes so much as to look quite rotten, and
becomes friable; and in that case, its constituent particles grow quite
undistinguishable. The mountain is quite full of perpendicular clefts,
in which the veins of lead-ore run from E. S. E. to W. N. W. It seems
the mountain had formerly got cracks here, which were afterwards filled
up with a kind of stone, in which the lead-ore was generated. That
stone which contains the lead-ore is a soft, white, often
semidiaphanous spar, which works very easily. In it there are sometimes
stripes of a snowy white lime-stone, and almost always veins of a green
kind of stone like quartz. This spar has many cracks, and divides into
such pieces as quartz; but is much softer, never strikes fire with
steel, does not effervesce with acids, and is not smooth to the touch.
It seems to be a species of Mr. Professor Wallerius’s vitrescent spar
[90]. There are sometimes small pieces of a greyish quartz in this
spar, which emit strong sparks of fire, when struck with a steel. In
these kinds of stone the lead ore is lodged. It commonly lies in little
lumps of the size of peas; but sometimes in specks of an inch square,
or bigger. The ore is very clear, and lies in little cubes [91]. It is
generally very poor, a few places excepted. The veins of soft spar, and
other kinds of stone, are very narrow, and commonly from ten to fifteen
inches broad. In a few places they are twenty inches broad; and in one
single place twenty-two and a half. The brook which intersects the
mountain towards the mills, runs down so deep into the mountain, that
the distance from the summit of the hill, to the bottom of the brook,
is near twelve yards. Here I examined the veins, and found that they
always keep the same breadth, not encreasing near the bottom of the
brook; and likewise, that they are no richer below, than at the top.
From hence it may be easily concluded, that it is not worth while
sinking mines here. Of these veins there are three or four in this
neighbourhood, at some distance from each other, but all of the same
quality. The veins are almost perpendicular, sometimes deviating a
little. When pieces of the green stone before mentioned ly in the
water, a great deal of the adherent white spar and lime-stone is
consumed; but the green stone remains untouched. That part of the veins
which is turned towards the air is always very rough, because the sun,
air, and rain, have mouldered a great part of the spar and lime-stone;
but the green stone has resisted their attacks. They sometimes find
deep holes in these veins, filled with mountain crystals. The greatest
quantity of lead or silver ore is to be found next to the rock, or even
on the sides of the vein. There are now and then little grains of
pyrites in the spar, which have a fine gold colour. The green stone
when pounded, and put on a red-hot shovel, burns with a blue flame.
Some say, they can then observe a sulphureous smell, which I could
never perceive, though my sense of smelling is very perfect. When this
green stone is grown quite red-hot, it loses its green colour, and
acquires a whitish one, but will not effervesce with aqua fortis.
The sulphureous springs (if I may so call them) are at the foot of the
mountain, which contains the silver, or lead ore. Several springs join
here, and form a little brook. The water in those brooks is covered
with a white membrane, and leaves a white, mealy matter on the trees,
and other bodies in its way; this matter has a strong sulphureous
smell. Trees, covered with this mealy matter, when dried and set on
fire, burn with a blue flame, and emit a smell of sulphur. The water
does not change by being mixed with gall-apples, nor does it change
blue paper into a different colour, which is put into it. It makes no
good lather with soap. Silver is tarnished, and turns black, if kept in
this water for a little while. The blade of a knife was turned quite
black, after it had lain about three hours in it. It has a disagreeable
smell, which, they say, it spreads still more in rainy weather. A
number of grasshoppers were fallen into it at present. The inhabitants
used this water, as a remedy against the itch.
In the afternoon we went to see another vein, which had been spoken of
as silver ore. It lies about a quarter of a mile to the north-east of
bay St. Paul, near a point of land called Cap au Corbeau, close to the
shore of the river St. Lawrence. The mountain in which these veins ly,
consist of a pale red vitrescent spar, a black glimmer, a pale
lime-stone, purple or garnet-coloured grains of quartz, and some
transparent quartz. Sometimes the reddish vitrescent spar is the most
abundant, and lies in long stripes of small hard grains. Sometimes the
fine black glimmer abounds more than the remaining constituent parts;
and these two last kinds of stone generally run in alternate stripes.
The white lime-stone which consists of almost invisible particles, is
mixed in among them. The garnet-coloured quartz grains appear here and
there, and sometimes form whole stripes. They are as big as pin’s
heads, round, shining, and strike fire with steel. All these stones are
very hard, and the mountains near the sea, consist entirely of them.
They sometimes ly in almost perpendicular strata, of ten or fifteen
inches thickness. The strata, however, point with their upper ends to
the north-west, and go upwards from the river, as if the water, which
is close to the south-east side of the mountains, had forced the strata
to lean on that side. These mountains contain very narrow veins of a
white, and sometimes of a greenish, fine, semidiaphanous, soft spar,
which crumbles easily into grains. In this spar they very frequently
find specks, which look like a calamine blend [92]. Now and then, and
but very seldom, there is a grain of lead-ore. The mountains near the
shore consist sometimes of a black fine-grained horn-stone, and a
ferruginous lime-stone. The horn-stone in that case is always in three
or four times as great a quantity as the lime-stone.
In this neighbourhood there is likewise a sulphureous spring, having
exactly the same qualities as that which I have before described. The
broad-leaved Reed Mace [93] grows in the very spring, and succeeds
extremely well. A mountain-ash stood near it, whose berries were of a
pale yellow fading colour, whereas on all other mountain-ashes they
have a deep red colour.
They make great quantities of tar at bay St. Paul. We now passed near a
place in which they burn tar, during summer. It is exactly the same
with ours in East-Bothnia, only somewhat less; though I have been told,
that there are sometimes very great manufactures of it here. The tar is
made solely of the Pin rouge [94], or red Pine. All other firs, of
which here are several kinds, are not fit for this purpose, because
they do not give tar enough to repay the trouble the people are at.
They make use of the roots alone, which are quite full of resin, and
which they dig out of the ground; and of about two yards of the stem,
just above the root, laying aside all the rest. They have not yet
learnt the art of drawing the resin to one side of the tree, by peeling
off the bark; at least they never take this method. The tar-barrels are
but about half the size of ours. A ton holds forty-six pots, and sells
at present for twenty-five francs at Quebec. The tar is reckoned pretty
good.
The sand on the shore of the river St. Lawrence, consists in some
places of a kind of pearl-sand. The grains are of quartz, small and
semidiaphanous. In some places it consists of little particles of
glimmer; and there are likewise spots, covered with the garnet-coloured
sand, which I have before described, and which abounds in Canada.
September the 4th. The mountains hereabouts were covered with a very
thick fog to-day, resembling the smoak of a charcoal kiln. Many of
these mountains are very high. During my stay in Canada, I asked many
people, who have travelled much in North-America, whether they ever met
with mountains so high, that the snow never melts on them in winter; to
which they always answered in the negative. They say that the show
sometimes stays on the highest, viz. on some of those between Canada
and the English colonies, during a great part of the summer; but that
it melts as soon as the great heat begins.
Every countryman sows as much flax as he wants for his own use. They
had already taken it up some time ago, and spread it on the fields,
meadows, and pastures, in order to bleach it. It was very short this
year in Canada.
They find iron-ore in several places hereabouts. Almost a Swedish mile
from bay St. Paul, up in the country, there is a whole mountain full of
iron ore. The country round it is covered with a thick forest, and has
many rivulets of different sizes, which seem to make the erection of
iron-works very easy here. But the government having as yet suffered
very much by the iron-works at Trois Rivieres, nobody ventures to
propose any thing further in that way.
September the 5th. Early this morning we set out on our return to
Quebec. We continued our journey at noon, notwithstanding the heavy
rain and thunder we got afterwards. At that time we were just at Petite
Riviere, and the tide beginning to ebb, it was impossible for us to
come up against it; therefore we lay by here, and went on shore.
Petite Riviere is a little village, on the western side of the river
St. Lawrence, and lies on a little rivulet, from whence it takes its
name. The houses are built of stone, and are dispersed over the
country. Here is likewise a fine little church of stone. To the west of
the village are some very high mountains, which cause the sun to set
three or four hours sooner here, than ordinary. The river St. Lawrence
annually cuts off a piece of land, on the east side of the village, so
that the inhabitants fear they will in a short time lose all the land
they possess here, which at most is but a musket shot broad. All the
houses here are very full of children.
The lime-slates on the hills are of two kinds. One is a black one,
which I have often mentioned, and on which the town of Quebec is built.
The other is generally black, and sometimes dark grey, and seems to be
a species of the former. It is called Pierre à chaux here. It is
chiefly distinguished from the former, by being cut very easily, giving
a very white lime, when burnt, and not easily mouldering into shivers
in the air. The walls of the houses here are entirely made of this
slate; and likewise the chimnies, those places excepted, which are
exposed to the greatest fire, where they place pieces of grey
rock-stone, mixed with a deal of glimmer. The mountains near Petite
Riviere consist merely of a grey rock-stone, which is entirely the same
with that which I described near the lead-mines of bay St. Paul. The
foot of these mountains consists of one of the lime-slate kinds. A
great part of the Canada mountains of grey rock-stone stand on a kind
of slate, in the same manner as the grey rocks of West-Gothland in
Sweden.
September the 6th. They catch eels and porpesses here, at a certain
season of the year, viz. at the end of September, and during the whole
month of October. The eels come up the river at that time, and are
caught in the manner I have before described. They are followed by the
porpesses, which feed upon them. The greater the quantity of eels is,
the greater is likewise the number of porpesses, which are caught in
the following manner. When the tide ebbs in the river, the porpesses
commonly go down along the sides of the river, catching the eels which
they find there. The inhabitants of this place therefore stick little
twigs, or branches with leaves, into the river, in a curve line or
arch, the ends of which look towards the shore, but stand at some
distance from it, leaving a passage there. The branches stand about two
feet distant from each other. When the porpesses come amongst them, and
perceive the rustling the water makes with the leaves, they dare not
venture to proceed, fearing lest there should be a snare, or trap, and
endeavour to go back. Mean while the water has receded so much, that in
going back they light upon one of the ends of the arch, whose moving
leaves frighten them again. In this confusion they swim backwards and
forwards, till the water is entirely ebbed off, and they ly on the
bottom, where the inhabitants kill them. They give a great quantity of
train-oil.
Near the shore, is a grey clay, full of ferruginous cracks, and pierced
by worms. The holes are small, perpendicular, and big enough to admit a
middling pin. Their sides are likewise ferruginous, and half-petrified;
and where the clay has been washed away by the water, the rest looks
like ocker-coloured stumps of tobacco-pipe tubes.
At noon we left Petite Riviere, and continued our journey towards St.
Joachim.
Between Petite Riviere, which lies in a little bay, and St. Joachim,
the western shore of the river St. Lawrence consists of prominent
mountains, between which there are several small bays. They have found,
by long experience, that there is always a wind on these mountains,
even when it is calm at Petite Riviere. And when the wind is pretty
high at the last-mentioned place, it is not adviseable to go to Quebec
in a boat, the wind and waves, in that case, being very high near these
mountains. We had at present an opportunity of experiencing it. In the
creeks between the mountains, the water was almost quite smooth; but on
our coming near one of the points formed by the high mountains, the
waves encreased, and the wind was so high, that two people were forced
to take care of the helm, and the mast broke several times. The waves
are likewise greatly encreased by the strong current near those points
or capes.
September the 7th. A little before noon, we continued our voyage from
St. Joachim.
They employ tree-mushrooms very frequently instead of tinder. Those
which are taken from the sugar-maple are reckoned the best; those of
the red maple are next in goodness; and next to them, those of the
sugar-birch. For want of these, they likewise make use of those which
grow on the asp-tree or tremble.
There are no other ever-green trees in this part of Canada, than the
thuya, the yew, and some of the fir kind.
The thuya is esteemed for resisting putrefaction much longer than any
other wood; and next in goodness to it is the pine, called perusse
here.
They make cheese in several places hereabouts. That of the isle of
Orleans is, however, reckoned the best. This kind is small, thin, and
round; and four of them weigh about a French pound. Twelve of them sell
for thirty sols. A pound of salt butter costs ten sols at Quebec, and
of fresh butter, fifteen sols. Formerly, they could get a pound of
butter for four sols here.
The corn-fields towards the river are sloping; they are suffered to ly
fallow and to be sown alternately. The sown ones looked yellow at this
distance, and the fallow ones green. The weeds are left on the latter
all summer, for the cattle to feed upon.
The ash wood furnishes the best hoops for tuns here; and for want of
it, they take the thuya, little birch-trees, wild cherry-trees, and
others.
The hills near the river, on the western side, opposite the isle of
Orleans, are very high and pretty steep. They consist, in most part, of
black lime-slate. There are likewise some spots which consist of a
rock-stone, which, at first sight, looks like a sand-stone, and is
composed of grey quartz, a reddish lime-stone, a little grey
lime-stone, and some pale grey grains of sand. These parts of the stone
are small and pretty equally mixed with each other. The stone looks
red, with a greyish cast, and is very hard. It lies in strata, one
above another. The thickness of each stratum is about five inches. It
is remarkable, that there are both elevated and hollow impressions of
pectinites on the surface, where one likewise meets with the petrified
shells themselves; but on breaking the stone, it does not even contain
the least vestige of an impression or petrified shell. All the
impressions are small, about the length and breadth of an inch. The
particles of quartz in the stone strike fire with steel, and the
particles of lime-stone effervesce strongly with aqua-fortis. The upper
and lower surfaces of the strata consist of lime-stone, and the inner
parts of quartz. They break great quantities of this stone in order to
build houses of it, pave floors with it, and make stair-cases of it.
Great quantities of it are sent to Quebec. It is remarkable, that there
are petrefactions in this stone, but never any in the black
lime-slates.
The women dye their woollen yarn yellow with seeds of gale, [95] which
is called poivrier here, and grows abundant in wet places.
This evening, M. Gaulthier and I went to see the water-fall at
Montmorenci. The country near the river is high and level, and laid out
into meadows. Above them the high and steep hills begin, which are
covered with a crust of mould, and turned into corn-fields. In some
very steep places, and near the rivulets, the hills consist of mere
black lime-slate, which is often crumbled into small pieces, like
earth. All the fields below the hills are full of such pieces of
lime-slate. When some of the larger pieces are broken, they smell like
stink-stone. In some more elevated places, the earth consists of a pale
red colour; and the lime-slates are likewise reddish.
The water-fall near Montmorenci is one of the highest I ever saw. It is
in a river whose breadth is not very considerable, and falls over the
steep side of a hill, consisting entirely of black lime-slate. The fall
is now at the bottom of a little creek of the river. Both sides of the
creek consist merely of black lime-slate, which is very much cracked
and tumbled down. The hill of lime-slate under the water-fall is quite
perpendicular, and one cannot look at it without astonishment. The rain
of the preceding days had encreased the water in the river, which gave
the fall a grander appearance. The breadth of the fall is not above ten
or twelve yards. Its perpendicular height Mr. Gaulthier and I guessed
to be between a hundred and ten and a hundred and twenty feet; and on
our return to Quebec, we found our guess confirmed by several
gentlemen, who had actually measured the fall, and found it to be
nearly as we had conjectured. The people who live in the neighbourhood
exaggerate in their accounts of it, absolutely declaring that it is
three hundred feet high. Father Charlevoix [96] is too sparing in
giving it only forty feet in height. At the bottom of the fall, there
is always a thick fog of vapours, spreading about the water, being
resolved into them by its violent fall. This fog occasions almost
perpetual rain here, which is more or less heavy, in proportion to its
distance from the fall. Mr. Gaulthier and myself, together with the man
who shewed us the way, were willing to come nearer to the falling
water, in order to examine more accurately how it came down from such a
height, and how the stone behind the water looked. But, being about
twelve yards off the fall, a sudden gust of wind blew a thick fog upon
us, which, in less than a minute, had wet us as thoroughly as if we had
walked for half an hour in a heavy shower. We therefore hurried away as
fast as we could, and were glad to get off. The noise of the fall is
sometimes heard at Quebec, which is two French miles off to the
southward; and this is a sign of a north-east wind. At other times, it
can be well heard in the villages, a good way lower to the north; and
it is then reckoned an undoubted sign of a south-west wind, or of rain.
The black lime-slate on the sides of the fall lies in dipping, and
almost perpendicular strata. In these lime-slate strata, are the
following kinds of stone to be met with.
Fibrous gypsum. [97] This lies in very thin leaves between the cracks
of the lime-slate. Its colour is a snowy white. I have found it in
several parts of Canada, in the same black lime-stone.
Pierre à Calumet. This is the French name of a stone disposed in strata
between the lime-slate, and of which they make almost all the
tobacco-pipe heads in the country. The thickness of the strata is
different. I have seen pieces near fifteen inches thick; but they are
commonly between four and five inches thick. When the stone is long
exposed to the open air or heat of the sun, it gets a yellow colour;
but in the inside it is grey. It is a lime-stone of such a compactness,
that its particles are not distinguishable by the naked eye. It is
pretty soft, and will bear cutting with a knife. From this quality, the
people likewise judge of the goodness of the stone for tobacco-pipe
heads; for the hard pieces of it are not so fit for use as the softer
ones. I have seen some of these stones shivering into thin leaves on
the outside where they were exposed to the sun. All the tobacco-pipe
heads, which the common people in Canada make use of, are made of this
stone, and are ornamented in different ways. A great part of the gentry
likewise make use of them, especially when they are on a journey. The
Indians have employed this stone for the same purposes for several ages
past, and have taught it the Europeans. The heads of the tobacco-pipes
are naturally of a pale grey colour; but they are blackened whilst they
are quite new, to make them look better. They cover the head all over
with grease, and hold it over a burning candle, or any other fire, by
which means it gets a good black colour, which is encreased by frequent
use. The tubes of the pipes are always made of wood [98].
There are no coals near this fall, or in the steep hills close to it.
However, the people in the neighbouring village shewed me a piece of
coal, which, they said, they had found on one of the hills about the
fall.
We arrived at Quebec very late at night.
September the 8th, Intermitting fevers of all kinds are very rare at
Quebec, as Mr. Gaulthier affirms. On the contrary, they are very common
near Fort St. Frederic, and near Fort Detroit, which is a French
colony, between lake Erie and lake Huron, in forty-three degrees north
latitude.
Some of the people of quality make use of ice-cellars, to keep beer
cool in, during summer, and to keep fresh flesh, which would not keep
long in the great heat. These ice-cellars are commonly built of stone,
under the house. The walls of it are covered with boards, because the
ice is more easily consumed by stones. In winter, they fill it with
snow, which is beat down with the feet, and covered with water. They
then open the cellar holes and the door, to admit the cold. It is
customary in summer to put a piece of ice into the water or wine which
is to be drank.
All the salt which is made use of here, is imported from France. They
likewise make good salt here of the sea water; but France keeping the
salt trade entirely to itself, they do not go on with it here.
The Esquimaux are a particular kind of American savages, who live only
near the water, and never far in the country, on Terra Labrador,
between the most outward point of the mouth of the river St. Lawrence
and Hudson’s bay. I have never had an opportunity of seeing one of
them. I have spoken with many Frenchmen who have seen them, and had
them on board their own vessels. I shall here give a brief history of
them, according to their unanimous accounts.
The Esquimaux are entirely different from the Indians of North-America,
in regard to their complexion and their language. They are almost as
white as Europeans, and have little eyes: the men have likewise beards.
The Indians, on the contrary, are copper-coloured, and the men have no
beards. The Esquimaux language is said to contain some European words.
[99] Their houses are either caverns or clefts in the mountains, or
huts of turf above ground. They never sow or plant vegetables, living
chiefly on various kinds of whales, on seals, [100] and walrusses
[101]. Sometimes they likewise catch land animals, on which they feed.
They eat most of their meat quite raw. Their drink is water; and people
have likewise seen them drinking the sea water, which was like brine.
Their shoes, stockings, breeches, and jackets are made of seal-skins
well prepared, and sewed together with nerves of whales, which may be
twisted like threads and are very tough. Their cloaths, the hairy side
of which is turned outwards, are sewed together so well, that they can
go up to their shoulders in the water without wetting their under
cloaths. Under their upper cloaths, they wear shirts and waistcoats
made of seals skins, prepared so well as to be quite soft. I saw one of
their womens dresses; a cap, a waistcoat, and coat, made all of one
piece of seals skin well prepared, soft to the touch, and the hair on
the outside. Their is a long train behind at their coats, which scarce
reach them to the middle of the thigh before; under it they wear
breeches and boots, all of one piece. The shirt I saw was likewise made
of a very soft seals skin. The Esquimaux women are said to be handsomer
than any of the American Indian women, and their husbands are
accordingly more jealous in proportion.
I have likewise seen an Esquimaux boat. The outside of it consists
entirely of skins, the hair of which has been taken off; and the sides
of the skins on which they were inserted are turned outwards, and feel
as smooth as vellum. The boat was near fourteen feet long, but very
narrow, and very sharp pointed at the extremities. In the inside of the
boat, they place two or three thin boards, which give a kind of form to
the boat. It is quite covered with skins at the top, excepting, near
one end, a hole big enough for a single person to sit and row in, and
keep his thighs and legs under the deck. The figure of the hole
resembles a semi-circle, the base or diameter of which is turned
towards the larger end of the boat. The hole is surrounded with wood,
on which a soft folded skin is fastened, with straps at its upper end.
When the Esquimaux makes use of his boat, he puts his legs and thighs
under the deck, sits down at the bottom of the boat, draws the skin
before mentioned round his body, and fastens it well with the straps;
the waves may then beat over his boat with considerable violence, and
not a single drop comes into it; the cloaths of the Esquimaux keep the
wet from him. He has an oar in his hand, which has a paddle at each
end; it serves him for rowing with, and keeping the boat in equilibrium
during a storm. The paddles of the oar are very narrow. The boat will
contain but a single person. Esquimaux have often been found safe in
their boats many miles from land, in violent storms, where ships found
it difficult to save themselves. Their boats float on the waves like
bladders, and they row them with incredible velocity. I am told, they
have boats of different shapes. They have likewise larger boats of
wood, covered with leather in which several people may sit, and in
which their women commonly go to sea.
Bows and arrows, javelins and harpoons, are their arms. With the last
they kill whales, and other large marine animals. The points of their
arrows and harpoons are sometimes made of iron, sometimes of bone, and
sometimes of the teeth of the walruss. Their quivers are made of seals
skins. The needles with which they sow their cloaths are likewise made
of iron or of bone. All their iron they get by some means or other from
the Europeans.
They sometimes go on board the European ships in order to exchange some
of their goods for knives and other iron. But it is not adviseable for
Europeans to go on shore, unless they be numerous; for the Esquimaux
are false and treacherous, and cannot suffer strangers amongst them. If
they find themselves too weak, they run away at the approach of
strangers; but if they think they are an over-match for them, they kill
all that come in their way, without leaving a single one alive. The
Europeans, therefore, do not venture to let a greater number of
Esquimaux come on board their ships than they can easily master. If
they are ship-wrecked on the Esquimaux coasts, they may as well be
drowned in the sea as come safe to the shore: this many Europeans have
experienced. The European boats and ships which the Esquimaux get into
their power, are immediately cut in pieces and robbed of all their
nails and other iron, which they work into knives, needles,
arrow-heads, &c. They make use of fire for no other purposes but
working of iron, and preparing the skins of animals. Their meat is
eaten all raw. When they come on board an European ship, and are
offered some of the sailors meat, they never will taste of it till they
have seen some Europeans eat it. Though nothing pleased other savage
nations so much as brandy, yet many Frenchmen have assured me, that
they never could prevail on the Esquimaux to take a dram of it. Their
mistrust of other nations the cause of it; for they undoubtedly
imagine, that they are going to poison them, or do them some hurt; and
I am not certain, whether they do not judge right. They have no
ear-rings, and do not paint the face like the American Indians. For
many centuries past, they have had dogs, whose ears are erected, and
never hang down. They make use of them for hunting, and instead of
horses in winter, for drawing their goods on the ice. They themselves
sometimes ride in sledges drawn by dogs. They have no other domestic
animal. There are, indeed, plenty of reindeer in their country; but it
is not known, that either the Esquimaux, or any of the Indians in
America, have ever tamed them. The French in Canada, who are in a
manner the neighbours of the Esquimaux, have taken a deal of pains to
carry on some kind of trade with them, and to endeavour to engage them
to a more friendly intercourse with other nations. For that purpose,
they took some Esquimaux children, taught them to read, and educated
them in the best manner possible. The intention of the French was, to
send these children to the Esquimaux again, that they might inform them
of the kind treatment the French had given them, and thereby incline
them to conceive a better opinion of the French. But unhappily all the
children died of the small-pox, and the scheme was dropt. Many persons
in Canada doubted, whether the scheme would have succeeded, though the
children had been kept alive. For they say, there was formerly an
Esquimaux taken by the French, and brought to Canada, where he staid a
good while, and was treated with great civility. He learnt French
pretty well, and seemed to relish the French way of living very well.
When he was sent back to his countrymen, he was not able to make the
least impression on them, in favour of the French; but was killed by
his nearest relations, as half a Frenchman and foreigner. This inhuman
proceeding of the Esquimaux against all strangers, is the reason why
none of the Indians of North America ever give quarter to the Esquimaux
if they meet with them, but kill them on the spot; though they
frequently pardon their other enemies, and incorporate the prisoners
into their nation.
For the use of those, who are fond of comparing the languages of
several nations, I have here inserted a few Esquimaux words,
communicated to me by the Jesuit Saint Pie. One, kombuc; two, tigal;
three, ké; four, missilagat; water, sillalokto; rain, killaluck;
heaven, taktuck, or nabugakshe; the sun, shikonak, or sakaknuk; the
moon, takock; an egg, manneguk; the boat, kagack; the oar, pacotick;
the knife, shavié; a dog, mekké, or timilok; the bow, petiksick; an
arrow, katso; the head, niakock; the ear, tchiu; the eye, killik, or
shik; the hair, nutshad; a tooth, ukak; the foot, itikat. Some think
that they are nearly the same nation with the Greenlanders, of
Skralingers; and pretend that there is a great affinity in the language
[102].
Plumb-trees of different sorts, brought over from France, succeed very
well here. The present year they did not begin to flower till this
month. Some of them looked very well; and I am told the winter does not
hurt them.
September the 11th. The marquis de la Galissonniere is one of the three
noblemen, who, above all others, have gained high esteem with the
French admiralty in the last war. They are the marquisses de la
Galissonniere, de la Jonquiere, and de l’Etendure. The first of these
was now above fifty years of age, of a low stature, and somewhat
hump-backed, but of a very agreeable look. He had been here for some
time as governor-general; and was going back to France one day this
month. I have already mentioned something concerning this nobleman; but
when I think of his many great qualities, I can never give him a
sufficient encomium. He has a surprizing knowledge in all branches of
science, and especially in natural history; in which he is so well
versed, that when he began to speak with me about it, I imagined I saw
our great Linnæus under a new form. When he spoke of the use of natural
history, of the method of learning, and employing it to raise the state
of a country, I was astonished to see him take his reasons from
politics, as well as natural philosophy, mathematics, and other
sciences. I own, that my conversation with this nobleman was very
instructive to me; and I always drew a deal of useful knowledge from
it. He told me several ways of employing natural history to the
purposes of politics, and to make a country powerful, in order to
depress its envious neighbours. Never has natural history had a greater
promoter in this country; and it is very doubtful whether it will ever
have his equal here. As soon as he got the place of governor-general,
he began to take those measures for getting information in natural
history, which I have mentioned before. When he saw people, who had for
some time been in a settled place of the country, especially in the
more remote parts, or had travelled in those parts, he always
questioned them about the trees, plants, earths, stones, ores, animals,
&c. of the place. He likewise enquired what use the inhabitants made of
these things; in what state their husbandry was; what lakes, rivers,
and passages there are; and a number of other particulars. Those who
seemed to have clearer notions than the rest, were obliged to give him
circumstantial descriptions of what they had seen. He himself wrote
down all the accounts he received; and by this great application, so
uncommon among persons of his rank, he soon acquired a knowledge of the
most distant parts of America. The priests, commandants of forts, and
of several distant places, are often surprized by his questions, and
wonder at his knowledge, when they come to Quebec to pay their visits
to him; for he often tells them that near such a mountain, or on such a
shore, &c. where they often went a hunting, there are some particular
plants, trees, earths, ores, &c. for he had got a knowledge of those
things before. From hence it happened, that some of the inhabitants
believed he had a preternatural knowledge of things, as he was able to
mention all the curiosities of places, sometimes near two hundred
Swedish miles from Quebec, though he never was there himself. Never was
there a better statesman than he; and nobody can take better measures,
and choose more proper means for improving a country, and encreasing
its welfare. Canada was hardly acquainted with the treasure it
possessed in the person of this nobleman, when it lost him again; the
king wanted his services at home, and could not leave him so far off.
He was going to France with a collection of natural curiosities; and a
quantity of young trees and plants, in boxes full of earth.
The black lime-slate has been repeatedly mentioned during the course of
my journey. I will here give a more minute detail of it. The mountain
on which Quebec is built, and the hills along the river St. Lawrence,
consist of it for some miles together, on both sides of Quebec. About a
yard from the surface, this stone is quite compact, and without any
cracks; so that one cannot perceive that it is a slate, its particles
being imperceptible. It lies in strata, which vary from three or four
inches, to twenty thick, and upwards. In the mountains on which Quebec
is built, the strata do not ly horizontal, but dipping, so as to be
nearly perpendicular; the upper ends pointing north-west, and the lower
ones south-east. From hence it is, that the corners of these strata
always strike out at the surface into the streets, and cut the shoes in
pieces. I have likewise seen some strata, inclining to the northward,
but nearly perpendicular as the former. Horizontal strata, or nearly
such, have occurred to me too. The strata are divided by narrow cracks,
which are commonly filled with fibrous white gypsum, which can
sometimes be got loose with a knife, if the layer or stratum of slate
above it is broken in pieces; and in that case it has the appearance of
a thin white leaf. The larger cracks are almost filled up with
transparent quartz crystals, of different sizes. One part of the
mountain contains vast quantities of these crystals, from which the
corner of the mountain which lies to the S. S. E. of the palace, has
got the name of Pointe de Diamante, or Diamond Point. The small cracks
which divide the stone, go generally at right angles; the distances
between them are not always equal. The outside of the stratum, or that
which is turned towards the other stratum, is frequently covered with a
fine, black, shining membrane, which looks like a kind of a pyrous
horn-stone. In it there is sometimes a yellow pyrites, always lying in
small grains. I never found petrefactions or impressions, or other
kinds of stone in it, besides those I have just mentioned. The whole
mountain on which Quebec is situated, consists entirely of lime-slate
from top to bottom. When this stone is broken, or scraped with a knife,
it gives a strong smell like the stink-stone. That part of the mountain
which is exposed to the open air, crumbles into small pieces, had lost
their black colour, and got a pale red one in its stead. Almost all the
public and private buildings at Quebec consist of this lime-slate; and
likewise the walls round the town, and round the monasteries and
gardens, it is easily broken, and cut to the size wanted. But it has
the property of splitting into thin shivers, parallel to the surface of
the stratum from whence they are taken, after lying during one or more
years in the air, and exposed to the sun. However, this quality does no
damage to the walls in which they are placed; for the stones being laid
on purpose into such a position that the cracks always run
horizontally, the upper stones press so much upon the lower ones, that
they can only get cracks outwardly, and shiver only on the outside,
without going further inwards. The shivers always grow thinner, as the
houses grow older.
In order to give my readers some idea of the climate of Quebec, and of
the different changes of heat and cold, at the several seasons of the
year, I will here insert some particulars extracted from the
meteorological observations, of the royal physician, Mr. Gaulthier: he
gave me a copy of those which he had made from October 1744, to the end
of September 1746. The thermometrical observations I will omit, because
I do not think them accurate; for as Mr. Gaulthier made use of de la
Hire’s thermometer, the degrees of cold cannot be exactly determined,
the quicksilver being depressed into the globe at the bottom, as soon
as the cold begins to be considerable. The observations are made
throughout the year, between seven and eight in the morning, and two
and three in the afternoon. He has seldom made any observations in the
afternoon. His thermometer was likewise inaccurate, by being placed in
a bad situation.
The year 1745.
January. The 29th of this month the river St. Lawrence was covered over
with ice, near Quebec. In the observations of other years, it is
observed, that the river is sometimes covered with ice in the beginning
of January, or the end of December.
February. Nothing remarkable happend during the course of this month.
March. They say this has been the mildest winter they ever felt; even
the eldest persons could not remember one so mild. The snow was only
two feet deep, and the ice in the river, opposite Quebec, had the same
thickness. On the twenty-first there was a thunder-storm, which fell
upon a soldier, and hurt him very much. On the 19th and 20th, they
began to make incisions into the sugar-maple, and to prepare sugar from
its juice.
April. During this month they continued to extract the juice of the
sugar-maple, for making sugar. On the 7th the gardeners began to make
hot-beds. On the 20th the ice in the river broke loose near Quebec, and
went down; which rarely happens so soon; for the river St. Lawrence is
sometimes covered with ice opposite Quebec, on the 10th of May. On the
22d, and 23d, there fell a quantity of snow. On the 25th they began to
sow near St. Joachim. The same day they saw some swallows. The 29th
they sowed corn all over the country. Ever since the 23d the river had
been clear at Quebec.
May. The third of this month the cold was so great in the morning, that
Celsius’s, or the Swedish thermometer, was four degrees below the
freezing point; however, it did not hurt the corn. On the 16th all the
summer-corn was sown. On the 5th the Sanguinaria, Narcissus, and
violet, began to blow. The 17th the wild cherry-trees, rasberry-bushes,
apple-trees, and lime-trees, began to expand their leaves. The
strawberries were in flower about that time. The 29th the wild
cherry-trees were in blossom. On the 26th part of the French
apple-trees, cherry-trees, and plum-trees, opened their flowers.
June. The 5th of this month all the trees had got leaves. The
apple-trees were in full flower. Ripe straw-berries were to be had on
the 22d. Here it is noted, that the weather was very fine for the
growth of vegetables.
July. The corn began to shoot into ears on the 12th, and had ears every
where on the 21st. (It is to be observed, that they sow nothing but
summer-corn here.) Soon after the corn began to flower. Hay making
began the 22d. All this month the weather was excellent.
August. On the 12th there were ripe pears and melons at Montreal. On
the 20th the corn was ripe round Montreal, and the harvest was begun
there. On the 22d the harvest began at Quebec. On the 30th, and 31st,
there was a very small hoar-frost on the ground.
September. The harvest of all kinds of corn ended on the 24th, and
25th. Melons, water-melons, cucumbers, and fine plums, were very
plentiful during the course of this month. Apples and pears were
likewise ripe, which is not always the case. On the last days of this
month they began to plough the land. The following is one of the
observations of this month: “The old people in this country say, that
the corn was formerly never ripe till the 15th, or 16th, of September,
and sometimes on the 12th; but no sooner. They likewise assert, that it
never was perfectly ripe. Bur since the woods have been sufficiently
cleared, the beams of the sun have had more room to operate, and the
corn ripens sooner than before [103].” It is further remarked, that the
hot summers are always very fruitful in Canada, and that most of the
corn has hardly ever arrived at perfect maturity.
October. During this month the fields were ploughed, and the weather
was very fine all the time. There was a little frost for several
nights, and on the 28th it snowed. Towards the end of this month the
trees began to shed their leaves.
November. They continued to plough till the 10th of this month, when
the trees had shed all their leaves. Till the 18th the cattle went out
of doors, a few days excepted, when bad weather had kept them at home.
On the 16th there was some thunder and lightning. There was not yet any
ice in the river St. Lawrence on the 24th.
December. During this month it is observed, that the autumn has been
much milder than usual. On the 1st a ship could still set sail for
France; but on the 16th the river St. Lawrence was covered with ice on
the sides, but open in the middle. In the river Charles the ice was
thick enough for horses with heavy loads to pass over it. On the 26th
the ice in the river St. Lawrence was washed away by a heavy rain; but
on the 28th part of that river was again covered with ice.
The next observations shew, that the winter has likewise been one of
the mildest. I now resume the account of my own journey.
This evening I left Quebec with a fair wind. The governor-general of
Canada, the marquis de la Jonquiere, ordered one of the king’s boats,
and seven men to bring me to Montreal. The middle of the boat was
covered with blue cloth, under which we were secured from the rain.
This journey I made at the expence of the French king. We went three
French miles to-day.
September the 12th. We continued our journey during all this day.
The small kind of maize, which ripens in three months time, was ripe
about this time, and the people drew it out of the ground, and hung it
up to dry.
The weather about this time was like the beginning of our August, old
stile. Therefore it seems, autumn commences a whole month later in
Canada, than in the midst of Sweden.
Near each farm there is a kitchen-garden, in which onions are most
abundant; because the French farmers eat their dinners of them with
bread, on Fridays and Saturdays, or fasting days. However, I cannot
say, the French are strict observers of fasting; for several of my
rowers ate flesh to-day, though it was Friday. The common people in
Canada may be smelled when one passes by them, on account of their
frequent use of onions. Pumpions are likewise abundant in the farmer’s
gardens. They dress them in several ways, but the most common is to cut
them through the middle, and place the inside on the hearth, towards
the fire, till it is quite roasted. The pulp is then cut out of the
peel, and eaten; people above the vulgar put sugar to it. Carrots,
sallad, French beans, cucumbers, and currant shrubs, are planted in
every farmer’s little kitchen-garden.
Every farmer plants a quantity of tobacco near his house, in proportion
to the size of his family. It is likewise very necessary that they
should plant tobacco, because it is so universally smoaked by the
common people. Boys of ten or twelve years of age, run about with the
pipe in their mouths, as well as the old people. Persons above the
vulgar, do not refuse to smoak a pipe now and then. In the northern
parts of Canada, they generally smoak tobacco by itself; but further
upwards, and about Montreal, they take the inner bark of the red
Cornelian cherry [104], crush it, and mix it with the tobacco, to make
it weaker. People of both sexes, and of all ranks, use snuff very much.
Almost all the tobacco, which is consumed here, is the produce of the
country, and some people prefer it even to Virginian tobacco: but those
who pretend to be connoisseurs, reckon the last kind better than the
other.
Though many nations imitate the French customs; yet I observed on the
contrary, that the French in Canada in many respects follow the customs
of the Indians, with whom they converse every day. They make use of the
tobacco-pipes, shoes, garters, and girdles, of the Indians. They follow
the Indian way of making war with exactness; they mix the same things
with tobacco, they make use of the Indian bark-boats, and row them in
the Indian way; they wrap square pieces of cloth round their feet,
instead of stockings, and have adopted many other Indian fashions. When
one comes into the house of a Canada peasant, or farmer, he gets up,
takes his hat off to the stranger, desires him to sit down, puts his
hat on and sits down again. The gentlemen and ladies, as well as the
poorest peasants and their wives, are called Monsieur and Madame. The
peasants, and especially their wives, wear shoes, which consist of a
piece of wood hollowed out, and are made almost as slippers. Their
boys, and the old peasants themselves, wear their hair behind in a cue;
and most of them wear red woollen caps at home, and sometimes on their
journies.
The farmers prepare most of their dishes of milk. Butter is but seldom
seen, and what they have is made of sour cream, and therefore not so
good as English butter. Many of the French are very fond of milk, which
they eat chiefly on fasting days. However, they have not so many
methods of preparing it as we have in Sweden. The common way was to
boil it, and put bits of bread, and a good deal of sugar, into it. The
French here eat near as much flesh as the English, on those days when
their religion allows it. For excepting the soup, the sallads, and the
desert, all their other dishes consist of flesh variously prepared.
At night we lay at a farm-house, near a river called Petite Riviere,
which falls here into the river St. Lawrence. This place is reckoned
sixteen French miles from Quebec, and ten from Trois Rivieres. The tide
is still considerable here. Here is the last place where the hills,
along the river, consist of black lime-slate; further on they are
composed merely of earth.
Fire-flies flew about the woods at night, though not in great numbers;
the French call them Mouches à feu.
The houses in this neighbourhood are all made of wood. The rooms are
pretty large. The inner roof rests on two, three, or four, large thick
spars, according to the size of the room. The chinks are filled with
clay, instead of moss. The windows are made entirely of paper. The
chimney is erected in the middle of the room; that part of the room
which is opposite the fire, is the kitchen; that which is behind the
chimney, serves the people to sleep, and receive strangers in.
Sometimes there is an iron stove behind the chimney.
September the 13th. Near Champlain, which is a place about five French
miles from Trois Rivieres, the steep hills near the river consist of a
yellow, and sometimes ockre-coloured sandy earth, in which a number of
small springs arise. The water in them is generally filled with yellow
ockre, which is a sign, that these dry sandy fields contain a great
quantity of the same iron ore, which is dug at Trois Rivieres. It is
not conceivable from whence that number of small rivulets takes their
rise, the ground above being flat, and exceeding dry in summer. The
lands near the river are cultivated for about an English mile into the
country; but behind them there are thick forests, and low grounds. The
woods, which collect a quantity of moisture, and prevent the
evaporation of the water, force it to make its way under ground to the
river. The shores of the river are here covered with a great deal of
black iron-sand.
Towards evening we arrived at Trois Rivieres, where we staid no longer,
than was necessary to deliver the letters, which we brought with us
from Quebec. After that we went a French mile higher up, before we took
our night’s lodging.
This afternoon we saw three remarkable old people. One was an old
Jesuit, called father Joseph Aubery, who had been a missionary to the
converted Indians of St. François. This summer he ended the fiftieth
year of his mission. He therefore returned to Quebec, to renew his vows
there; and he seemed to be healthy, and in good spirits. The other two
people were our landlord and his wife; he was above eighty years of
age, and she was not much younger. They had now been fifty-one years
married. The year before, at the end of the fiftieth year of their
marriage, they went to church together, and offered up thanks to God
Almighty for the great grace he gave them. They were yet quite well,
content, merry, and talkative. The old man said, that he was at Quebec
when the English besieged it, in the year 1690, and that the bishop
went up and down the streets, dressed in his pontifical robes, and a
sword in his hand, in order to recruit the spirits of the soldiers.
This old man said, that he thought the winters were formerly much
colder than they are now. There fell likewise a greater quantity of
snow, when he was young. He could remember the time when pumpions,
cucumbers, &c. were killed by the frost about mid-summer, and he
assured me, that the summers were warmer now than they used to be
formerly. About thirty and some odd years ago, there was such a severe
winter in Canada, that the frost killed many birds; but the old man
could not remember the particular year. Every body allowed, that the
summers in 1748, and 1749, had been warmer in Canada than they have
been many years ago.
The soil is reckoned pretty fertile; and wheat yields nine or ten
grains from one. But when this old man was a boy, and the country was
new and rich every where, they could get twenty, or four-and-twenty,
grains from one. They sow but little rye here; nor do they sow much
barley, except for the use of cattle. They complain, however, that when
they have a bad crop, they are obliged to bake bread of barley.
September the 14th. This morning we got up early, and pursued our
journey. After we had gone about two French miles, we got into lake St.
Pierre, which we crossed. Many plants, which are common in our Swedish
lakes, swim at the top of this water. This lake is said to be covered
every winter with such strong ice, that a hundred loaded horses could
go over it together with safety.
A craw-fish, or river lobster, somewhat like a crab, but quite minute,
about two geometrical lines long, and broad in proportion, was
frequently drawn up by us with the aquatic weeds, its colour is a pale
greenish white.
The cordated Pontederia [105] grows plentiful on the sides of a long
and narrow canal of water, in the places frequented by our water-lilies
[106]. A great number of hogs wade far into this kind of strait, and
sometimes duck the greatest part of their bodies under water, in order
to get at the roots, which they are very fond of.
As soon as we were got through lake St. Pierre, the face of the country
was entirely changed, and became as agreeable as could be wished. The
isles, and the land on both sides of us, looked like the prettiest
pleasure-gardens; and this continued till near Montreal.
Near every farm on the river-side there are some boats, hollowed out of
the trunks of single trees, but commonly neat and well made, having the
proper shape of boats. In one single place I saw a boat made of the
bark of trees.
September the 15th. We continued our journey early this morning. On
account of the strength of the river, which came down against us, we
were sometimes obliged to let the rowers go on shore, and draw the
boat.
At four o’clock in the evening we arrived at Montreal; and our voyage
was reckoned a happy one, because the violence of the river flowing
against us all the way, and the changeableness of the winds, commonly
protract it to two weeks.
September the 19th. Several people here in town have got the French
vines, and planted them in their gardens. They have two kinds of
grapes, one of a pale green, or almost white; the other, of a reddish
brown colour. From the white ones they say, white wine is made; and
from the red ones, red wine. The cold in winter obliges them to put
dung round the roots of the vines, without which they would be killed
by the frost. The grapes began to be ripe in these days; the white ones
are a little sooner ripe than the red ones. They make no wine of them
here, because it is not worth while; but they are served up at deserts.
They say these grapes do not grow so big here as in France.
Water-melons [107] are cultivated in great plenty in the English and
French American colonies; and there is hardly a peasant here, who has
not a field planted with them. They are chiefly cultivated in the
neighbourhood of towns; and they are very rare in the north part of
Canada. The Indians plant great quantities of water-melons at present;
but whether they have done it of old is not easily determined. For an
old Onidoe Indian (of the six Iroquese nations) assured me, that the
Indians did not know water-melons before the Europeans came into the
country, and communicated them to the Indians. The French, on the other
hand, have assured me, that the Illinois Indians have had abundance of
this fruit, when the French first came to them; and that they declare,
they had planted them since times immemorial. However, I do not
remember having read that the Europeans, who first came to
North-America, mention the water-melons, in speaking of the dishes of
the Indians at that time. How great the summer heat is in those parts
of America which I have passed through, can easily be conceived, when
one considers, that in all those places, they never sow water-melons in
hot-beds, but in the open fields in spring, without so much as covering
them, and they ripen in time. Here are two species of them, viz. one
with a red pulp, and one with a white one. The first is more common to
the southward, with the Illinois, and in the English colonies; the last
is more abundant in Canada. The seeds are sown in spring, after the
cold is entirely gone off, in a good rich ground, at some distance from
each other; because their stalks spread far, and require much room, if
they shall be very fruitful. They were now ripe at Montreal; but in the
English colonies they ripen in July and August. They commonly require
less time to ripen in, than the common melons. Those in the English
colonies are commonly sweeter, and more agreeable, than the Canada
ones. Does the greater heat contribute any thing towards making them
more palatable? Those in the province of New-York are, however,
reckoned the best.
The water-melons are very juicy; and the juice is mixed with a cooling
pulp, which is very good in the hot summer-season. Nobody in Canada, in
Albany, and in other parts of New-York, could produce an example, that
the eating of water-melons in great quantities had hurt any body; and
there are examples even of sick persons eating them without any danger.
Further to the south, the frequent use of them it is thought brings on
intermitting fevers, and other bad distempers, especially in such
people as are less used to them. Many Frenchmen assured me, that when
people born in Canada came to the Illinois, and eat several times of
the water-melons of that part, they immediately got a fever; and
therefore the Illinois advise the French not to eat of a fruit so
dangerous to them. They themselves are subject to be attacked by
fevers, if they cool their stomachs too often with water-melons. In
Canada they keep them in a room, which is a little heated; by which
means they will keep fresh two months after they are ripe; but care
must be taken, that the frost spoil them not. In the English
plantations they likewise keep them fresh in dry cellars, during part
of the winter. They assured me that they keep better when they are
carefully broke off from the stalk, and afterwards burnt with a red-hot
iron, in the place where the stalk was fastened. In this manner they
may be eaten at Christmas, and after. In Pensylvania, where they have a
dry sandy earth, they make a hole in the ground, put the water-melons
carefully into it with their stalks, by which means they keep very
fresh during a great part of winter. Few people, however, take this
trouble with the water-melons; because they being very cooling, and the
winter being very cold too, it seems to be less necessary to keep them
for eating in that season, which is already very cold. They are of
opinion in these parts, that cucumbers cool more than water-melons. The
latter are very strongly diuretic. The Iroquese call them
Onoheserakatee.
Gourds of several kinds, oblong, round, flat or compressed,
crook-necked, small, &c. are planted in all the English and French
colonies. In Canada, they fill the chief part of the farmers
kitchen-gardens, though the onions came very near up with them. Each
farmer in the English plantations, has a large field planted with
gourds, and the Germans, Swedes, Dutch, and other Europeans, settled in
their colonies, plant them. Gourds are a considerable part of the
Indian food; however, they plant more squashes than common gourds. They
declare, that they have had gourds long before the Europeans discovered
America; which seems to be confirmed by the accounts of the first
Europeans that came into these parts, who mentioned gourds as common
food among the Indians. The French here call them citrouilles, and the
English in the colonies, pumpkins. They are planted in spring, when
they have nothing to fear from the frost, in an enclosed field, and a
good rich soil. They are likewise frequently put into old hot-beds. In
Canada, they ripen towards the beginning of September, but further
southward they are ripe at the end of July. As soon as the cold weather
commences, they take off all the pumpions that remain on the stalk,
whether ripe or not, and spread them on the floor, in a part of the
house, where the unripe ones grow perfectly ripe, if they are not laid
one upon the other. This is done round Montreal in the middle of
September; but in Pensylvania, I have seen some in the fields on the
19th of October. They keep fresh for several months, and even
throughout the winter, if they be well secured in dry cellars (for in
damp ones they rot very soon) where the cold cannot come in, or, which
is still better, in dry rooms which are heated now and then, to prevent
the cold from damaging the fruit.
Pumpions are prepared for eating in various ways. The Indians boil them
whole, or roast them in ashes, and eat them then, or go to sell them
thus prepared in the towns, and they have, indeed, a very fine flavour,
when roasted. The French and English slice them, and put the slices
before the fire to roast; when they are roasted, they generally put
sugar on the pulp. Another way of roasting them, is to cut them through
the middle, take out all the seeds, put the halves together again, and
roast them in an oven. When they are quite roasted, some butter is put
in, whilst they are warm, which being imbibed into the pulp, renders it
very palatable. They often boil pumpions in water, and afterwards eat
them, either alone or with flesh. Some make a thin kind of pottage of
them, by boiling them in water, and afterwards macerating the pulp.
This is again boiled with a little of the water, and a good deal of
milk, and stirred about whilst it is boiling. Sometimes the pulp is
stamped and kneaded into dough, with maize flour or other flour; of
this they make cakes. Some make puddings and tarts of gourds. The
Indians, in order to preserve the pumpions for a very long time, cut
them in long slices, which they fasten or twist together, and dry them
either by the sun, or by the fire in a room. When they are thus dried,
they will keep for years together, and when boiled, they taste very
well. The Indians prepare them thus at home and on their journies, and
from them the Europeans have adopted this method. Sometimes they do not
take the time to boil it, but eat it dry with hung beef, or other
flesh; and I own they are eatable in that state, and very welcome to a
hungry stomach. They sometimes preserve them in the following manner at
Montreal: They cut a pumpion in four pieces, peal them, and take the
seeds out of them. The pulp is put in a pot with boiling water, in
which it must boil from four to six minutes. It is then put into a
cullender, and left in it till the next day, that the water may run
off. When it is mixed with cloves, cinnamon, and some lemon peel,
preserved in syrup, and there must be an equal quantity of syrup and of
the pulp. After which it is boiled together, till the syrup is entirely
imbibed, and the white colour of the pulp is quite lost.
September the 20th. The corn of this year’s harvest in Canada, was
reckoned the finest they had ever had. In the province of New-York, on
the contrary, the crop was very poor. The autumn was very fine this
year in Canada.
September the 22d. The French in Canada carry on a great trade with the
Indians; and though it was formerly the only trade of this extensive
country, yet its inhabitants were considerably enriched by it. At
present, they have besides the Indian goods, several other articles
which are exported from hence. The Indians in this neighbourhood, who
go hunting in winter like the other Indians nations, commonly bring
their furs and skins to sale in the neighbouring French towns; however
this is not sufficient. The Indians who live at a greater distance,
never come to Canada at all; and, lest they should bring their goods to
the English, as the English go to them, the French are obliged to
undertake journies, and purchase the Indian goods in the country of the
Indians. This trade is chiefly carried on at Montreal, and a great
number of young and old men every year, undertake long and troublesome
voyages for that purpose, carrying with them such goods as they know
the Indians like, and are in want of. It is not necessary to take money
on such a journey, as the Indians do not value it; and indeed I think
the French, who go on these journies, scarce ever take a sol or penny
with them.
I will now enumerate the chief goods which the French carry with them
for this trade, and which have a good run among the Indians.
Muskets, Powder, Shot, and Balls. The Europeans have taught the Indians
in their neighbourhood the use of fire-arms, and they have laid aside
their bows and arrows, which were formerly their only arms, and make
use of muskets. If the Europeans should now refuse to supply the
Indians with muskets, they would be starved to death; as almost all
their food consists of the flesh of the animals, which they hunt; or
they would be irritated to such a degree as to attack the Europeans.
The Indians have hitherto never tried to make muskets or similar
fire-arms; and their great indolence does not even allow them to mend
those muskets which they have got. They leave this entirely to the
Europeans. As the Europeans came into North-America, they were very
careful not to give the Indians any fire-arms. But in the wars between
the French and English, each party gave their Indian allies fire-arms,
in order to weaken the force of the enemy. The French lay the blame
upon the Dutch settlers in Albany, saying, that they began, in 1642, to
give their Indians fire-arms, and taught them the use of them, in order
to weaken the French. The inhabitants of Albany, on the contrary,
assert, that the French first introduced this custom, as they would
have been too weak to resist the combined force of the Dutch and
English in the colonies. Be this as it will, it is certain that the
Indians buy muskets from the Europeans, and know at present better how
to make use of them, than some of their teachers. It is likewise
certain, that the Europeans gain considerably by their trade in muskets
and ammunition.
Pieces of white cloth, or of a coarse uncut cloth. The Indians
constantly wear such pieces of cloth, wrapping them round their bodies.
Sometimes they hang them over their shoulders; in warm weather, they
fasten them round the middle; and in cold weather, they put them over
the head. Both their men and women wear these pieces of cloth, which
have commonly several blue or red stripes on the edge.
Blue or red cloth. Of this the Indian women make their petticoats,
which reach only to their knees. They generally chuse the blue colour.
Shirts and shifts of linen. As soon as an Indian fellow, or one of
their women, have put on a shirt, they never wash it, or strip it off,
till it is entirely torn in pieces.
Pieces of cloth, which they wrap round their legs instead of stockings,
like the Russians.
Hatchets, knives, scissars, needles, and a steel to strike fire with.
These instruments are now common among the Indians. They all take these
instruments from the Europeans, and reckon the hatchets and knives much
better, than those which they formerly made of stones and bones. The
stone hatchets of the ancient Indians are very rare in Canada.
Kettles of copper or brass, sometimes tinned in the inside. In these
the Indians now boil all their meat, and they have a very great run
with them. They formerly made use of earthen or wooden pots, into which
they poured water, or whatever else they wanted to boil, and threw in
red hot stones to make it boil. They do not want iron boilers, because
they cannot be easily carried on their continual journies, and would
not bear such falls and knocks as their kettles are subject to.
Ear-rings of different sizes, commonly of brass, and sometimes of tin.
They are worn by both men and women, though the use of them is not
general.
Vermillion. With this they paint their face, shirt, and several parts
of the body. They formerly made use of a reddish earth, which is to be
found in the country; but, as the Europeans brought them vermillion,
they thought nothing was comparable to it in colour. Many persons have
told me, that they had heard their fathers mention, that the first
Frenchmen who came over here, got a great heap of furs from the
Indians, for three times as much cinnabar as would ly on the tip of a
knife.
Verdigrease, to paint their faces green. For the black colour, they
make use of the soot at the bottom of their kettles, and daub their
whole face with it.
Looking glasses. The Indians are very much pleased with them, and make
use of them chiefly when they want to paint themselves. The men
constantly carry their looking glasses with them on all their journies;
but the women do not. The men, upon the whole, are more fond of
dressing than the women.
Burning glasses. These are excellent pieces of furniture in the opinion
of the Indians; because they serve to light the pipe without any
trouble, which an indolent Indian is very fond of.
Tobacco is bought by the northern Indians, in whose country it will not
grow. The southern Indians always plant as much of it as they want for
their own consumption. Tobacco has a great run amongst the northern
Indians, and it has been observed, that the further they live to the
northward, the more they smoke of tobacco.
Wampum, or, as they are here called, porcelanes. They are made of a
particular kind of shells, and turned into little short cylindrical
beads, and serve the Indians for money and ornament.
Glass beads, of a small size, and white or other colours. The Indian
women know how to fasten them in their ribbands, pouches, and clothes.
Brass and steel wire, for several kinds of work.
Brandy, which the Indians value above all other goods that can be
brought them; nor have they any thing, though ever so dear to them,
which they would not give away for this liquor. But, on account of the
many irregularities which are caused by the use of brandy, the sale of
it has been prohibited under severe penalties; however, they do not
always pay an implicit obedience to this order.
These are the chief goods which the French carry to the Indians, and
they have a good run among them.
The goods which they bring back from the Indians, consist entirely in
furs. The French get them in exchange for their goods, together with
all the necessary provisions they want on the journey. The furs are of
two kinds; the best are the northern ones, and the worst sort those
from the south.
In the northern parts of America there are chiefly the following skins
of animals: beavers, elks [108], rein-deer [109], wolf-lynxes [110],
and martens. They sometimes get martens skins from the south, but they
are red, and good for little. Pichou du Nord is perhaps the animal
which the English, near Hudson’s bay, call the wolverene. To the
northern furs belong the bears, which are but few, and foxes, which are
not very numerous, and generally black; and several other skins.
The skins of the southern parts are chiefly taken from the following
animals: wild cattle, stags, roebucks, otters, Pichoux du Sud, of which
P. Charlevoix makes mention [111], and are probably a species of
cat-lynx, or perhaps a kind of panther; foxes of various kinds,
raccoons, cat-lynxes, and several others.
It is inconceivable what hardships the people in Canada must undergo on
their journies. Sometimes they must carry their goods a great way by
land; frequently they are abused by the Indians, and sometimes they are
killed by them. They often suffer hunger, thirst, heat, and cold, and
are bit by gnats, and exposed to the bites of poisonous snakes, and
other dangerous animals and insects. These destroy a great part of the
youth in Canada, and prevent the people from growing old. By this
means, however, they become such brave soldiers, and so inured to
fatigue, that none of them fear danger or hardships. Many of them
settle among the Indians far from Canada, marry Indian women, and never
come back again.
The prices of the skins in Canada, in the year 1749, were communicated
to me by M. de Couagne, a merchant at Montreal, with whom I lodged.
They were as follows:
Great and middle sized bear skins, cost five livres.
Skins of young bears, fifty sols.
—— lynxs, 25 sols.
—— pichoux du sud, 35 sols.
—— foxes from the southern parts, 35 sols.
—— otters, 5 livres.
—— raccoons, 5 livres.
—— martens, 45 sols.
—— wolf-lynxes [112], 4 livres.
—— wolves, 40 sols.
—— carcajoux, an animal which I do not know, 5 livres.
Skins of visons, a kind of martens, which live in the water, 25
sols.
Raw skins of elks [113], 10 livres.
—— stags [114].
Bad skins of elks and stags [115], 3 livres.
Skins of roebucks, 25, or 30 sols.
—— red foxes, 3 livres.
—— beavers, 3 livres.
I will now insert a list of all the different kinds of skins, which are
to be got in Canada, and which are sent from thence to Europe. I got it
from one of the greatest merchants in Montreal. They are as follows:
Prepared roebuck skins, chevreuils passés.
Unprepared ditto, chevreuils verts.
Tanned ditto, chevreuils tanés.
Bears, ours.
Young bears, oursons.
Otters, loutres.
Pecans.
Cats, chats.
Wolves, loup de bois.
Lynxes, loups cerviers.
North pichoux, pichoux du nord.
South pichoux, pichoux du sud.
Red foxes, renards rouges.
Cross foxes, renards croisés.
Black foxes, renards noirs.
Grey foxes, renards argentés.
Southern, or Virginian foxes, renards du sud ou de Virginie.
White foxes, from Tadoussac, renards blancs de Tadoussac.
Martens, martres.
Visons, or soutreaux.
Black squirrels, écureuils noirs.
Raw stags skins, cerfs verts.
Prepared ditto, cerfs passés.
Raw elks skins, originals verts.
Prepared ditto, originals passés.
Rein-deer skins, cariboux.
Raw hinds skins, biches verts.
Prepared ditto, biches passées.
Carcajoux.
Musk rats, rats musqués.
Fat winter beavers, castors gras d’hiver.
Ditto summer beavers, castors gras d’été.
Dry winter beavers, castors secs d’hiver.
Ditto summer beavers, castors secs d’été.
Old winter beavers, castors vieux d’hiver.
Ditto summer beavers, castors vieux d’été.
To-day, I got a piece of native copper from the Upper Lake. They find
it there almost quite pure; so that it does not want melting over
again, but is immediately fit for working. Father Charlevoix [116]
speaks of it in his History of New-France. One of the Jesuits at
Montreal, who had been at the place where this metal is got, told me,
that it is generally found near the mouths of rivers, and that there
are pieces of native copper too heavy for a single man to lift up. The
Indians there say, that they formerly found a piece of about seven feet
long, and near four feet thick, all of pure copper. As it is always
found in the ground near the mouths of rivers, it is probable that the
ice or water carried it down from a mountain; but, notwithstanding the
careful search that has been made, no place has been found, where the
metal lies in any great quantity together.
The head or superior of the priests of Montreal, gave me a piece of
lead-ore to-day. He said it was taken from a place only a few French
miles from Montreal, and it consisted of pretty compact, shining cubes,
of lead ore. I was told by several persons here, that furthermore
southward in the country, there is a place where they find a great
quantity of this lead-ore in the ground. The Indians near it, melt it,
and make balls and shot of it. I got some pieces of it likewise,
consisting of a shining cubic lead-ore, with narrow stripes between it,
and of a white hard earth or clay, which effervesces with aqua fortis.
I likewise received a reddish brown earth to-day, found near the Lac de
Deux Montagnes, or Lake of Two Mountains, a few French miles from
Montreal. It may be easily crumbled into dust between the fingers. It
is very heavy, and more so than the earth of that kind generally is.
Outwardly, it has a kind of glossy appearance, and, when it is handled
by the fingers for some time, they are quite as it were silvered over.
It is, therefore, probably a kind of lead-earth or an earth mixed with
iron-glimmer.
The ladies in Canada are generally of two kinds: some come over from
France, and the rest natives. The former possess the politeness
peculiar to the French nation; the latter may be divided into those of
Quebec and Montreal. The first of these are equal to the French ladies
in good breeding, having the advantage of frequently conversing with
the French gentlemen and ladies, who come every summer with the king’s
ships, and stay several weeks at Quebec, but seldom go to Montreal. The
ladies of this last place are accused by the French of partaking too
much of the pride of the Indians, and of being much wanting in French
good breeding. What I have mentioned above of their dressing their head
too assiduously, is the case with all the ladies throughout Canada.
Their hair is always curled, even when they are at home in a dirty
jacket, and short coarse petticoat, that does not reach to the middle
of their legs. On those days when they pay or receive visits, they
dress so gayly, that one is almost induced to think their parents
possessed the greatest dignities in the state. The Frenchmen, who
considered things in their true light, complained very much that a
great part of the ladies in Canada had got into the pernicious custom
of taking too much care of their dress, and squandering all their
fortunes, and more, upon it, instead of sparing something for future
times. They are no less attentive to have the newest fashions; and they
laugh at each other, when they are not dressed to each other’s fancy.
But what they get as new fashions, are grown old, and laid aside in
France; for the ships coming but once every year from thence, the
people in Canada consider that as the new fashion for the whole year,
which the people on board brought with them, or which they imposed upon
them as new. The ladies in Canada, and especially at Montreal, are very
ready to laugh at any blunders strangers make in speaking; but they are
very excusable. People laugh at what appears uncommon and ridiculous.
In Canada nobody ever hears the French language spoken by any but
Frenchmen; for strangers seldom come thither; and the Indians are
naturally too proud to learn French, but oblige the French to learn
their language. From hence it naturally follows, that the nice Canada
ladies cannot hear any thing uncommon without laughing at it. One of
the first questions they propose to a stranger is, whether he is
married? The next, how he likes the ladies in the country; and whether
he thinks them handsomer than those of his own country? And the third,
whether he will take one home with him? There are some differences
between the ladies of Quebec and those of Montreal; those of the last
place seemed to be generally handsomer than those of the former. Their
behaviour likewise seemed to me to be somewhat too free at Quebec, and
of a more becoming modesty at Montreal. The ladies at Quebec,
especially the unmarried ones, are not very industrious. A girl of
eighteen is reckoned very poorly off, if she cannot enumerate at least
twenty lovers. These young ladies, especially those of a higher rank,
get up at seven, and dress till nine, drinking their coffee at the same
time. When they are dressed, they place themselves near a window that
opens into the street, take up some needle-work, and sew a stitch now
and then; but turn their eyes into the street most of the time. When a
young fellow comes in, whether they are acquainted with him or not,
they immediately lay aside their work, sit down by him, and begin to
chat, laugh, joke, and invent double-entendres; and this is reckoned
being very witty [117]. In this manner they frequently pass the whole
day, leaving their mothers to do all the business in the house. In
Montreal, the girls are not quite so volatile, but more industrious.
They are always at their needle-work, or doing some necessary business
in the house. They are likewise chearful and content; and nobody can
say that they want either wit, or charms. Their fault is, that they
think too well of themselves. However, the daughters of people of all
ranks, without exception, go to market, and carry home what they have
bought. They rise as soon, and go to bed as late, as any of the people
in the house. I have been assured, that, in general, their fortunes are
not considerable; which are rendered still more scarce by the number of
children, and the small revenues in a house. The girls at Montreal are
very much displeased that those at Quebec get husbands sooner than
they. The reason of this is, that many young gentlemen who come over
from France with the ships, are captivated by the ladies at Quebec, and
marry them; but as these gentlemen seldom go up to Montreal, the girls
there are not often so happy as those of the former place.
September the 23d. This morning I went to Sault au Récollet, a place
three French miles northward of Montreal, to describe the plants and
minerals there, and chiefly to collect seeds of various plants. Near
the town there are farms on both sides of the road; but as one advances
further on, the country grows woody, and varies in regard to height. It
is generally very strong; and there are both pieces of rock-stone, and
a kind of grey lime-stone. The roads are bad, and almost impassable for
chaises. A little before I arrived at Sault au Récollet, the woods end,
and the country is turned into corn-fields, meadows, and pastures.
About a French mile from the town are two lime-kilns on the road. They
are built of a grey lime-stone, burnt hard, and of pieces of
rock-stone, towards the fire. The height of the kiln from top to bottom
is seven yards.
The lime-stone which they burn here, is of two kinds. One is quite
black, and so compact, that its constituent particles cannot be
distinguished, some dispersed grains of white and pale grey spar
excepted. Now and then there are thin cracks in it filled with a white
small-grained spar.
I have never seen any petrefactions in this stone, though I looked very
carefully for them. This stone is common on the isle of Montreal, about
ten or twenty inches below the upper soil. It lies in strata of five or
ten inches thickness. This stone is said to give the best lime; for,
though it is not so white as that of the following grey lime-stone, yet
it makes better mortar, and almost turns into stone, growing harder and
more compact every day. There are examples, that when they have been
about to repair a house made partly of this mortar, the other stones of
which the house consists, sooner broke in pieces than the mortar
itself.
The other kind is a grey, and sometimes a dark grey lime-stone,
consisting of a compact calcareous-stone, mixed with grains of spar, of
the same colour. When broken, it has a strong smell of stink-stone. It
is full of petrified striated shells or pectinites. The greatest part
of these petrefactions are, however, only impressions of the hollow
side of the shells. Now and then I found likewise petrefied pieces of
the shell itself, though I could never find the same shells in their
natural state on the shores; and it seems inconceivable how such a
quantity of impressions could come together, as I shall presently
mention.
I have had great pieces of this lime-stone, consisting of little else
than pectinites, lying close to one another. This lime-stone is found
on several parts of the isle, where it lies in horizontal strata of the
thickness of five or ten inches. This stone yields a great quantity of
white lime, but it is not so good as the former, because it grows damp
in wet weather.
Fir-wood is reckoned the best for the lime-kilns, and the thuya wood
next to it. The wood of the sugar-maple, and other trees of a similar
nature, are not fit for it, because they leave a great quantity of
coals.
Grey pieces of rock-stone are to be seen in the woods and fields
hereabouts.
The leaves of several trees and plants began now to get a pale hue;
especially those of the red maple, the smooth sumach [118], the
Polygonum sagittatum, Linn. and several of the ferns.
A great cross is erected on the road and the boy who shewed me the
wood, told me that a person was buried there, who had wrought great
miracles.
At noon I arrived at Sault au Récollet, which is a little place,
situated on a branch of the river St. Lawrence, which flows with a
violent current between the isles of Montreal and Jesus. It has got its
name from an accident which happened to a recollet friar, called
Nicolas Veil, in the year 1625. He went into a boat with a converted
Indian, and some Indians of the nation of Hurons, in order to go to
Quebec; but, on going over this place in the river, the boat overset,
and both the friar and his proselyte were drowned. The Indians (who
have been suspected of occasioning the oversetting of the boat) swam to
the shore, saved what they could of the friars effects, and kept them.
The country hereabouts is full of stones, and they have but lately
began to cultivate it; for all the old people could remember the places
covered with tall woods, which are now turned into corn-fields,
meadows, and pastures. The priests say, that this place was formerly
inhabited by some converted Hurons. These Indians lived on a high
mountain, at a little distance from Montreal when the French first
arrived here, and the latter persuaded them to sell that land. They did
so, and settled here at Sault au Récollet, and the church which still
remains here, was built for them, and they have attended divine service
in it for many years. As the French began to increase on the isle of
Montreal, they wished to have it entirely to themselves, and persuaded
the Indians again to sell them this spot, and go to another. The French
have since prevailed upon the Indians (whom they did not like to have
amongst them, because of their drunkenness, and rambling idle life) to
leave this place again, and go to settle at the lake des Deux
Montagnes, where they are at present, and have a fine church of stone.
Their church at Sault au Récollet is of wood, looks very old and
ruinous, though its inside is pretty good, and is made use of by the
Frenchmen in this place. They have already brought a quantity of stones
hither, and intend building a new church very soon. The botanical
observations which I made during these days, I shall reserve for
another publication.
Though there had been no rain for some days past, yet the moisture in
the air was so great, that as I spread some papers on the ground this
afternoon, in a shady place, intending to put the seeds I collected
into them, they were so wet in a few minutes time, as to be rendered
quite useless. The whole sky was very clear and bright, and the heat as
intolerable as in the middle of July.
One half of the corn-fields are left fallow alternately. The fallow
grounds are never ploughed in summer; so the cattle can feed upon the
weeds that grow on them. All the corn made use of here is summer corn,
as I have before observed. Some plough the fallow grounds late in
autumn; others defer that business till spring; but the first way is
said to give a much better crop. Wheat, barley, rye, and oats are
harrowed, but pease are ploughed under ground. They sow commonly about
the 15th of April, and begin with the pease. Among the many kinds of
pease which are to be got here, they prefer the green ones to all
others for sowing. They require a high, dry, poor ground, mixed with
coarse sand. The harvest time commences about the end, and sometimes in
the middle of August. Wheat returns generally fifteen, and sometimes
twenty fold; oats from fifteen to thirty fold. The crop of pease is
sometimes forty fold, but at other times only ten fold; for they are
very different. The plough and harrow are the only instruments of
husbandry they have, and those none of the best sort neither. The
manure is carried upon the fallow grounds in spring. The soil consists
of a grey stony earth, mixed with clay and sand. They sow no more
barley than is necessary for the cattle; for they make no malt here.
They sow a good deal of oats, but merely for the horses and other
cattle. Nobody knows here how to make use of the leaves of deciduous
trees as a food for the cattle, though the forests are furnished with
no other than trees of that kind, and though the people are commonly
forced to feed their cattle at home during five months.
I have already repeatedly mentioned, that almost all the wheat which is
sown in Canada is summer wheat, that is such as is sown in spring. Near
Quebec it sometimes happens, when the summer is less warm, or the
spring later than common, that a great part of the wheat does not ripen
perfectly before the cold commences. I have been assured that some
people, who live on the Isle de Jesus, sow wheat in autumn, which is
better, finer, and gives a more plentiful crop, than the summer wheat;
but it does not ripen above a week before the other wheat.
September the 25th. In several places hereabouts, they enclose the
fields with a stone fence, instead of wooden pales. The plenty of
stones which are to be got here, render the labour very trifling.
Here are abundance of beech trees in the woods, and they now had ripe
seeds. The people in Canada collect them in autumn, dry them, and keep
them till winter, when they eat them, instead of walnuts and hazel
nuts; and I am told they taste very well.
There is a salt spring, as the priest of this place informed me, seven
French miles from hence, near the river d’Assomption; of which during
the war, they have made a fine white salt. The water is said to be very
briny.
Some kinds of fruit-trees succeed very well near Montreal, and I had
here an opportunity of seeing some very fine pears and apples of
various sorts. Near Quebec the pear-trees will not succeed, because the
winter is too severe for them; and sometimes they are killed by the
frost in the neighbourhood of Montreal. Plum-trees of several sorts
were first brought over from France, succeed very well, and withstand
the rigours of winter. Three varieties of America walnut-trees grow in
the woods; but the walnut-trees brought over from France die almost
every year down to the very root, bringing forth new shoots in spring.
Peach-trees cannot well agree with this climate; a few bear the cold,
but, for greater safety, they are obliged to put straw round them.
Chesnut-trees, mulberry-trees, and the like, have never yet been
planted in Canada.
The whole cultivated part of Canada has been given away by the king to
the clergy, and some noblemen; but all the uncultivated parts belong to
him, as likewise the place on which Quebec and Trois Rivieres are
built. The ground on which the town of Montreal is built, together with
the whole isle of that name, belongs to the priests of the order of St.
Sulpicius who live at Montreal. They have given the land in tenure to
farmers and others who were willing to settle on it, in so much that
they have more upon their hands at present. The first settlers paid a
trifling rent for their land; for frequently the whole lease for a
piece of ground, three arpens broad and thirty long, consists in a
couple of chicken; and some pay twenty, thirty, or forty sols for a
piece of land of the same size. But those who came later, must pay near
two ecus (crowns) for such a piece of land, and thus the land-rent is
very unequal throughout the country. The revenues of the bishop of
Canada do not arise from any landed property. The churches are built at
the expence of the congregations. The inhabitants of Canada do not yet
pay any taxes to the king; and he has no other revenues from it, than
those which arise from the custom-house.
The priests of Montreal have a mill here, where they take the fourth
part of all that is ground. However the miller receives a third part of
this share. In other places he gets the half of it. The priests
sometimes lease the mill for a certain sum. Besides them nobody is
allowed to erect a mill on the isle of Montreal, they having reserved
that right to themselves. In the agreement drawn up between the priests
and the inhabitants of the isle, the latter are obliged to get all
their corn ground in the mills of the former.
They boil a good deal of sugar in Canada of the juice running out of
the incisions in the sugar-maple, the red maple, and the sugar-birch;
but that of the first tree is most commonly made use of. The way of
preparing it has been more minutely described by me, in the Memoirs of
the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences [119].
September the 26th. Early this morning I returned to Montreal. Every
thing began now to look like autumn. The leaves of the trees were pale
or reddish, and most of the plants had lost their flowers. Those which
still preserved them were the following [120]:
Several sorts of asters, both blue and white.
Golden rods of various kinds.
Common milfoil.
Common self-heal.
The crisped thistle.
The biennial oenothera.
The rough-leaved sun-flower, with tri-foliated leaves.
The Canada violet.
A species of gentian.
Wild vines are abundant in the woods hereabouts, climbing up very high
trees.
I have made enquiry among the French, who travel far into the country,
concerning the food of the Indians. Those who live far north, I am
told, cannot plant any thing, on account of the great degree of cold.
They have, therefore, no bread, and do not live on vegetables; flesh
and fish is their only food, and chiefly the flesh of beavers, bears,
rein-deer, elks, hares, and several kinds of birds. Those Indians who
live far southward, eat the following things. Of vegetables they plant
maize, wild kidney beans [121] of several kinds, pumpions of different
sorts, squashes, a kind of gourds, watermelons and melons [122]. All
these plants have been cultivated by the Indians, long before the
arrival of the Europeans. They likewise eat various fruits which grow
in their woods. Fish and flesh make a very great part of their food.
And they chiefly like the flesh of wild cattle, roe-bucks, stags,
bears, beavers, and some other quadrupeds. Among their dainty dishes,
they reckon the water-taregrass [123], which the French call folle
avoine, and which grows in plenty in their lakes, in stagnant waters,
and sometimes in rivers which flow slowly. They gather its seeds in
October, and prepare them in different ways, and chiefly as groats,
which taste almost as well as rice. They make likewise many a delicious
meal of the several kinds of walnuts, chesnuts, mulberries, acimine
[124], chinquapins [125], hazel-nuts, peaches, wild prunes, grapes,
whortle-berries of several sorts, various kinds of medlars,
black-berries, and other fruit and roots. But the species of corn so
common in what is called the old world, were entirely unknown here
before the arrival of the Europeans; nor do the Indians at present ever
attempt to cultivate them, though they see the use which the Europeans
make of the culture of them, and though they are fond of eating the
dishes which are prepared of them.
September the 27th. Beavers are abundant all over North-America, and
they are one of the chief articles of the trade in Canada. The Indians
live upon their flesh during a great part of the year. It is certain
that these animals multiply very fast; but it is no less so, that vast
numbers of them are annually killed, and that the Indians are obliged
at present to undertake distant journies, in order to catch or shoot
them. Their decreasing in number is very easily accounted for; because
the Indians, before the arrival of the Europeans, only caught as many
as they found necessary to clothe themselves with, there being then no
trade with the skins. At present a number of ships go annually to
Europe, laden chiefly with beavers skins; the English and French
endeavour to outdo each other, by paying the Indians well for them, and
this encourages the latter to extirpate these animals. All the people
in Canada told me, that when they were young, all the rivers in the
neighbourhood of Montreal, the river St. Lawrence not excepted, were
full of beavers and their dykes; but at present they are so far
extirpated, that one is obliged to go several miles up the country
before one can meet with one. I have already remarked above, that the
beaver skins from the north, are better than those from the south.
Beaver-flesh is eaten not only by the Indians, but likewise by the
Europeans, and especially the French, on their fasting days; for his
holiness, in his system, has ranged the beaver among the fish. The
flesh is reckoned best, if the beaver has lived upon vegetables, such
as the asp, and the beaver-tree [126]; but when he has eaten fish, it
does not taste well, To-day I tasted this flesh boiled, for the first
time; and though every body present, besides myself, thought it a
delicious dish, yet I could not agree with them. I think it is eatable,
but has nothing delicious. It looks black when boiled, and has a
peculiar taste. In order to prepare it well, it must be boiled in
several waters from morning till noon, that it may lose the bad taste
it has. The tail is likewise eaten, after it has been boiled in the
same manner, and roasted afterwards; but it consists of fat only,
though they would not call it so; and cannot be swallowed by one who is
not used to eat it.
Much has already been written concerning the dykes, or houses of the
beavers; it is therefore unnecessary to repeat it. Sometimes, though
but seldom, they catch beavers with white hair.
Wine is almost the only liquor which people above the vulgar are used
to drink. They make a kind of spruce beer of the top of the white fir
[127], which they drink in summer; but the use of it is not general;
and it is seldom drank by people of quality. Thus great sums go
annually out of the country for wine; as they have no vines here, of
which they could make a liquor that is fit to be drank. The common
people drink water; for it is not yet customary here to brew beer of
malt; and there are no orchards large enough to supply the people with
apples for making cyder. Some of the people of rank, who possess large
orchards, sometimes, out of curiosity, get a small quantity of cyder
made. The great people here, who are used from their youth to drink
nothing but wine, are greatly at a loss in time of war; when all the
ships which brought wine are intercepted by the English privateers.
Towards the end of the last war, they gave two hundred and fifty
Francs, and even one hundred Ecus, for a barrique, or hogshead, of
wine.
The present price of several things, I have been told by some of the
greatest merchants here, is as follows. A middling horse costs forty
Francs [128] and upwards; a good horse is valued at an hundred Francs,
or more. A cow is now sold for fifty Francs; but people can remember
the time when they were sold for ten Ecus [129]. A sheep costs five or
six livres at present; but last year, when every thing was dear, it
cost eight or ten Francs. A hog of one year old, and two hundred, or an
hundred and fifty pound weight, is sold at fifteen Francs. M. Couagne,
the merchant, told me, that he had seen a hog of four hundred weight
among the Indians. A chicken is sold for ten or twelve Sols [130]; and
a turkey for twenty sols. A Minot [131] of wheat sold for an Ecu last
year; but at present it cost forty Sols. Maize is always of the same
price with wheat, because here is but little of it; and it is all made
use of by those who go to trade with the Indians. A Minot of oats costs
sometimes from fifteen to twenty Sols; but of late years it has been
sold for twenty-six, or thirty Sols. Pease bear always the same price
with wheat. A pound of butter costs commonly about eight or ten Sols;
but last year it rose up to sixteen Sols. A dozen of eggs used to cost
but three Sols; however, now are sold for five. They make no cheese at
Montreal; nor is there any to be had, except what is got from abroad. A
water-melon generally costs five or six Sols; but if of a large size,
from fifteen to twenty.
There are as yet no manufactures established in Canada; probably,
because France will not lose the advantage of selling off its own goods
here. However, both the inhabitants of Canada, and the Indians, are
very ill off for want of them, in times of war.
Those persons who want to be married, must have the consent of their
parents. However, the judge may give them leave to marry, if the
parents oppose their union, without any valid reason. Likewise, if the
man be thirty years of age, and the woman twenty-six, they may marry,
without farther waiting for their parents consent.
September the 29th. This afternoon I went out of town, to the
south-west part of the isle, in order to view the country, and the
œconomy of the people, and to collect several seeds. Just before the
town are some fine fields, which were formerly cultivated, but now
serve as pastures. To the north-west appears the high mountain, which
lies westward of Montreal, and is very fertile, and covered with fields
and gardens from the bottom to the summit. On the south-east side is
the river St. Lawrence, which is very broad here; and on its sides are
extensive corn-fields and meadows, and fine houses of stone, which look
white at a distance. At a great distance south-eastward, appear the two
high mountains near fort Chamblais, and some others near lake
Champlain, raising their tops above the woods. All the fields
hereabouts are filled with stones of different sizes; and among them,
there is now and then a black lime-stone. About a French mile from the
town, the high road goes along the river, which is on the left-hand;
and on the right-hand all the country is cultivated and inhabited. The
farm-houses are three, four, or five arpens distant from each other.
The hills near the river are generally high and pretty steep; they
consist of earth; and the fields below them are filled with pieces of
rock-stone, and of black lime-slate. About two French miles from
Montreal, the river runs very rapidly, and is full of stones; in some
places there are some waves. However, those who go in boats into the
southern parts of Canada, are obliged to work through such places.
Most of the farm-houses in this neighbourhood are of stone, partly of
the black lime-stone, and partly of other stones in the neighbourhood.
The roof is made of shingles or of straw. The gable is always very high
and steep. Other buildings, such as barns and stables, are of wood.
Wild-geese and ducks, began now to migrate in great flocks to the
southern countries.
October the 2d. The two preceding days, and this, I employed chiefly in
collecting seeds.
The last night’s frost had caused a great alteration in several trees.
Walnut-trees of all sorts flied their leaves in plenty now. The flowers
of a kind of nettle [132] were all entirely killed by the frost. The
leaves of the American lime-tree were likewise damaged. In the
kitchen-gardens the leaves of the melons were all killed by the frost.
However, the beech, oak, and birch, did not seem to have suffered at
all. The fields were all covered with a hoar-frost. The ice in the
pools of water was a geometrical line and a half in thickness.
The biennial oenothera [133] grows in abundance on open woody hills,
and fallow fields. An old Frenchman, who accompanied me as I was
collecting its seeds, could not sufficiently praise its property of
healing wounds. The leaves of the plant must be crushed, and then laid
on the wound.
Sœurs de Congregation are a kind of religious women, different from
nuns. They do not live in a convent, but have houses both in the town
and country. They go where they please, and are even allowed to marry,
if an opportunity offers; but this, I am told, happens very seldom. In
many places in the country, there are two or more of them: they have
their house commonly near a church, and generally the parsonage house
is on the other side of the church. Their business is to instruct young
girls in the Christian religion, to teach them reading, writing,
needle-work, and other female accomplishments. People of fortune board
their daughters with them for some time. They have their boarding,
lodging, beds, instruction, and whatever else they want, upon very
reasonable terms. The house where the whole community of these ladies
live, and from whence they are sent out into the country, is at
Montreal. A lady that wants to become incorporated among them, must pay
a considerable sum of money towards the common stock; and some people
reckon it to be four thousand livres. If a person be once received, she
is sure of a subsistence during her life-time.
La Chine is a fine village, three French miles to the south-east of
Montreal, but on the same isle, close to the river St. Lawrence. The
farm-houses ly along the river-side, about four or five arpens from
each other. Here is a fine church of stone, with a small steeple; and
the whole place has a very agreeable situation. Its name is said to
have had the following origin. As the unfortunate M. Salée was here,
who was afterwards murdered by his own countrymen further up in the
country, he was very intent upon discovering a shorter road to China,
by means of the river St. Lawrence. He talked of nothing at that time
but his new short way to China. But as his project of undertaking this
journey, in order to make this discovery, was stopped by an accident
which happened to him here, and he did not that time come any nearer
China, this place got its name, as it were, by way of joke.
This evening I returned to Montreal.
October the 5th. The governor-general at Quebec is, as I have already
mentioned before, the chief commander in Canada. Next to him is the
intendant at Quebec; then follows the governor of Montreal, and after
him the governor of Trois Rivieres. The intendant has the greatest
power next to the governor-general; he pays all the money of
government, and is president of the board of finances, and of the court
of justice in this country. He is, however, under the governor-general;
for if he refuses to do any thing to which he seems obliged by his
office, the governor-general can give him orders to do it, which he
must obey. He is allowed, however, to appeal to the government in
France. In each of the capital towns, the governor is the highest
person, then the lieutenant-general, next to him a major, and after him
the captains. The governor-general gives the first orders in all
matters of consequence. When he comes to Trois Rivieres and Montreal,
the power of the governor ceases, because he always commands where he
is. The governor-general commonly goes to Montreal once every year, and
mostly in winter; and during his absence from Quebec, the
lieutenant-general commands there. When the governor-general dies, or
goes to France, before a new one is come in his stead, the governor of
Montreal goes to Quebec to command in the mean while, leaving the major
to command at Montreal.
One or two of the king’s ships are annually sent from France to Canada,
carrying recruits to supply the places of those soldiers, who either
died in the service, or have got leave to settle in the country, and
turn farmers, or to return to France. Almost every year they send a
hundred, or a hundred and fifty people over in this manner. With these
people they likewise send over a great number of persons, who have been
found guilty of smuggling in France. They were formerly condemned to
the gallies, but at present they send them to the colonies, where they
are free as soon as they arrive, and can choose what manner of life
they please, but are never allowed to go out of the country, without
the king’s special licence. The king’s ships likewise bring a great
quantity of merchandizes which the king has bought, in order to be
distributed among the Indians on certain occasions. The inhabitants of
Canada pay very little to the king. In the year 1748, a beginning was,
however, made, by laying a duty of three per cent on all the French
goods imported by the merchants of Canada. A regulation was likewise
made at that time, that all the furs and skins exported to France from
hence, should pay a certain duty; but what is carried to the colonies
pays nothing. The merchants of all parts of France and its colonies,
are allowed to send ships with goods to this place; and the Quebec
merchants are at liberty likewise to send their goods to any place in
France, and its colonies. But the merchants at Quebec have but few
ships, because the sailors wages are very high. The towns in France
which chiefly trade with Canada, are Rochelle and Bourdeaux; next to
them are Marseilles, Nantes, Havre de Grace, St. Malo, and others. The
king’s ships which bring goods to this country, come either from Brest
or from Rochefort. The merchants at Quebec send flour, wheat, pease,
wooden utensils, &c. on their own bottoms, to the French possessions in
the West-Indies. The walls round Montreal were built in 1738, at the
king’s expence, on condition the inhabitants should, little by little,
pay off the cost to the king. The town at present pays annually 6000
livres for them to government, of which 2000 are given by the seminary
of priests. At Quebec the walls have likewise been built at the king’s
expence, but he did not redemand the expence of the inhabitants,
because they had already the duty upon goods to pay as above mentioned.
The beaver trade belongs solely to the Indian company in France, and
nobody is allowed to carry it on here, besides the people appointed by
that company. Every other fur trade is open to every body. There are
several places among the Indians far in the country, where the French
have stores of their goods; and these places they call les postes. The
king has no other fortresses in Canada than Quebec, Fort Chamblais,
Fort St. Jean, Fort St. Frederic, or Crownpoint, Montreal, Frontenac,
and Niagara. All other places belong to private persons. The king keeps
the Niagara trade all to himself. Every one who intends to go to trade
with the Indians must have a licence from the governor-general, for
which he must pay a sum according as the place he is going to is more
or less advantageous for trade. A merchant who sends out a boat laden
with all sorts of goods, and four or five persons with it, is obliged
to give five or six hundred livres for the permission; and there are
places for which they give a thousand livres. Sometimes one cannot buy
the licence to go to a certain trading place, because the
governor-general has granted, or intends to grant it to some
acquaintance or relation of his. The money arising from the granting of
licences, belongs to the governor-general; but it is customary to give
half of it to the poor: whether this is always strictly kept to or not,
I shall not pretend to determine.
END OF THE THIRD VOLUME.
NOTES
[1] De verdronkene landen.
[2] It seems Mr. Kalm has forgotten his own assertions in the first
volume. Dr. Colden, Dr. Franklin, and Mr. Bartram, have been the great
promoters and investigators of nature in this country; and how would
the inhabitants of Old England have gotten the fine collections of
North-American trees, shrubs, and plants, which grow at present almost
in every garden, and are as if it were naturalized in Old England, had
they not been assisted by their friends, and by the curious in
North-America. One need only cast an eye on Dr. Linnæus’s new edition
of his Systema, and the repeated mention of Dr. Garden, in order to be
convinced that the English in America have contributed a greater share
towards promoting natural history, than any nation under heaven, and
certainly more than the French, though their learned men are often
handsomely pensioned by their great Monarque: on the other hand the
English study that branch of knowledge, from the sole motive of its
utility, and the pleasure it affords to a thinking being, without any
of those mercenary views, held forth to the learned of other countries.
And as to the other parts of literature, the English in America are
undoubtedly superior to the French in Canada, witness the many useful
institutions, colleges, and schools founded in the English colonies in
North-America, and so many very considerable libraries now erecting in
this country, which contain such a choice of useful and curious books,
as were very little known in Canada, before it fell into the hands of
the English; not to mention the productions of original genius written
by Americans born. F.
[3] See Vol. I. p. 364.
[4] The country of the Illinois is on the river Ohio, near the place
where the English have found some bones, supposed to belong to
elephants. See Vol. I. p. 135. in the note.
[5] In France the young blanched leaves, which scarce peep out of
molehills, and have yet a yellow colour, are universally eaten as a
sallad, under the name of Pisenlit. F.
[6] See Vol. II.
[7] A sol in France is about the value of one half penny sterling.
[8] An Arpent in France contains 100 French perches, and each of those
22 French feet; then the French foot being to the English as 1440 to
1352, an arpent is about 2346 English feet and 8 inches long. See
Ordonnances de Louis XIV. sur le fait des Eaux & Forêts. Paris, 1687.
p. 112. F.
[9] Mr. Kalm says, in his original, that the length of an arpent was so
determined, that they reckoned 84 of them in a French lieue or league;
but as this does by no means agree with the statute arpent of France,
which by order of king Lewis XIV, was fixed at 2200 feet, Paris
measure, (see the preceding note) we thought proper to leave it out of
the text. F.
[10] Marmor schistosum, Linn. Syst. III. p. 40. Marmor unicolor nigrum.
Wall.. Min. pag. 61. n. 2. Lime-slates, schistus calcareus. Forst.
Introd. to Min. p. 9. F.
[11] See the Memoirs of that Academy, for the year 1750, page 284.
The Stillingia Sylvatica is probably one of these roots. F.
[12] Saint Jean.
[13] Sea Wolves.
[14] See their Memoirs for the year 1752, p. 308, sect. 9.
[15] Abies foliis subtus argenteis.
[16] It seems, that for the future, the fair sex in the English
colonies in North-America, will no longer deserve the reproaches Mr.
Kalm stigmatizes them with repeatedly, since it is generally reported,
that the ladies of late have vied one with another, in providing their
families with linen, stockings, and home-spun cloath of their own
making, and that a general spirit of industry prevails among them at
this present time. F.
[17] Perdrix blanches.
[18] See Br. Zool. Suppl. plate XIII. f. 1. F.
[19] See a figure of this hare in its white state, in the Suppl. to Br.
Zool. plate XLVII. f. 1. F.
[20] But by this means they would loose that superiority, which in
their wild state they have over the tame cattle; as all the progenies
of tamed animals degenerate from the excellence of their wild and free
ancestors. F.
[21] See Vol. I. p. 207.
[22] Cotton-tree. Mr. Kalm mentions before, that this name is given to
the Asclepias Syriaca. See Vol. III. p. 28. F.
[23] Mr. Kalm describes it thus: Poa culmo subcompresso, panicula
tenuissima, spiculis trifloris minimis, flosculis basi pubescentibus.
[24] The sol is the lowest coin in Canada, and is about the value of a
penny in the English colonies. A livre, or franc, (for they are both
the same) contains twenty sols; and three livres, or francs, make an
ecu, or crown.
[25] Tophus Tubalcaini, Linn. Syst. Nat. III. p. 187, n. 5. Minera
ferri subaquosa nigro cærulescens. Wall. Mineral. p. 263. Germ. Ed. p.
340. n. 3. Iron ockres in the shape of crusts, are sometimes cavernous,
as the Brush ore. Forster’s Mineral, p. 48.
[26] This lime-stone, seems to be a marle, or rather a kind of
stone-marle: for there is a whitish kind of it in the Krim-Tartary, and
near Stiva or Thebes, in Greece, which is employed by the Turks and
Tartars for making heads of pipes, and that from the first place is
called Keffekil, and in the latter, Sea-Scum: it may be very easily
cut, but grows harder in time. F.
[27] La haute Ville & la basse Ville.
[28] A kind of Franciscan friars, called Ordo Sti. Franciscì
strictioris observantiæ.
[29] Le Seminaire.
[30] Nitrum suillum, Linn. Syst. III. p. 86. Lapis suillus prismaticus
Waller. Mineral. p. 59. a. 1. Stink-stone, Forster’s Introd. to
Mineralogy. p. 40.
[31] Meaning Quel bec.
[32] The river St. Lawrence, was no more a barrier to the victorious
British fleets in the last war, nor were the fortifications of Quebec
capable to withstand the gallant attacks of their land army, which
disappointed the good Frenchmen in Canada of their too sanguine
expectations, and at present, they are rather happy at this change of
fortune, which has made them subjects of the British sceptre, whose
mild influence they at present enjoy. F.
[33] Botanists know this plant by the name of Panax quinquefolium,
foliis ternatis quinatis Linn. Mat. Med. § 116. Sp. plant. p. 15, 12.
Gronov. Fl. Virg. p. 147. See like wise Catesby’s Nat. Hist. of
Carolina. Vol. III. p. 16. t. 16. Laffitau Gins. 51. t. 1. Father
Charlevoix Hist. de la Nouvelle France. Tom. IV. p. 308. fig. XIII. and
Tom. V. p. 24.
[34] Peter Osbeck’s voyage to China, Vol. I. p. 223.
[35] Mr. Osbeck seems to doubt whether the Europeans reap any
advantages from the Ginseng trade or not, because the Chinese do not
value the Canada roots so much as those of the Chinese-Tartary and
therefore the former bear scarce half the price of the latter. See
Osbeck’s Voyage to China, Vol. I. p. 223. F.
[36] This is directly opposite to Mr. Osbeck’s assertion. See the
preceding page, 114. note †. F.
[37] It is the Adiantum pedatum of Linn. sp. pl. p. 1557. Cornutus, in
his Canadens. plant. historia, p. 7. calls it Adiantum Americanum, and
gives together with the description, a figure of it, p. 6.
[38] Adiantum Capillus Veneris. True Maiden-hair.
[39] This is a kind of cabbage, with large round eatable roots, which
grow out above the ground wherein it differs from the turnep-cabage
(Brassica Napobrassica) whose root grows in the ground. Both are common
in Germany, and the former likewise in Italy.
[40] This amount seems to be highly probable, for we find in Marco
Paolo, that Kublai-Khan, one of the successors of Genghizkhan, after
the conquest of the southern part of China, sent ships out, to conquer
the kingdom of Japan, or, as they call it, Nipan-gri, but in a terrible
storm the whole fleet was cast away, and nothing was ever heard of the
men in that fleet. It seems that some of these ships were cast to the
shores, opposite the great American lakes, between forty and fifty
degrees north latitude, and there probably erected these monuments, and
were the ancestors of some nations, who are called Mozemlecks, and have
some degree of civilization. Another part of this fleet, it seems,
reached the country opposite Mexico, and there founded the Mexican
empire, which, according to their own records, as preserved by the
Spaniards, and in their painted annals, in Purchas’s Pilgrimage, are
very recent; so that they can scarcely remember any more than seven
princes before Motezuma II. who was reigning when the Spaniards arrived
there, 1519, under Fernando Cortez; consequently the first of these
princes, supposing each had a reign of thirty-three years and four
months, and adding to it the sixteen years of Motezuma, began to reign
in the year 1270, when Kublai-Khan, the conqueror of all China and of
Japan, was on the throne, and in whose time happened, I believe, the
first abortive expedition to Japan, which I mentioned above, and
probably furnished North-America, with civilized inhabitants. There is,
if I am not mistaken, a great similarity between the figures of the
Mexican idols, and those which are usual among the Tartars, who embrace
the doctrines and religion of the Dalaï-Lama, whose religion
Kublai-Khan first introduced among the Monguls, or Moguls. The savage
Indians of North-America, it seems, have another origin, and are
probably descended from the Yukaghiri and Tchucktchi, inhabitants of
the most easterly and northerly part of Asia, where, according to the
accounts of the Russians, there is but a small traject to America. The
ferocity of these nations, similar to that of the Americans, their way
of painting, their fondness of inebriating liquors, (which the
Yukaghiri prepare from poisonous and inebriating mushrooms, bought of
the Russians) and many other things, show them plainly to be of the
same origin. The Esquimaux seem to be the same nation with the
inhabitants of Greenland, the Samoyedes, and Lapponians. South-America,
and especially Peru, is probably peopled from the great unknown south
continent, which is very near America, civilized, and full of
inhabitants of various colours: who therefore might very easily be cast
on the American continent, in boats, or proas. F.
[41] This part has not yet been published.
[42] What bookseller in Sweden could undertake to print such a work at
his own expence, without losing considerably by it?
[43] Remèdes Souverains.
[44] Pour faire un récollet il faut une hachette, pour un prêtre un
cijeau, mais pour un Jesuite il faut un pinceau.
[45] A French acre.
[46] A French coin, value about a crown English.
[47] Pasteur.
[48] Sorbus aucuparia.
[49] Poa angustifolia. Linn.
[50] Spiculæ tri vel quadri-floræ minimæ; semina basi pubescentia.
[51] Agrostis. Linn.
[52] Trifolium repens. Linn. Trifolium pratense album. C. B.
[53] Here follows, in the original, an account of the enclosures made
use of near Quebec, which is intended only for the Swedes, but not for
a nation that has made such progress in agriculture and husbandry, as
the English. F.
[54] The kind called Cerisier by the French, I described thus in my
journal: Cerasus foliis ovatis serratis, serraturis profundis fere
subulatis, fructu racemoso. The other thus: Cerasus foliis lanceolatis,
crenato-serratis, acutis, fructu fere solitario.
[55] Helleborus trifolius.
[56] Oxalis Acetesilla, Linn.
[57] Circæa alpina, Linn.
[58] Betula nigra, Linn.
[59] Viburnum dentatum, Linn.
[60] Helianthus annuus.
[61] It has been observed by several experiments, that any liquor dipt
into another liquor, and then exposed into the air for evaporation,
will get a remarkable degree of cold; the quicker the evaporation
succeeds, after repeated dippings, the greater is the cold. Therefore
spirit of wine evaporating quicker than water, cools more than water;
and spirit of sal ammoniac, made by quick-lime, being still more
volatile than spirit of wine, its cooling quality is still greater. The
evaporation succeeds better by moving the vessel containing the liquor,
by exposing it to the air, and by blowing upon it, or using a pair of
bellows. See de Mairan, Dissertation sur la Glace, Prof. Richman in
Nov. Comment. Petrop. ad an. 1747, & 1748. p. 284. and Dr. Cullen in
the Edinburgh physical and literary Essays and Observations. Vol. II.
p. 145. F.
[62] Thuja occidentalis, Linn.
[63] Lichen, Bryum, Hypnum.
[64] Of these rings or circles, it is well known all trees get but one
every year, so that they serve to ascertain the age of the tree, and
the quickness, or slowness of its growth. F.
[65] The bark is not included, when I speak of the diameters of these
trees.
[66] Polypodium fronde pinnata, pinnis alternis ad basin superne
appendicularis.
[67] Formica nigra. Linn.
[68] Probably Onidoes.
[69] Venus mercenaria. Linn.
[70] Triglochin.
[71] It was probably impregnated with particles of copper ore.
[72] Vitis labrusca & vulpina.
[73] Saxum micaceo quarzoso-calcarium.
[74] Salicornia, Glaux, Pisum maritimum.
[75] See p. 24. of this volume.
[76] See p. 24. of this volume.
[77] Tipula hortorum. Linn.
[78] See p. 92. of this volume.
[79] The famous moose-deer is accordingly nothing but an elk; for no
one can deny the derivation of moose-deer from moosu. Considering
especially, that before the Iroquese or Five Nations grew to that
power, which they at present have all over North-America, the Algonkins
were then the leading nation among the Indians, and their language was
of course then a most universal language over the greater part of
North-America; and though they have been very nearly destroyed by the
Iroquese, their language is still more universal in Canada, than any of
the rest. F.
[80] See his Histoire de la Nouvelle France, Tom. II. p. m. 125.
[81] Sterna hirundo, Linn.
[82] Arundo arenaria Linn.
[83] Elymus arenarius Linn.
[84] Sea-rye.
[85] Vinland det goda, or the good wine-land, is the name which the old
Scandinavian navigators gave to America, which they discovered long
before Columbus. See Torsæi Historia Vinlandiæ antiquæ s. partis
Americæ septentrionalis. Hasniæ 1715, 4to. and Mr. George Westmann’s,
A. M. Dissertation on that Subject. Abo 1747. F.
[86] Plantago maritima Linn.
[87] Arbutus uva ursi Linn.
[88] Myrica gale Linn.
[89] Bunias cakile Linn.
[90] See Wallerius’s Mineralogy, Germ. ed. p. 87, Forster’s Introd. to
Mineralogy, p. 13.
[91] It is a cubic lead ore, or lead glance. Forster’s Introd. to
Mineralogy, p. 51.
[92] Forster’s Introd. to Mineralogy, p. 50. Zincum sterilum, Linn.
Syst. Nat. III. p. 126. Ed. XII.
[93] Typha latifolia, Linn.
[94] Pinus foliis geminis longis; ramis triplici fasciculo foliorum
terminatis, conis ovatis lævibus. Flor. Canad.
[95] Myrica gale. Linn.
[96] See his Histoire de la Nouv. France, tom. v. p. m. 100.
[97] Gypsum amiantiforme, Waller. Min. Germ. ed. p. 74. Fibrous or
radiated gypsum, Forst. Introd. to Mineralogy, p. 16.
[98] All over Poland, Russia, Turky, and Tartary, they smoke out of
pipes made of a kind of stone marle, to which they fix long wooden
tubes; for which latter purpose, they commonly employ the young shoots
of the various kinds of spiræa, which have a kind of pith easily to be
thrust out. The stone-marle is called generally sea-scum, being pretty
soft; and by the Tartars in Crimea, it is called keffekil. And as it
cuts so easily, various figures, are curiously carved in it, when it is
worked into pipe-heads, which often are mounted with silver. F.
[99] The Moravian brethren in Greenland, coming once over with some
Greenlanders to Terra Labrador, the Esquimaux ran away at their
appearance; but they ordered one of their Greenlanders to call them
back in his language. The Esquimaux hearing his voice, and
understanding the language, immediately stopped, came back, and were
glad to find a countryman, and wherever they went, among the other
Esquimaux, they gave out, that one of their brethren was returned. This
proves the Esquimaux to be of a tribe different from any European
nation, as the Greenland language has no similarity with any language
in Europe. F.
[100] Phoca vitulina. Linn.
[101] Trichechus rosmarus. Linn.
[102] The above account of the Esquimaux may be compared with Henry
Ellis’s Account of a Voyage to Hudson’s Bay, by the Dobbs Galley and
California, &c. and The Account of a Voyage for the Discovery of a
North West Passage by Hudson’s Straights, by the Clerk of the
California. Two Vols. 8vo. And lastly, with Crantz’s History of
Greenland. Two Vols. 8vo. F.
[103] It is not only the clearing of woods, but cultivation, and
population, that alter the climate of a country, and make it mild. The
Romans looked upon the winters of Germany and England as very severe,
but happily both countries have at present a much more mild climate
than formerly, owing to the three above mentioned reasons. Near
Petersburg, under sixty degrees north latitude, the river Neva was
covered with ice 1765, in the beginning of December, and cleared of it
April the 11th 1766. At Tsaritsin, which is under forty-eight degrees
forty minutes north latitude, the river Volga was covered with ice the
26th of November 1765, and the ice broke in the river April the 27th
1766, (all old stile). Is it not almost incredible, that in a place
very near twelve degrees more to the south, the effects of cold should
be felt longer, and more severely, than in the more northern climate.
And though the neighbourhood of Petersburg has a great many woods, the
cold was, however, less severe, and lasting; Tsaritsin on the contrary
has no woods for many hundred miles in its neighbourhood, if we except
some few trees and bushes, along the Volga and its isles, and the low
land along it. Wherever the eye looks to the east, there are vast
plains without woods, for many hundred miles. The clearing a country of
woods, cannot therefore alone contribute so much to make the climate
milder. But cultivation does more. On a ploughed field the snow will
always sooner melt, than on a field covered with grass. The inflammable
warm perticles brought into the field, by the various kinds of manure,
contribute much to soften the rigours of the climate; but the
exhalations of thousands of men and cattle, in a populous country, the
burning of so many combustibles, and the dispersion of so many caustic
particles, through the whole atmosphere; these are things which
contribute so much towards softening the rigours of a climate. In a
hundred square miles near Tsaritsin, there is not so much cultivated
land as there is within ten near Petersburg; it is in proportion to the
number of the inhabitants of both places, and this makes the chief
difference of the climate. There is still another consideration,
Petersburg lies near the sea, and Tsaritsin in an inland country; and,
generally speaking, countries near the sea have been observed to enjoy
a milder climate. These few remarks will be, I believe, sufficient to
enable every body to judge of the changes of the climate in various
countries, which, no doubt, grow warmer and more temperate, as
cultivation and population increase. F.
[104] Cornus sanguinea, Linn.
[105] Pontederia cordata Linn.
[106] Nymphææ.
[107] Cucurbita citrullus Linn.
[108] Orignacs.
[109] Cariboux.
[110] Loup cerviers.
[111] In his Hist. de la Nouv. France, Tom, V. p. 158.
[112] Loups cerviers.
[113] Originacs verts.
[114] Cerfs verts.
[115] Originacs et cerfs passés.
[116] See his Hist. de la Nouv. Fr. Tom. VI. p. 415.
[117] Avoir beaucoup d’esprit.
[118] Rhus glabrum. Linn.
[119] See the Volume for the year 1751, p. 143, &c.
[120] Asteres. Solidagines. Achillea millefolium. Prunella vulgaris.
Carduus crispus. Oenothera biennis. Rudbeckia triloba. Viola
Canadensis. Gentiana Saponaria.
[121] Phaseoli.
[122] Cucumis melo, Linn.
[123] Zizania aquatica, Linn.
[124] Annona muricata, Linn.
[125] Fagus pumila, Linn.
[126] Magnolia glauca, Linn.
[127] Epinette blanche. The way of brewing this beer is described at
large in the Memoirs of the Royal Acad. of Sciences, for the year 1751,
p. 190.
[128] Franc is the same as Livre; and twenty-two Livres make a pound
sterling.
[129] An Ecu is three Francs.
[130] Twenty Sols make one Livre.
[131] A French measure, about the same as two bushels in England.
[132] Urtica divaricata, Linn.
[133] Oenothera biennis, Linn.
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