We examined some land for sale in the neighbourhood of the iron-works before breakfast; after partaking of which, we travelled a few miles south, to the shores of Lake Erie, round which we passed to Amherstburgh, which we reached in the evening.
Williams had at one time resided at Amherstburgh, and landed us at what he considered the best house, kept by Mrs Drake, which was a large old dingy uninhabited looking tenement. Mrs Drake was seated with Mr M—— at tea, or supper, as it is generally called, on our arrival, which suited us well, as we had not dined,—a brace of roasted ducks being on the table.
After tea, we walked down the banks of the Detroit river and Lake Erie four or five miles, and returned through the fields, at some distance from our former line. The evening was clear, calm, and delightfully cool; the still glassy lake adorned with beautiful wooded islands, the American steam-boats, with music playing and unfurled sails, majestically ascending the limped and smooth-gliding Detroit, together with the gracefulness of vegetation and richness of soil, so enchanted us, that we resolved, contrary to our original intention, to devote another day to the neighbourhood of Amherstburgh.
Next morning, Williams drove us up the banks of the Detroit, till we reached the bridge crossing the Canrad, where we parted with him. Ascending the Canrad a little way, we turned to the right, up a flat piece of ground, in the centre of which there is a small brook, and where we spent some hours agreeably in examining plants, and adding to our collection of seeds. We returned through the lands belonging to the Huron Indians to Amherstburgh, and in the evening extended our walk in the direction we had passed the night before.
We left Amherstburgh soon after sunrise, to walk by Sandwich to the town of Detroit, and breakfasted by the way at a small inn with a French sign. The innkeeper had very little English, and we found some difficulty in understanding each other. Our fare consisted of poor green tea, bad butter, and worse bread. There was a fireplace in the kitchen, which was without furniture, except a table and chairs. The room was well lighted, and separated from the kitchen by a partition of lath, without plaster of any kind. There were two beds in the room without top or posts, with fine rich old printed bedcovers and pillowslips of the same, clean and neatly arranged. The upper story was accessible by a ladder. The father told me his family consisted of six children; the mother and two children had died a few weeks before. The children are at school; the masters seldom remain long, being too fond of whisky.
We arrived at the ferry opposite to Detroit about noon, which we crossed by a steam-boat of small size which plies every quarter of an hour, and took up our abode at an excellent hotel.
CHAPTER XXII.
Horse Hiring—French Inn—Negro Family—Prairie—Supplied with Oats—Mouth of the Thames—Elephant—Yorkshiremen—Want of Conveyance—Old Settler—Prairie—Face of the Country and Soil—Notices of French Inhabitants and their Agriculture—Huron Indians and their Agriculture—Royalists and their Agriculture—Notices of Nature—Detroit River—Amherstburgh—Sandwich—Ferry—Detroit.
My friend C—— sailed from Detroit for Buffalo on the 12th September, and next day I commenced a tour into the Western United States, from which I returned again to Detroit, and spent a few days in Canada.
With a view of keeping a connected account of Canada, I shall take up my proceedings on the 18th October, on the morning of which I crossed from Detroit to the British side of the river, on which there is situated a good many houses of different descriptions, with the view of obtaining a horse to proceed to Chatham on the Thames, a distance of fifty miles. Being refused by three different people who kept horses for hire, on what appeared to me frivolous pretences, and thinking they might be afraid of me leaving the horse, and escaping to the States, I offered to deposit the value of the horse with the owner before setting out on the journey. To this arrangement one individual out of the three consented, but demanded for the use of his horse the same hire as if he himself and a pair of horses had accompanied me, as he could not employ himself and the other in my absence. Under these circumstances I returned to Detroit, where I readily obtained a horse, which I entered at the customhouse before setting out on my journey, and again on my return, or rather paid the fees at once. I am not sure if it is absolutely necessary to enter a horse at the customhouse on crossing the Detroit river; and at the time suspected it was as much with the view of obtaining the fees, as complying with law, the owner of the horse requested me to apply at the customhouse with which he was connected.
The road from the town of Detroit, or rather Sandwich, which is on the Canadian side of the river Detroit, to Chatham, passes along the margin of Lake St Clair and the river Thames, and is the chief line of communication with the most westerly and other parts of Canada; yet except in the neighbourhood of Detroit and Chatham, I could not obtain oats or Indian corn to feed my horse. My first application was at the door of a newly erected house on Lake St Clair, in which I observed two young men through the window, and a voice answered to come round to the other door, on tapping at which I was told to come in, and on lifting the latch I found three men and two women, none of whom rose from their seats, or could tell me where my horse could be fed. At length I came to a house near the mouth of the Thames, with a French signpost at the door, where I stopt for an hour, my horse getting only coarse marsh hay.
This inn is situated on a ridge of sand thrown up by the lake, and about two feet above its waters; the surrounding country, for miles on all sides, being a marsh and destitute of inhabitants, another unoccupied house being a few hundred yards distant. Here a Canadian Frenchwoman of prepossessing appearance resided, and who spoke the English language tolerably well. Her husband died the previous year of cholera, and a young man who assisted her since, died a week or two before my arrival, of small-pox, and two girls were then just recovering from the same complaint. She told me a traveller had scarcely entered her door for seven weeks, and there was no one to fetch her oats and other necessaries. My poor horse, which was the roughest-motioned creature I ever bestrode, became tired, and I was anxious to shorten his journey as much as possible.
I called on Mr John Goose, with whom I travelled to Bear creek a month before, and who resided on the Thames, four miles below Chatham. He was in the woods bringing home firewood, and was momentarily expected, so I gave my horse some of his hay, and walked out to meet him. Mr Goose readily recognised me; and on learning my intention of wishing to pass the night at his house, on account of the tired state of my horse, was informed, he himself would be happy to receive me, but his wife was not fond of seeing strangers at present when small-pox were rife in the country, his family never having had the disease, or been vaccinated. Knowing the situation in which I had been a few hours before, I did not urge the matter with Mr Goose, although not a thorough disciple of the school of infection, and taking my wearied horse in my hand, proceeded onwards.
I called on Israel Williams, in whose stable I left my horse, and walked on to Mr Cartier’s inn, Chatham, where I passed the night. On enquiring for Israel’s horses, Pape and Jerry, which carried me round Lake Erie last month, he told me, that, when swimming Pape across the Thames about ten days ago in a canoe, he sunk like a stone, and remained under water two hours, having been, he supposed, seized with cramp. Williams was a runaway negro from the State of Virginia, a smart, active, stout little fellow, in good circumstances, having several stacks of wheat, and six or seven horses of different ages. I was asked to go into his house and see his wife Juliana, who was as stout and glossy black as any negro could desire. They had five or six fine curly-haired children of the same complexion as themselves, none of whom had been at school, as the teacher could not receive children of colour without displeasing his white employers.
Next morning, immediately after breakfast, I rode to the plains which I formerly crossed in a waggon, and, under the guidance of the squatter Mr Cass, had an opportunity of giving them a hurried examination. The plains of Chatham are, beyond all doubt, prairie, extending from Lake St Clair on both sides of the Thames. The east end of the prairie, next to Chatham, is variable soil, embracing sand of different colours, and clay of all textures, generally wet, and seemingly capable of being drained into the river. The wood islands are small, the grass in some parts very luxuriant, and several of the plants similar to those on the Michigan prairies. On advancing westward, the soil improves, and some parts are clay of the first quality. The grass on much of this prairie is four feet high, and as thick as it can stand; no part of Illinois seems richer.
No part of this prairie is cultivated; it is so little above the level of Lake St Clair, that it is doubtful if it can be drained, and much of it at present indicates wetness. I was anxious to ascertain the practicability of draining the prairie; but well-informed people at Sandwich and Detroit told me, instruments for levelling could not be obtained nearer than New York, and all streams being dry, there were no means of approximating the point. Some of the farmers on the Thames maintained there was no difficulty in the matter, and all mentioned Lake Erie, and not St Clair, as the outlet. I had no opportunity of forming an opinion on the subject, but if the drainage can only be effected by Lake Erie, the undertaking will be far too expensive for a private individual; and, in the present circumstances of Canada, not likely to repay a company for the outlay.
Lake St Clair, and the other lakes connected with the river St Lawrence, do not rise and fall by floods and droughts like ordinary collections of water in other parts of the world, yet it is subject to variations at distant periods; and this, I believe, has not been satisfactorily accounted for. The Frenchwoman who keeps the inn at the mouth of the Thames told me the lake was lower now than she had ever known it, and had been falling for years past. She said it continued to rise for years formerly, and drove people from the houses she pointed out, at some distance on the prairie, and thought it now eighteen inches below its highest level. This change of elevation on the lake might affect the prairie, even when drained.
The grass on the margin of the prairie near the Thames, and more especially in the neighbourhood of French church, six or seven miles from the junction of the river with Lake St Clair, is of the richest description, having a large portion of white clover, and cropped as short as teeth could make it. Yet the animals of all descriptions roaming on it were small, lean, stunted-looking creatures. This, in some measure, may have been owing to their respective breeds, but I could not resist auguring unfavourably of the land from the poverty of the animals grazing on it.
On leaving the prairie I found my horse getting tired; and on applying to a farmer on the banks of the Thames, he readily consented to furnish oats, for which he would not accept of payment. I also was asked into his house, and partook of his hospitality. I could not with propriety enquire the gentleman’s name, but learned his farm was Lot tenth, of Concession first. I need not, through this medium, ask him to accept of my thanks, however grateful I may feel, as there is little chance of his seeing or hearing of my lucubrations.
I reached the inn at the mouth of the Thames, where I remained for the night, getting a clean and good bed, fried pork morning and evening, and acting as my own ostler. In the morning I walked over a considerable extent of the shores of Lake St Clair, and the mouth of the Thames. The soil is exceedingly poor, and so wet that animals cannot walk over much of it. Here I saw the Thames steam-boat coming down the river from Chatham, which had a singular appearance when viewed from the prairie, the river being about two feet below the surface, the ground so perfectly level, and without an object of any kind, that the vessel seemed gliding on land.
I left the inn after breakfast, and reached Detroit in the afternoon, with my horse nearly done up. By the way I met an elephant walking on the road towards Chatham, covered with canvass, and attended by two men on horseback. A waggon led the cavalcade, in which I was told there was a lion and some other animals. The exhibiting of animals must yet be an indifferent trade in Canada, when population is so thin and poor.
I met many old-country Yorkshiremen at Detroit. The ostler who received my horse was from that county; a flash fellow, strutting the streets with a scarlet frock coat, collar and pocketlids of black velvet, with top boots and buckskins, was a Yorkshire tailor; and a Yorkshireman was entertaining many listeners in the bar-room of the hotel while dinner was preparing for me, having arrived after the regular hour. This character was dressed in his smock-coat, with tight lacing boots and leggans, as if from his native country a minute before, and was telling cock-and-bull stories about his shooting feats with Lord Liverpool and other great men, as their companion. His language, dress, and appearance formed a striking contrast to the grave, thoughtful-looking Americans, who did not make a remark or alter an expression of countenance indicating their opinion of Yorky; yet they seemed to be eyeing him with a keenness, as if measuring the strength and depth of his character.
After partaking of dinner, I recrossed the river to the Canadian side, walked over some French settlements, and passed the night at Sandwich. The hotel was a poor, dirty, ill-finished place, and more especially the sleeping part of it. Here I met with two gentlemen of the village, whose conversation was of considerable use to me.
Next morning it was my intention to have visited a new settlement, four miles to the east of Sandwich, but I was unable to obtain a horse or conveyance of any kind in this metropolis of Western Canada. The people of the hotels do not in the least degree interest themselves in the proceedings of travellers, and knew of no one likely to hire his horses or waggon. I, however, applied to several French inhabitants without effect; and the day being wet I had no alternative but to walk down the banks of the river to Amherstburgh, where, with the assistance of Mrs Drake, I got the use of a pony from Mr Obrion at a dollar a-day.
Nothing could exceed the wretched equipment of the pony, which was a good one if it had been in condition. But it had run on the common and in the wood until caught for my use; its mane was almost a solid mass of burs, and its hairs so covered with eggs of the bot-fly, that they almost changed the colour of the animal. It was without shoes; the saddle, without girths, was held in its position by a belt passing over it; the stirrups and bridle harmonizing with the saddle.
In the first instance I rode over part of the Huron Indian Reserve with Mr Clark, who had married a squaw of the Huron tribe, by whom he had a family, being originally an American, and having lived in comfort, since the time of his marriage, on the Huron lands. Returning again to Amherstburgh, I rode down the shore of Lake Erie, after dinner, to Mr ——’s, where I arrived about dusk. There was no stable for my pony, and it was turned into a field to shift for itself. Mr —— was unfortunately from home, and not expected for some days. I found this old settler, who had been born in the country, living pretty much in the style of those who had recently set themselves down, and I partook of homely fare, and slept on the floor. Here I met with a military gentleman of intelligence, whose name is connected with a beautiful island on Lake Simcoe, and who was in search of a desirable lot of land to fix on, to which he was entitled by his services. He expressed a wish to have my assistance in the selection, and offered such terms, that nothing but want of time, and the advanced period of the season, prevented my accepting.
Next morning I rose by daybreak, and caught my pony, on which I rode to the hotel at the shipping place of Colborne iron works, kept by Mr Faux, from whom I hired a horse, to save my pony, for returning to Amherstburgh in the afternoon. I rode on Mr Faux’s horse to a prairie some miles to the east of the iron works, which I had heard spoken of in high terms, and which I observed at some distance a month before. This prairie was understood to be for sale, and I called on the proprietor, who was a kind, well-informed old gentleman, showing me personally over the land, and regretting my inability to dine with him.
I found the prairie in question to consist of peat earth, about a foot in thickness, on a wet sandy subsoil, intermingled with marl, which I was able to distinguish by the aid of a spade, and test by vinegar. It was of small size, very picturesque, and not likely to repay the expense of draining.
I again mounted the pony at Mr Faux’s hotel, and reached Amherstburgh in the evening, having examined four farms that were for sale in course of my excursion. Time was now pressing me; and being anxious to see an individual in Sandwich, and a form in the neighbourhood, I engaged Mr Obrion to take me early in the morning to Sandwich in a cart.
I called Mr Obrion out of bed some time after the hour he appointed to meet me, and he was so long in getting every thing put to rights, that I walked over the common on foot. He, however, soon overtook me; but declining to go beyond a pace faster than I could walk, I leapt from the cart, and proceeded on foot, breakfasting at a French inn, stopping at Sandwich two hours, and bidding adieu to Canada, by crossing over to Detroit about noon.
Having, on my different visits to Canada, passed completely round the peninsula formed by the Thames river, Lake St Clair, Detroit river, and Lake Erie, I shall describe the face of the country through which I passed.
On leaving Chatham for the south, the soil from that place to Lake Erie, with exception of the plains already noticed, was clay of excellent quality, the surface level, and apparently wet near the margin. In passing up the shores of the lake, the soil was variable, being sometimes clay, and sometimes sand, the latter greatly preponderating. Some parts of the lake shore were unsettled, and scarcely a recent clearance was discernible. In the townships of Tilbury and Marsea, some farms had been deserted, which had a most barren aspect, being overrun with weeds, and scarcely producing a blade of grass.
The surface in the township of Gosfield, near the iron-works, differs from any seen in the peninsula, being undulating, and, in the language of the place, a handsome country. The land is not of the best quality, and for the first time in Canada, I walked over a gravelly soil.
The townships of Colchester and Maldon are not much above the level of the lake, and the road passes through a sandy soil generally, and sometimes thin clay of bad quality. In the former there are oak openings, the soil of which is poor sand. The soil of Maldon seems superior to that of Colchester, and improves, on approaching Amherstburgh, to the finest quality. In both townships there are a good many people of colour, who generally rent the farms on which they reside, or obtain so many years’ possession, on condition of clearing a certain extent of wood. A considerable quantity of tobacco is here grown, chiefly by the black population.
The country from Chatham to Lake Erie in the township of Tilbury, and round the lake to Amherstburgh, seems badly watered, not having seen above two rills passing into the lake. In Colchester and Maldon, there are occasionally stagnant branches of the lake, like canals or channels of a stream, jutting into the land to a considerable distance, and which I was told terminate in swamps, and prove the greatest, if not the only, natural objection to the country.
About a mile from Amherstburgh, on the river Detroit, commences a tract of country known by the name of the Huron Reserve, extending seven miles along the banks of the river, and seven miles back from it.
For the first four miles of this Reserve, in passing from Amherstburgh, the river, which is here perhaps the most beautiful in the world, is upwards of twenty feet below its banks, the soil a rich crumbling clay, and is one of the loveliest spots in Canada. Above this, the banks sink to the level of the river, and there is an extensive tract, six or seven miles in length, and two or three in breadth, covered with tall aquatic plants, which impart a pestilential aspect to the country, and must form one of the best nurseries in the world for ducks and mosquittoes. On approaching Sandwich, the banks again rise above the river, and maintain their elevation until a little above the ferry at Detroit.
From the termination of the Huron Reserve to Sandwich, the soil on the river is inferior, and the road, on entering the village, passes through what has originally been an oak opening of poor gravelly soil, and is still covered with oak bushes, intermingled with inferior pasturage. Above Sandwich the soil is good on the banks, and continues so as long as the elevation above the river is maintained. This part of the country is inhabited by the descendants of the French, and not a trace of the original forest remains.
A mile or two above the ferry at Detroit, and approaching Lake St Clair, the banks are low, and tracts of marsh fall back into the country. Around Lake St Clair there is some tolerable soil, elevated about two feet above its waters, and a small wet prairie or two, besides that at the mouth of the Thames. There are few settlers, scarcely a vestige of cultivation, and one or two recent clearings of insignificant extent.
The banks of the river Thames are nearly on a level with the waters of Lake St Clair, and gradually rise on approaching Chatham, where they are fifteen or twenty feet high. They have long been cleared of the forest, descendants of French settlers residing below, and those of British Loyalists above. Both classes of inhabitants seem to cultivate only what is necessary to supply their wants, and have made no inroads on the forest or prairie for many years. The extent of cultivated land is limited, and everywhere celebrated in Canada as the best in the world. The soil on the south banks of the Thames, from Chatham to its mouth, varies from the finest brown-coloured loam to indifferent sand, the former being of limited extent. I do not mean to damn this favourite spot with faint praise, but while I admit there is some loam as good as man could wish, I contend it is not generally of such a description. No competent judge of soil need remain long in doubt on this point who visits the situation, and I shall only particularize a field above Mr John Goose’s house, which was being fallowed when I was there, and which I pronounce not good soil. The state of the crops might be adduced in evidence of my opinion, especially that of Indian corn, which was not equal to that on some parts of the shore of Lake Erie, more especially that belonging to John Macdonald.
Of the land in the interior of the Peninsula, I am unable to speak, with exception of what was seen passing from Chatham to Lake Erie, and which I found of superior quality. I have already noticed that few running streams join Lake Erie, and the same remark is applicable to Detroit river and Lake St Clair. Several rivers are laid down on maps as flowing into the south side of Lake St Clair, but at the time of my visit the mouths of all of them, with a single exception, were closed with sand on the margin of the lake; and I could not determine whether their waters filtered through the sand bars into the lake, or those of the lake into the channels or canals running into the land.
The greater part of the inhabitants in and around Amherstburgh and Sandwich, the banks of Detroit river, Lake St Clair, and the mouth of the Thames, are descendants of the French who settled in this part of the country about the year 1670. They still retain the language, appearance, and many of the customs of their ancestors. Like the Lower Canadians, they seldom engage in commerce or manufactures, and settle together on long narrow lots of land, in streets or villages, and cut down every forest tree. In Lower Canada the French population have no orchards, except on the sides of the mountain at Montreal, but here almost every settler on the Detroit river has an orchard. I did not observe in the gardens of the French a single pear, plum, or peach-tree, but apples were very abundant, and cider-presses frequently met with. The inhabitants do not seem so light-hearted or polite a people as those of the lower province. They do not notice strangers in passing, and I only observed two boys bow to me at Sandwich, while every man, woman, and child does so in the neighbourhood of Montreal. The houses are generally brick, and occasionally frame, but seldom with the stone basement of the lower province. The beds of the inhabitants are sometimes without, and sometimes with, posts and curtains, and, in every case which came under my notice, very clean.
On some parts of the river Detroit, Lake St Clair, and on the Thames, many people reside literally amongst water, passing to and from their houses on planks.
The French Canadians are said to be averse to clearing forest land, and perhaps as population increases, they prefer occupying swamps to clearing dry land. The appearance of the inhabitants residing in such situations was unhealthy. Around Lake St Clair, the inhabitants seem to be employed in preparing firewood for the town of Detroit.
The French inhabitants have a great dislike to service of any kind, and more especially to females going out as cooks. The women seem industrious, and often drive the produce of the farm to market in carts. Some children were seen running about in their shirts, as in Lower Canada, even when the weather was cold.
The French seem to have little system in their farming, growing wheat, Indian corn, and grass. They plough with oxen and a driver. The sheep are similar to those of the lower province, many of them being black-coloured, with a little white on the face and neck. The oxen are of different colours, somewhat larger than those of Lower Canada, and many of them are without horns. The horses are small, and perhaps not equal to those of Montreal.
In several instances I examined a machine with which the French inhabitants were thrashing out grain. This was a beam twelve or fifteen feet in length, with projecting spars like the spokes of a wheel, resting on the ground at one end, and rising with an elevation to suit the draught of a horse at the other. The lower end of the beam was without spars, which increased in length according to the elevation. As the horse moves in a circle, the beam revolves, which brings the spars successively in contact with the grain spread on the floor, and by which means it was beat out from the straw.
This mode of separating grain from straw is evidently the first step from treading it out by animals, and is, perhaps, as old as the flail. An economizer of labour would have strewed the gangway of the horse with grain, so that it might have assisted in the operation, by treading with its feet. I have not been able to learn if this plan is known in France, or any other part of the world. It has not been adopted by the Americans or British Canadians, although it must be an assistance to, if not calculated to supersede, the treading of animals.
The Huron tribe of Indians, residing near Amherstburgh, are few in number, extending only to ten or twelve families, and from their long intercourse with Europeans, most of the present generation seem to have a mixture of white blood in them. They have long been Christians in connexion with the Catholic church, and have adopted most of the habits of civilized life. They have orchards, numerous herds of cattle, horses and pigs; the cattle being the best I saw in the western part of Canada, and which I attribute to the superiority of the pasturage. On the 24th October, I observed a Huron Indian harrowing sown wheat with a triangular harrow on as well formed ridges as any I saw in Canada.
The Huron Indians were understood to have sold part of their reserve in the neighbourhood of Amherstburgh to the British Government. Mr M—— had been appointed to survey the purchase, and with this view was residing at Amherstburgh during the time of my first visit. The Indians, under some pretext, would not, however, allow the measurement to proceed, and Mr M—— got orders from York to delay the survey.
The inhabitants of Amherstburgh are anxious, almost clamorous, to have the Huron Reserve, in the vicinity of the village, exposed for public settlement, which would, in all probability, promote its increase and prosperity. It is not my intention to enter into the merits of the policy of removing the Huron Indians from their situation on the southern part of their territory. But in the event of the lands falling into the possession of the present inhabitants of Amherstburgh and its vicinity, I question if the change would be for the better, as the landholders seem incapable of managing or appreciating the great advantages nature hath placed within their reach. The white man strongly displays the frailty of his nature in envying this remnant of his copper-coloured brother’s inheritance, while so many millions of acres in Canada are unoccupied.
A considerable portion of the inhabitants on Lake Erie, in the townships of Maldon, Colchester, and the banks of the Thames, are descendants of the Royalists who left the States at the time of their becoming independent, and who obtained grants of land in Canada from the British Government. Like other colonists in this vast continent, who have been shut out in a great measure from intercourse with the world, they have been content to live without an apparent desire to improve their condition. Their extent of clear forest is limited, and few additions have recently been made. The dwelling-houses and farm-offices are of the shabbiest kind, and only two brick houses were seen in a distance of twenty-seven miles, passing from Amherstburgh round Lake Erie. A brick house is also a rare sight on the Thames, wood being almost the only building material.
In this part of Canada, farming is as low as in newly settled districts, and embraces the cultivation of wheat, oats, peas, Indian corn, and tobacco—wheat and Indian corn being the chief crops. In many instances wheat had been sown amongst growing Indian corn, and ploughed in between the drills. This is an excellent plan, the wheat being well advanced when the Indian corn is reaped. Oxen are employed in ploughing generally, and all operations are performed in a superficial manner. I observed a crop of buck-wheat being carried in the township of Gosfield, on 24th October. Two horses were attached to a sleigh, and two men on the ground were building small sheaves on the sleigh with their hands, neither of them having a pitchfork. A trifling load was taken off the field, attended by the two men already mentioned; and after being upset, a man and two boys placed it in the barn. The carrying of this crop would have been effected at one-fourth of the labour in Scotland, where the division of farm labour is properly understood. Extensive orchards are everywhere met with, and the crop of apples was immense, so much so, that they sometimes remained ungathered. The horses, oxen, sheep, and pigs in this part of Canada are all inferior in kind; and if such a thing as a good sized horse can be found either for the saddle or draught purposes, which I very much doubt, it must have come from the States.
The implements of husbandry are such as are common to the country. Several grist-mills are propelled by oxen walking on an inclined plane, and are very poor machines. A good many grist-mills are also propelled by wind, chiefly amongst the French inhabitants on the shores of Detroit river and the lakes, and also some by oxen or horses attached to a large wheel, moving horizontally a few inches from the ground. I was given to understand a steam-power grist-mill was about to be erected at Sandwich, by a capitalist lately arrived in the country, and I imagine will be chiefly employed in grinding wheat from the States.
The trees do not materially differ from those in other parts of Canada, with exception of sweet chestnut being common on the shores of Lake Erie. This tree is generally found on poor sandy soil, and seems to occupy the place of the pine in the districts to the north and east. In passing round Lake St Clair, I thought I observed the pawpaw growing near the commencement of Detroit river, but the plants being small, I could not determine their identity. Future travellers may be better able to settle this point, as I scattered some seeds of the pawpaw, which were in my pocket, and which I gathered in Ohio a few days before.
The turkey is said to inhabit this district in considerable numbers, and the boy who conducted us out of Chatham plains told me he had come on a hen and her brood a short time before, but this bird was not seen by me. The pheasant and quail are numerous, and so tame that you may approach within a few yards of them on open ground. Ducks of various kinds inhabit the waters, and more especially Detroit river, in vast numbers; and many of the species are so tame, that, schoolboy like, I pelted them with stones in open water without their taking wing. Several kinds of geese also frequent the waters, but it is only in autumn, when they and ducks congregate in such numbers, preparatory, perhaps, to moving south for the winter.
Birds of prey are numerous. Near the mouth of the Thames I observed a bald eagle perched on a decayed tree, and which was the only one I saw in Canada. Buzzards were seen frequently, gliding gracefully in circles, and in company, though at considerable distances from each other. Many hawks of different sizes, and small eagles, were observed on the shore of Lake Erie, sitting inactive on trees, or fighting with each other about a favourite resting-place. On one occasion, near Chatham, a hawk singled out a small bird for its quarry which frequents the banks of the Thames, without the power of swimming. The little creature was above the centre of the river when attacked, and avoided a death-blow by diving under water with a shrill cry. It no sooner, however, left the element than the hawk made a second swoop, which was again avoided by going under water, and by a succession of dives and flights, it at last found shelter amongst some bushes on the banks. There are vast numbers of what are here called blackbirds, consisting of two kinds, and both highly destructive to the farmer, devouring almost every species of produce, and especially Indian corn; they breed amongst reeds, and find the marshes of the Detroit an excellent cover. There are squirrels of various kinds, striped, black, and brown; the former live in the ground, and the two latter are occasionally shot and used as food. Racoons are often hunted, and valued on account of their skins.
The river Detroit issues from Lake St Clair, and falls into Lake Erie, after a south-west course of about twenty-eight miles. The waters of the greatest lakes in the world, Superior, Huron, and Michigan, pass through the channel of the Detroit, which, at the narrowest point, is about 800 yards wide, and above as well as below this place, expands several miles in breadth. The current seems to run at a rate of between two and three miles an hour, and the water is as limpid as that of the purest spring, except when slightly tinged with earth, caused by the waves during a tempest. The largest steam-vessels pass up at all times, and navies might contend on its waters.
The village of Amherstburgh is situated near the confluence of Detroit river with Lake Erie, opposite to a small island, between which and Amherstburgh the main body of water passes. The houses are almost entirely of wood, arranged into streets at right angles with each other, and almost all bespeaking poverty and meanness. There are Catholic, Episcopalian, and Presbyterian places of worship, besides schools, and the population is about 500. Most of the inhabitants are of French descent. Trade is very limited, and thought to be declining. Every vessel passing up and down the Detroit comes within 100 yards of the pier, which is at all times accessible to the largest class. Fort Maldon, a paltry mud erection, is situated on the banks of the Detroit, about half a mile from the village, and the military reserve around the fort, which is the best of pasturage, is occupied as common. Amherstburgh is one of the oldest places in Canada, situated in its finest climate, the best British port on Lake Erie, and in beauty and healthiness of situation, inferior to no place in America; yet every thing, with exception of two handsome residences below the town, seems in a state of listless decay. I have no doubt there are better days in store for Amherstburgh.
Sandwich is also on the Detroit, sixteen miles above Amherstburgh, and derives its only importance from being the county town. The houses compose an irregular street, running along the river, and chiefly occupied by French. The trade of Sandwich is more limited than that of Amherstburgh, and I do not think it has the same chance of progressing.
About a mile and a half above Sandwich is the ferry at Detroit, at which there are fifteen or twenty houses on the Canadian side of the river, and several brick buildings were being erected at the time of my visit. This place will soon eclipse Sandwich, and may rival Chatham. Detroit is the great market of Western Canada, and the ferry possesses advantages, in proximity and access during winter, above every other situation. Since leaving Montreal, I had seen no place bearing the marks of age and wealth, and the town of Detroit, situated on the magnificent river of the same name, ranks next to that city in appearance; and in recalling old-country associations, forms a striking contrast to the poverty and lifelessness of Amherstburgh and Sandwich, on the opposite side of the river. Lofty spires and large brick buildings are seen in the distance; steam-vessels, and engine-stalks, employed in manufactures, on a near approach. A fine large steam-boat leaves Detroit daily for Buffalo, and smaller ones for less distant places on the north and south. Now and then a steam-boat plys to Chicago and other places on Lake Michigan, and in course of a year or two it is probable there will be a daily line of boats. There are three streets running parallel to the river, and many at right angles. The houses in the principal streets are of brick. The population exceeds 3000 souls, the greater part of whom are of French descent.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Journey from Detroit to Chicago—Thrashing Machine—Face of the Country in Michigan—Prairie Hen—White Pigeon Prairie—Travelling Party—La Porte—Cooking Breakfast—Jaded Horses—Thunder Storm—Hovel on the Shore of Lake Michigan—Face of the Country—Notices of Nature—Chicago—Indian Treaty—Horse-racing—Intoxication—Fair—Occurrences at Chicago.
On the 13th September, I left Detroit, early in the morning, in a stage for Niles, which was drawn by four horses, and well filled with passengers. We breakfasted at the distance of twelve miles, the hotel being a solitary house, the name of which has escaped my memory.
Here I examined a thrashing-machine, worked by four horses, attached to the ends of two rough poles moving two small horizontal wheels, a few inches from the ground, round one of which was a leather belt moving in a wood case, and connected with the drum or beater placed in the barn. The machinery in the barn consisted simply of a beater, without rollers, shaker, or fan. The board over which the grain slides to the beaters, had a few upright spikes, which formed the only detaining power to the grain while passing the beaters. This machine would not cost more than L.8 sterling, but its imperfections in shaking and fanning, as well as in beating out the grain, which I discovered on examination, render the saving of first-cost injudicious.
Our roads, for the first stage or two, were very bad, and perhaps affected the passengers, eight in number, who did not exchange half-a-dozen words during the first day. In course of the second day, a few short questions were put and answered, and on our arrival at Niles, on the evening of the third day, nothing like familiar intercourse had taken place.
Niles is a small place on the river St Josephs, and said to be twelve or fourteen miles from Lake Michigan. In our route from Detroit, we had passed through the territory of Michigan, in a south-westerly direction, crossing most of the rivers, near their source, which flow into Lakes Erie and Michigan; and I experienced considerable disappointment at the general aspect of the country, which, with the exception of about twenty-five miles next to Detroit, was found to consist of oak openings. The soil is chiefly sand, and exhibits few marks of fertility. The trees are stunted oaks, of about thirty feet in height, and so thinly scattered, that a man may frequently clear an acre in a day. The surface is gently undulating, and, from the thinness of the trees, and frequency of streams, lakes, and fairies, highly picturesque. The lakes sometimes assume the character of marshes, and many of them contained small eminences, or islands, covered thickly with trees of a different species from those growing on another, at a few yards distant, or on the margin of the marsh. The district is still very thinly settled; and in passing along, I wondered what had become of all the people who of late years have been pouring into Michigan from the eastern states, forgetting the extent of territory, and that it has become the common route for settlers moving to the fertile and extensive tracts lying to the south and west of Lake Michigan. The houses, with the exception of those in villages, are mere log-huts.
We breakfasted at White Pigeon, on the third morning of our journey, at a well-regulated hotel, where some broiled ruffed grouse, called, in the language of the country, prairie-hen, was presented at table, and in praise of which, some of our taciturn fellow-passengers became loquacious. The particulars of the discussion may have been highly valuable, but I was too busily employed in displaying my opinions by actions, to note down the conversation.
White Pigeon is a small pretty village, composed of well-painted frame-houses, and in neatness and apparent comfort resembling some of the residences in New England. It is situated on the skirts of White Pigeon prairie, one of the most beautiful and fertile prairies in Michigan, and to which, perhaps, the whole territory is indebted for much of its celebrity.
White Pigeon prairie is an interesting spot to those who have long looked on the interminable forests and small clearances of Canada, being a level surface of many miles extent, thickly interspersed with good farm-houses and barns. To me the change was truly gratifying, and gave rise to a thousand associations connected with other parts of the world. An old farmer from New England, on his way to join a son in Illinois, could not contain himself, and exclaimed,—“Surely this must have been the place where Adam and Eve resided.”
On examining the soil of White Pigeon prairie, I found it composed of black gritty sand, thickly interspersed with glittering particles of spar. The inclosures were large, and without ridges. The crops had been gathered, with the exception of Indian corn, which seemed good. The weeds growing on the surface were of no great strength, amongst which were two kinds of grass. I did not observe sown grasses or clovers, and the latter does not grow naturally. It is said many English farmers are settled on White Pigeon prairie, who have good thrashing-machines. There is a small prairie to the east of White Pigeon, and a large one to the west, through both of which we passed. These prairies do not seem fully occupied, and the land is said to sell at from $3 to $6 per acre, government price being $1¼.
The ruffed grouse, or prairie-hen, abounds on White Pigeon and the adjoining prairies, to which some gentlemen resort for the purpose of shooting. This bird resembles in colour the female pheasant of Britain, and the black-cock in size and shape.
While walking in the garden of the hotel at White Pigeon, the experiment I wished my friend to try in the Huron tract at Goderich, was made on myself. A wasp stung me on the eyelid, and did not cause much pain, but I cannot draw any inference from this regarding the properties of the American wasp, as a sting from such insects in Britain did not create inflammation at any period of my life.
At Niles we changed our stage-coach for an open waggon drawn by four horses, which was the first time a regular stage had passed from Niles to Chicago, the mail having hitherto been carried on horseback. The waggon and horses were to carry us through all the way, as proper posts and relays had not been established on the road. We breakfasted before setting out, and a guide was sent with our driver.
Our travelling-party was somewhat changed from that which had come from Detroit. Three of our original passengers remained; one an Englishman, Mr L——, who had been twelve months in the western states, and now on his way back, after an excursion to the southern and eastern states of the Union, was accompanied by Mr D——, a young gentleman, who, from his pronunciation of the English language, I imagined from Germany; the third was W——, from Detroit, an officer in the United States army, and the most prim individual I encountered in the course of my travels. He seemed as if carrying the dignity and honour of the whole army on his shoulders, and I could not help remarking how very repulsive he was to his countrymen who ventured to address him. America may be the land of liberty and equality, but, personally, no one seemed equal to Major W——, and certainly liberty could not be taken with him. The rest of our passengers consisted of an old revolutionary soldier and his wife, on their way to join a son settled in Illinois, a Michigan farmer, myself, waggoner, and guide.
The farmer was originally from York State, now settled on Nottawa Sepee prairie, on St Joseph’s river, and proceeding to Chicago, where an adjustment of Indian claims was taking place, in the hope of obtaining recompense for losses. I had not an opportunity of learning the result of his mission, but from his own statement, it did not merit success. He told us he intended to have made a great deal of pork this season, but on collecting his pigs from the woods, where they had run for five months, he could only number thirty-five instead of fifty-five. The Indians had been seen hunting pigs, and he expected to get payment from the government agent for twenty of his which were missing. In this manner the poor Indian is preyed on by his white frontier brother, and made pay for the ravages of disease, wild animals, and perhaps the dishonesty of white men.
In our first day’s journey we dined at La Porte, a small rising place, situated in a rich prairie country, and on the margin of Clear Lake, a beautiful and picturesque sheet of water, said to be eight miles from Lake Michigan. We stopped for the night at Clavering. The house was a mean log erection of two apartments, one of which contained five beds, in which nine travellers huddled together, and the other apartment, from the number of the family, must have been equally well filled.
Our party collected at daybreak, when we set out on our journey, the poor horses, not having got any thing but hay—oats, or Indian corn, were not to be had. The road, leading through forests, was so heavy, that the poor animals could not go beyond a slow walk, and I proceeded forward, in company with the Nottawa Sepee farmer, with a view of ordering breakfast for the party.
On reaching a house, we were told it would be some time before breakfast could be prepared, as we had not been expected. The inmates of the house consisted of a female and her two young daughters, whom the farmer and I assisted in preparing wood for cooking. A kettle and two frying-pans were put on the fire, and two others over some ashes, removed from the general mass by means of a shovel, and placed on the hearth. Into one of these pans some small loaves were placed, which had been prepared beforehand, and covered with a lid, on which hot ashes were placed; and in the other, batter-cakes, called flap-cakes, were prepared. In one of the frying-pans on the fire bacon was dressed, and in the other potatoes; so, in less than half-an-hour, a breakfast of the best the house could afford was prepared.
The horses again fared poorly, getting a few ears of green Indian corn, collected from the field, and we were told oats would be obtained at the end of six or seven miles. We accordingly found this to be the case, a small feed for each was granted, and a supply to carry with us denied.
After breakfasting, a French Canadian from the Lower Province, engaged in trading with the Indians, joined us; and for five or six miles, before reaching Lake Michigan, the road was through undulating oak openings of loose heavy sand, over which I walked. We reached the lake to the west of its most southerly point, and distinctly saw the shore running north on each side of us. The beach along which our road lay was so soft, that almost all the party walked to ease the horses, who showed unequivocal symptoms of distress. It was now about nightfall, and our guide from Niles, who had carried the mail over the country, assured us we were twenty-eight miles from the nearest house. It appeared to me doubtful if the tired animals could accomplish the journey under any circumstances, and hopeless to think of them doing so with all the passengers in the waggon. I therefore proposed to walk the distance, and set out with such a view by myself; but reflecting that I was altogether unacquainted with the country, and might pass the resting-place without noticing it, I left the shores of the lake, and botanized on the sand hills until I could no longer distinguish plants.
On returning to the waggon, the party were all reseated, with the exception of the Nottawa Sepee farmer and Indian trader, and I could not refrain from remarking the want of feeling evinced by some of the gentlemen in oppressing the horses, then moving at the rate of three miles an hour, dead to the whip, and occasionally coaxed on with water in a pail. The evening was agreeably cool, the moon and aurora borealis shone in splendour, and the ripples of the lake, and the wheels of the waggon, passed without noise on the smooth beach. By and by, the sound of distant thunder was heard rolling—on the waters flashes of lightning could be distinguished, and at length the clouds from which both proceeded came directly over our heads, accompanied by torrents of rain. At this time the farmer and trader also betook themselves to the waggon, and I continued to walk on foot. It is impossible for me to convey in words a correct impression of our situation. Peal after peal of thunder followed each other for two successive hours. The lightning was so vivid, that every flash deprived me of vision for a few seconds, and, unable to see the way, I laid hold of the waggon with one hand. The horses seemed unwilling to proceed, and the guide was mounted on one of the leaders to urge them along. At this time the wind had sprung up, and the rain fell in such torrents, that, on turning my back to the storm, I distinctly felt water running in streams on the surface of my skin.
The horses at length stood still—no means could make them move; and all the passengers, with exception of the old soldier and his wife, descended from the waggon. Five of us, Mr L——, Mr D——, the farmer, trader, and myself, resolved to make the best of our way on foot, and the others remained with the waggon. The gentlemen having had cloaks and umbrellas to protect them from the rain while in the waggon, were comparatively dry. The moon had set, and fortunately the night cleared up at the time of commencing our walk. Mr L——, who was a tall athletic person, in the prime of life, led the way at an exterminating pace over the soft sand, followed by the farmer and others. It soon became evident to me, that no frame could last at the rate we were going. Mr D—— and the trader dropped astern, the former gave place to me, and at length Mr L—— proposed to breathe on the trunk of a tree. Mr L——’s proposal was most agreeable to me, having walked ten hours in course of the day before setting out with Mr L——; and I afterwards heard the farmer say, in conversation, that had it not been for the honour of his country, he would not have continued to walk with the Europeans. Mr D—— and the trader had not been seen for an hour before. We shouted to them in vain, and at the end of ten minutes continued the journey at our former pace. When resting a second time, Mr D—— and the trader passed us, both mounted on one horse, which they obtained from an Indian known to the trader.
At three in the morning, we observed a light, which, on approaching, was discovered to be a lantern, with which Mr D—— was gathering potatoes in a garden with his fingers, as the only means of removing them from the earth, and the trader was bawling in a hovel for whisky. On entering the hovel, two young girls and a boy, half Indian and half something else, were reposing in a corner, each wrapped in a blanket; and on seeing so many strangers, they all rose hurriedly and left the house. Some oats were sent off by the Indian who owned the horse for the waggon horses, and a small piece of bread and some whisky were obtained for ourselves. Mr L—— and Mr D—— soon took possession of the corner and blankets, which the girls had abandoned; and I was amused to see these individuals, who had evidently been long familiar with the luxuries and refinements of European society, accommodate themselves to circumstances, and take possession of a sleeping place, which, in cleanness and softness, was inferior to the bed of many an East Lothian pig. The farmer and trader soon followed their example, and I was left standing by the fire drying my shirt, after accomplishing which, I stretched myself alongside of the trader, and was asleep in an instant.
At five the waggon and the rest of the party arrived, and at seven we again set out, and reached Chicago in time for a late breakfast; the countenances of all bore evidence of the fatigues of the preceding evening, and my limbs felt them. The old soldier had drunk too freely on his arrival at and departure from the hut, and his ravings while under intoxication in praise of republicanism and General Jackson, as well as in censure of England, were amusingly absurd. His wife seemed to feel for her husband’s conduct, and the influence both of the driver and Major W—— was scarcely sufficient to keep him in order.
Soon after leaving Niles, we crossed by a ford the river St Joseph’s, which seemed to me to contain rather more water than the largest sized rivers in Britain. For miles on both sides, the country is uninhabited, and seems to combine the features of forest oak openings and prairie, the trees being small, thin, and standing in groups, so as to produce the best effect, often reminding me of the finest English parks. Six or seven miles from St Joseph’s river, the prairie country commences, and continues with little intermission to the westward as far as the country has been explored. On the southern margin of Lake Michigan, there is a range of sand hills, from 100 to 200 feet in height, apparently formed by the drifting of sand from the beach, and the same character is maintained up the west side of the lake, although the elevations are quite inconsiderable.
The country from the river St Joseph’s, round the south side of Lake Michigan, with exception of a small spot, belonged, at the time of my visit, to the Pottowatamy tribe of Indians. This tract, extending to about 6,000,000 of acres, was sold by the Pottowatamys to the United States Government a few days after I passed over it, and is now in the market.
The agriculture of the country from Niles to Chicago is limited to a few prairies in the vicinity of La Porte, on which wheat and Indian corn are cultivated in the most primitive manner. Here, as in the western part of Canada, the farmers seemed contented to live. There were no barns seen any where; and at Clavering the wheat was thrashed in the open air, on the bare earth, and the fanners were standing covered with a little straw. The Indian corn was still growing. In one instance, I observed wheat newly sown, and a field of this crop above ground. The crop of the year was in small, ill-built, unthatched ricks, resembling in size and shape the hay cokes of Scotland. At Clavering I examined the prairie wheat crop, and found the ears small in size, the straw short and slender; the grain was particularly small, but of fine colour and appearance.
The wood is chiefly oak. The summits of sand hills on Lake Michigan are crowned with a few stunted pines, a tree which, I believe, is not to be found farther to the south of this point, or west of the grand river in Upper Canada, although abounding in some districts on the north-west shores of Lake Michigan. Nearer the beach, and at a lower level than the pines, dwarfish poplars grow, two species of bent grass, and a thistle. A few vines were also on the sand hills, and when not growing in very exposed situations, were lying on the banks as if trained on a wall; but after a diligent search, I could not discover fruit on them. The sand hills were thinly clothed with vegetation, and every plant, with exception of the grasses, seemed stunted like those exposed to the spray and storms of a British ocean. In this part of the country, I made a large addition to my collection of seeds, which were wrapped in small folds of paper, dried in my pocket, and afterwards transferred to my knapsack.
I observed no animals that appeared new to me. In some parts squirrels were particularly numerous, and exclusively of the black variety.
While walking on the sand hills on the south point of Lake Michigan, I observed a small hawk pursue a bat, similar to that of Britain. The bat dexterously avoided three swoops of the hawk, seemingly without much exertion or concern, and both were hid from vision behind a bank in the fourth attack. I had frequent opportunities of seeing birds of prey attack their game while in America, without witnessing a successful effort.
Chicago is situated on Lake Michigan, at the confluence of Chicago river, a small stream, affording the advantages of a canal to the inhabitants for a limited distance. At the mouth of the river is Fort-Dearborn, garrisoned by a few soldiers, and one of the places which has been long held to keep the Indian tribes in awe. The entrance from the lake to the river is much obstructed by sand banks, and an attempt is making to improve the navigation.
Chicago consists of about 150 wood houses, placed irregularly on both sides of the river, over which there is a bridge. This is already a place of considerable trade, supplying salt, tea, coffee, sugar, and clothing to a large tract of country to the south and west; and when connected with the navigable point of the river Illinois, by a canal or railway, cannot fail of rising to importance. Almost every person I met regarded Chicago as the germ of an immense city, and speculators have already bought up, at high prices, all the building-ground in the neighbourhood. Chicago will, in all probability, attain considerable size, but its situation is not so favourable to growth as many other places in the Union. The country south and west of Chicago has a channel of trade to the south by New Orleans; and the navigation from Buffalo by Lake Huron is of such length, that perhaps the produce of the country to the south of Chicago will find an outlet to Lake Erie by the waters of the rivers Wabash and Mamee. A canal has been in progress for three years, connecting the Wabash and Mamee, which flows into the west end of Lake Erie; and there can be little difficulty in connecting the Wabash with the Illinois, which, if effected, will materially check the rise of Chicago.
At the time of visiting Chicago, there was a treaty in progress with the Pottowatamy Indians, and it was supposed nearly 8000 Indians, of all ages, belonging to different tribes, were assembled on the occasion, a treaty being considered a kind of general merry-making, which lasts several weeks; and animal food, on the present occasion, was served out by the States government. The forests and prairies in the neighbourhood were studded with the tents of the Indians, and numerous herds of horses were browsing in all directions. Some of the tribes could be distinguished by their peculiarities. The Sauks and Foxes have their heads shaven, with exception of a small tuft of hair on the crown. Their garments seemed to vary according to their circumstances, and not to their tribes. The dress of the squaws was generally blue cloth, and sometimes printed cotton, with ornaments in the ears, and occasionally also in the nose. The men generally wore white blankets, with a piece of blue cloth round their loins; and the poorest of them had no other covering, their arms, legs, and feet being exposed in nakedness. A few of them had cotton trowsers, and jackets of rich patterns, loosely flowing, secured with a sash; boots, and handkerchiefs or bands of cotton, with feathers in the head-dress, their appearance reminding me of the costume of some Asiatic nations. The men are generally without beards, but in one or two instances I saw tufts of hair on the chin, which seemed to be kept with care, and this was conspicuously so amongst the well-dressed portion. The countenances of both sexes were frequently bedaubed with paint of different kinds, including red, blue, and white.
In the forenoon of my arrival, a council had been held, without transacting business, and a race took place in the afternoon. The spectators were Indians, with exception of a few travellers, and their small number showed the affair excited little interest. The riders had a piece of blue cloth round their loins, and in other respects were perfectly naked, having the whole of their bodies painted of different hues. The race-horses had not undergone a course of training. They were of ordinary breed, and, according to British taste at least, small, coarse, and ill-formed.
Intoxication prevailed to a great extent amongst both sexes. When under the influence of liquor, they did not seem unusually loquacious, and their chief delight consisted in venting low shouts, resembling something between the mewing of a cat and the barking of a dog. I observed a powerful Indian, stupified with spirits, attempting to gain admittance to a shop, vociferating in a noisy manner; as soon as he reached the highest step, a white man gave him a push, and he fell with violence on his back in a pool of mud. He repeated his attempt five or six times in my sight, and was uniformly thrown back in the same manner. Male and female Indians were looking on and enjoying the sufferings of their countryman. The inhuman wretch who thus tortured the poor Indian, was the vender of the poison which had deprived him of his senses.
Besides the assemblage of Indians, there seemed to be a general fair at Chicago. Large waggons drawn by six or eight oxen, and heavily laden with merchandise, were arriving from, and departing to, distant parts of the country. There was also a kind of horse-market, and I had much conversation with a dealer from the State of New York, having serious intentions of purchasing a horse to carry me to the banks of the Mississippi, if one could have been got suitable for the journey. The dealers attempted to palm colts on me for aged horses, and seemed versed in all the trickery which is practised by their profession in Britain.
A person showed me a model of a thrashing-machine and a churn, for which he was taking orders, and said he furnished the former at $30, or L.6, 10s. sterling. There were a number of French descendants, who are engaged in the fur-trade, met in Chicago, for the purpose of settling accounts with the Indians. They were dressed in broadcloths and boots, and boarded in the hotels. They are a swarthy scowling race, evidently tinged with Indian blood, speaking the French and English languages fluently, and much addicted to swearing and whisky.
The hotel at which our party was set down, was so disagreeably crowded, that the landlord could not positively promise beds, although he would do every thing in his power to accommodate us. The house was dirty in the extreme, and confusion reigned throughout, which the extraordinary circumstances of the village went far to extenuate. I contrived, however, to get on pretty well, having by this time learned to serve myself in many things, carrying water for washing, drying my shirt, wetted by the rain of the preceding evening, and brushing my shoes. The table was amply stored with substantial provisions, to which justice was done by the guests, although indifferently cooked, and still more so served up.
When bed-time arrived, the landlord showed me to an apartment about ten feet square, in which there were two small beds already occupied, assigning me in a corner a dirty pallet, which had evidently been recently used, and was lying in a state of confusion. Undressing for the night had become a simple proceeding, and consisted in throwing off shoes, neckcloth, coat, and vest, the two latter being invariably used to aid the pillow, and I had long dispensed with a nightcap. I was awoke from a sound sleep towards morning, by an angry voice uttering horrid imprecations, accompanied by a demand for the bed I occupied. A lighted candle, which the individual held in his hand, showed him to be a French trader, accompanied by a friend, and as I looked on them for some time in silence, their audacity and brutality of speech increased. At length I lifted my head from the pillow, leant on my elbow, and with a steady gaze, and the calmest tone of voice, said,—“Who are you that address me in such language?” The countenance of the angry individual fell, and he subduedly asked to share my bed. Wishing to put him to a farther trial, I again replied,—“If you will ask the favour in a proper manner, I shall give you an answer.” He was now either ashamed of himself, or felt his pride hurt, and both left the room without uttering a word. Next morning, the individuals who slept in the apartment with me, discovered that the intruders had acted most improperly towards them, and the most noisy of the two entered familiarly into conversation with me during breakfast, without alluding to the occurrence of the preceding evening.
On arriving at Chicago, I learned there was a mail-waggon which passed down the Illinois river once a-week, and had set off a few hours before, and was the only conveyance in that direction. I could not think of remaining a week waiting for the waggon, and not finding a suitable horse to purchase, I determined on walking. The passengers who had travelled together from Niles, lodged at the same hotel, with exception of the Major, who perhaps found shelter in the fort. The old soldier seemed to have commenced a regular fuddling fit; and his wife, who was a prudent sensible person, was in great distress, being thirty miles from the residence of her son, and her husband quite uncontrollable. Finding the destination of the old lady lay no great way out of my route, I hired a waggon to take the old people and myself there next morning, the soldier having been easily coaxed into the arrangement, and for which his wife expressed thankfulness. On the waggon reaching the door of the hotel, its owner, who was of French descent, insisted that he had only bargained to convey two, and that unless he received $2 from me, I must remain behind. After a noisy altercation on both sides, he offered to accept of $1 extra, but feeling indignant at his attempt at imposition, I shouldered my knapsack, and trudged off on foot. I have often looked back with regret on this proceeding, as it was improper to leave the old lady without seeing her fairly on her journey, and silly to have exchanged high words with an individual who would altogether disregard them. This was the only instance which occurred to me in the States, of experiencing an attempt at imposition, or which was calculated to ruffle my temper.