Stranica 26 [26]
occasionally did the French skirt Lake Ontario,
proceed to Niagara, ascend to Lake Erie, and by
this means reach the Great West. It is a significant
fact that the Indians possessed a knowledge of the
route by which a person could by means of canoes
proceed from Quebec to the head-waters of the
Mississippi, the longest portage being that encoun¬
tered at the head of the Illinois River, and that only
about one mile.
"To reach Lake Ontario from New York, it was
necessary to ascend the Hudson to a point ten miles
above Albany, where that stream receives the waters
of the Mohawk. From Fort Stanwix, (Rome, N.Y..,)
a branch (Hood Creek) leads towards Oneida Lake,
another branch, called Canada Creek, running in
the direction of Lake Champlain. From Oneida
Lake the descent to Lake Ontario is by the Oswego
River. By ascending the west branch of the
Hudson, the head-waters of the Oswegatchie could
be reached, and a descent made to La Presentation
(Ogdensburg). From Lake Champlain, another
route was by the Racquette River, which empties
into the St. Lawrence in the vicinity of Cornwall.
These various routes of travel are of a peculiar
interest to Canadians, as they were most commonly
selected by the United Empire Loyalists who came
to this country at the close of the war.
Less frequented routes were those which. brought
the traveller to the head-waters of Black River,
which empties into the lake at Sacket’s Harbor, or
by following the military highway to Lower Canada,
via Whitehall, Lake Champlain, Fort Ticondiroga,
Plattsburg, and thence to Cornwall.
Champlain penetrated the Iroquois country along
this line, and shed the first blood of the Indian,
which, upon countless battle-fields, in the green
glades of the forest—in the settler’s new-made
clearing—beside the great lakes, and on their many
tributaries, was avenged again and again, with a
Sanguinary ferocity which brought sorrow and
desolation to many a happy French and English
home.
hundred years, the tide of battle ebbed and flowed.
French marauding expeditions, with savage allies,
swept swiftly at night, and skulked by day, down
upon the English settlements on the Mohawk,
returning with many a gory scalp—bringing, now
and then, a few fair prisoners, to be consigned to a
fate worse than death.
To ascend the St. Lawrence was a weary, as well
as a dangerous undertaking, requiring not only
patience, but the exercise of much skill. In time,
the bark canoe of the Indian gave place to the
Gourlay, speaking of Lachine, says that “from
Lachine, the canoes employed by the North-west
Company in the fur trade, take their departure.
Of all the numerous contrivances for transporting
heavy burthens by water, these vessels are, perhaps,
the most extraordinary; scarcely anything can be
conceived so inadequate, from the lightness of their
construction, to the purpose they are applied to,
and to contend against the impetuous torrent of
the many rapids that must be passed through in the
They seldom exceeded thirty
feet in length, and six in breadth, diminishing to
a sharp point at each end, without distinction of
head or stern. The frame is composed of small
pieces of very light wood; it is then covered with
course of a voyage.
the bark of the birch tree, cut into convenient slips,
that are rarely more than the eighth of an inch in
thickness ;: these are sewed together with threads
made from the twisted fibres of the roots of a
particular tree, and strengthened, where necessary,
by narrow strips of the same materials applied on
the inside; the joints of fragile planking are made
water-tight by being covered with a species of gum
that adheres very firmly and becomes very hard’
No iron-work of any description, nor even nails, are
employed in building these slender vessels, which,
when complete, weigh only about five hundred
pounds each.”
The, Durham boat was long, shallow, and flat¬
bottomed, being shod with iron to protect it
when in contact with shoals. It was propelled by
the use of poles, one being used on each side, and
handled by two men, the pole for this purpose being
crossed by small bars of wood, like the rounds of a
ladder. These bars were grasped successively by
the boatmen, who thus worked their way from the
prow to the stern.
The emigrants from the Valley of the Mohawk in
many cases brought with them another kind of
craft, called the Schenectady boat, which was flat¬
bottomed and rigged with a sail. |
Among the earliest traffickers between Albany
and the St. Lawrence, was Duncan, of Augusta, who
was at one time a Legislative Councillor for Upper
Canada. He afterwards removed to the State of
New York, and introduced trade between the
Mohawk and Buffalo, which, in the end, led to the
construction of the Erie Canal. The Jones’, of
Brockville, for many years carried on an extensive
forwarding business between Montreal and the
Upper Province, conveying not only freight, but
passengers, with expedition. By the aid of ropes,
the rapids were surmounted with greater ease,