Twenty-Seven Years in Canada West | Page 7

which I am to the head
of Lakes Huron and Michigan. It must speaking (1825), the great St.
Lawrence Canal and the Rideau were not commenced, but since their
completion the Durham boats and small steamers have given place to a
set of superb boats affording the best accommodation, whereby the
passage from Montreal to Toronto can be performed at half the expense,
and in one-third of the time.
My baggage having arrived, I left Prescot by boat in the evening for
Kingston, at that time the second town both in size and importance in
Canada West. It must, on account of its situation as a military and naval
post, always be a place of consequence. I fell in there with an old
sea-dog, who had commanded a vessel, for many years trading between
London and Quebec. He had had the misfortune to lose his vessel,
which was wrecked on the rocks at Gaspe, near the mouth of the St.
Lawrence. I was glad to find the friends I was going to reside with had
come out passengers in his ship, and that the schooner he then
commanded was bound for the Big-bay (now called Windsor), in the
township of Whitby, within six or seven miles of my friends' residence,

and that they would sail in two days at farthest.
On our passage from Prescot to Kingston we passed Brockville, which
looked very pretty from the river, and soon afterwards we were
threading our way through the intricacies of the Thousand Islands.*
Who has not heard of the far-famed Thousand Islands--the Archipelago
of the St. Lawrence? Nothing can exceed the beauty of this spot. The
river is here several miles in width, studded with innumerable islands,
of every variety of form. The moon shone brightly on this lovely scene:
not a ripple stirred the mirror-like bosom of the stream--"There was not
a breath the blue wave to curl."
[* "The Lake of the Thousand Isles. The expression was thought to be a
vague exaggeration, till the Isles were officially surveyed, and found to
amount to 1692. A sail through them presents one of the most singular
and romantic succession of scenes that can be imagined--the Isles are of
every size, form, height and aspect; woody, verdant, rocky; naked,
smiling, barren; and they present as numerous a succession of bays,
inlets, and channels as occur in all the rest of the continent put
together." "Encyclopaedia of Geography," iv. 1321.]
The reflection of the trees in the water enhanced the natural beauties I
have endeavoured to describe.
The next morning, June the 3rd, I embarked on board the schooner
"Shamrock," on my way to Darlington. We passed the Duck islands
towards evening, and found ourselves fairly launched on the bosom of
the Great Ontario. We anchored next day opposite the town of Cobourg,
then a small village, without a harbour, now a fine, handsome,
well-built town, containing a population of nearly 4,000 inhabitants. A
large sum of money has been laid out in the construction of a harbour,
which appears to answer very well.
Cobourg is the county-town for the counties of Northumberland and
Durham, which comprehend the following townships: Darlington,
Clarke, Hope, Hamilton, Haldimand, Cramache, Murray, Seymour,
Percy, Alnwick, South Monaghan, Cavan, Manvers, and Cartwright.
The soil of most of these townships is of excellent quality, particularly
the fronts of Hamilton, Haldimand, and all Cavan, being generally
composed of a deep rich loam.
These townships are well watered by numerous spring creeks, bounded
to the north and east by the river Trent, Skugog and Rice Lakes; and to

the south, for about sixty miles, by Lake Ontario. The chief towns are
Cobourg, Port Hope, and Bournauville. As I shall have occasion in
another place to speak more fully respecting these counties, I shall take
my readers again on board the "Shamrock."
Our captain having to land some goods at Cobourg, we were detained
there all night. He invited a few friends to pass the evening. A jolly set
of fellows they were, and they initiated me into the mysteries of
brewing whiskey-punch, a beverage I had never before tasted, and
which I found very palatable. The song and the joke went round till the
small hours warned us to retire.
On Sunday morning, June the 5th, I landed at the Big-bay (Windsor), in
Whitby, and after bidding adieu to my fellow-voyagers commenced my
journey to my friends in Darlington on foot. Whitby, at the time of
which I am speaking, was only partially settled, and chiefly by
Americans. This township is justly considered one of the best between
Toronto and Kingston. At present the township is well settled and well-
cultivated. Nearly all the old settlers are gone, and their farms have, for
the most part, been purchased by old country farmers and