CHAPTER XIII.

Indians traveled by foot or by canoe—Secreting canoes—Primeval scenes—Hunting expeditions—War path—In 1812—Brock—A night at Myers’ Creek—Important arrival—The North West Company—Their canoes—Route—Grand Portage—The Voyageurs—The Batteaux—Size— Ascending the rapids—Lachine—A dry dock—Loyalists by batteaux— Durham boats—Difficulties—In 1788, time from Lachine to Fredericksburgh—Waiting for batteaux—Extracts from a journal, traveling in 1811—From Kingston to Montreal—The expenses—The Schenectady boats—Trade between Albany and Cataraqui—The Durham boat—Duncan—Description of flat-bottomed boat by “Murray”— Statement of Finkle—Trading—Batteaux in 1812—Rate of traveling— The change in fifty years—Time from Albany to Bay Quinté— Instances—Loyalists traveling in winter—Route—Willsbury wilderness—Tarrying at Cornwall—The “French Train”—Traveling along north shore of Ontario—Indian path—Horseback—Individual owners of batteaux—Around Bay Quinté—The Last regular batteaux— In 1819—“Lines” from magazine 135