Part 3

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.