Ten years of Upper Canada in peace and war, 1805-1815; being the Ridout letters [edited] with annotations by M. E. Also an appendix of the narrative of the captivity among the Shawanese Indians, in 1788, of T. Ridout, etc

Appendix

OF The Narrative of the Captivity among the Shawanese Indians, in 1788, of Thos. Ridout, afterwards Surveyor-General of Utfer Canada; and a Vocabulary, Compiled by him, of the Shawanese Language. London : T. FISHER UNWIN, Paternoster Square. 1891. ERRATUM For the word "September," where it occurs on page 245, read " October. " TABLE OF CONTENTS. Frontispiece, Portrait of Thos G. Ridout..

Chapter I

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO. Thomas Ridout — -Arrival in America — Adventures there — Captivity among Indians — Escape to Detroit — Journey to Montreal — Appointment to office — Removal to Newark— York in 1800 9-15

Chapter II. Little York, Cornwall School

1805-1809. Society events in York — Major Shank — Queen s Rangers- Cornwall School, 1806 — Studies and amusements — Political news from York — An election — Mr. Weekes — Mr. Thorpe — Cornwall School, 1807 — Dr. Strachan — Mr. Wyatt — The post — The weather — American News — European news — Number of inhabitants, Home District — Province Upper Canada, taken in March, 1809 16-27

Chapter III. Little York, Montreal And Quebec

1809-1811. Voyage to England, 1809 — Fever in York — Public Library — Mr. Jackson's pamphlet - Joseph Willcocks — Rogers — Party balls — D. W. Smith — Perils of crossing the ocean — Mr. Small and Mr. Boulton taken prisoners — Montreal, 1811 — 41st Regiment, Colonel Sheaffe — Trip Contents. from Montreal— Quebec, 1811— Preparations for war — Fortifications— Shipping— Market — Colonel Shank — Dr. Macaulay —The Press Gang— Off the Brandy Potts The Fleet — York — Attorney-General Firth — Mr. Miles Jackson — No money in York — School affairs — Students-at-Law 28-44

Chapter IV. Voyage To England

1811. Arrival at Plymouth — Ships of War — Prizes — News from London — The King — Stage coach to London — Exeter — Courtenay Castle — Dorsetshire — Liddon Down — • — Fields of wheat — Roman highways — Dorchester — Wilts — Bagshot Heath — London Town — Letters delivered—Stagnation of commerce — St Paul's — George III. — His treatment— Prince Regent — Lord Grosvenor — Hanging for Forgery — Mr. Sadler's balloon — Letter from York — Captain Gore — Duke of Manchester — Plan of Survey starting on Kempenfeldt Bay — Deaths in York — Rev. Mr. Stuart — Miles Jackson — Lieutenant- Governor Gore — Good advice — Attorney -Gen era! Firth — The Indians — No money in Upper Canada — Government Bills 45-56

Chapter V. Gossip From London

1811. Description of London — Trade — No coin — Guineas sold to the French — Pressing seamen — An adventure — Nearly caught — Lottery office — Mr. Firth — Mr. Jackson — Non-importation law — Prince Regent — His friends — Letter from York — Lieutenant-Governor Gore — No news of Solicitor-General Boulton — Letter from Mr. Franklin — Earl of Moira — Mr. Strachan — John Mc- Donell — General Brock — London dinners — Mr. Mariott — Mr. Russell — Bonaparte — His crown — Mr. Prince — East India Co. auctions — Smuggling — West India sugar — Tobacco — Bank of England — Woolwich — Colonel Pilkington — D. W. Smith 57-70 VI. AMUSEMENTS IN LONDON— NEWS FROM YORK, 1811-12, London, 1811 — H. J. Boulton — Alex. McDonell — News from York — North-West Co. — Attorney -General Firth — Solicitor-General Boulton — No hope of release — Governor Gore — Covent Garden — Kemble — Mrs. Siddons — Description of Theatre — The Tragedy, "Pizarro" — Mrs. Siddons' voice — The Lord Mayor's Show — The Procession — The Pageant on the Thames — The Strand Bridge — Drury Lane — Extent of London — Letter from York — Battle on the Wabash — President Brock — His orders for Surveys — Mr. Strachan — Difficulties in obtaining a Rector for York — The Prince Regent's proposal — Writing, New Method — General Brock's intentions — York, Head-Quarters — Plans for buildings — Governor Gore — Judge Campbell — Letter from Bristol — Bruton, 1812 — Alex.

Selkirk's grave — Sir Richard Hoare's estate — Silk mills — Longleat — Beckford's Tower — Shepton Mallet— Cloth weaving — Wells — The Cathedral — Glastonbury — The Abbey — The Miraculous Thorn Bush — The ruins — French prisoners — Sherbourne — Cadbury Camp — The Pen Pitts — Alfred's Tower — Stowey — Enmore Castle — Taunton — Bristol — An election meeting 71-88

Chapter VII

A CANADIAN AT OXFORD, 1812. Bristol— Jacobs' Glass Manufactory — The Play— Braham — His songs — King's Staffordshire Ware — Process of manufacture — Bath — A gay place — London — Price of Canadian flour — Timber — Rate of freight — Journey to Oxford — Dr. Jenner's house — Berkeley Castle — The Dungeon — Curious furniture — Gloucester — The Cathedral — The Oxford coach — General Le Fevre — Oxford — Wadham College — Christ College— Radcliff Library — Magdalen College— Oriel College— Queen's College- High Street — Dinner in Hall— Chapel— The Museum. 89-103 LONDON AND WOOLWICH. Covent Garden — Ridsdale Hamilton and Coltman — Lieutenant-Governor Gore — His London house — News from York — Mr. Firth — Governor Gore's opinion of Canada — Riots in England— The Cause — The Play — Lord Mayor's ball — Canadian affairs — H. J. Boulton — Mr. Firth — The Canadian prisoners in France — News from York — English politics — Price of Flour — Joseph Willcocks — Highgate — Spencer Perceval — Trade news — Execution of Bellingham — A London rout — Kensington Gardens — Prospect of war with the States — Woolwich—Colonel Pilkington 104-124

Chapter IX. First Notes Of The War

1812. Causes of War — Orders in Council — Right of Search — American sympathy with France — Population of Canada and United States — Number of regular troops — Militia Act — Voltigeurs — Uniform — Letter of Lieutenant Ridout — Preparations for war — York Volunteers — An election, 1812 — War declared 125-131

Chapter X. Opening Of First

CAMPAIGN— MICHILLIMACKINAC DETROIT, 1812. Map showing Battle-Ground 0pp. 132 American plan of attack — General Brock's first orders — Michillimackinac — Surrender of the fort — The Indian allies— Tecumseh — General Hull — Crossing to Canada — His proclamation — Colonel Proctor — Skirmishes General Hull's withdrawal — Parliament at York General Brock's address— The reply— Off to the war- Brock's bold plan— Fort Detroit — Demand for surrender—Hull's reply— Preparations for assault— Fire from battery— Surrender— Spoils of war — Description Contents. of Brock's appearance — Impressive scene — General Brock's return — Arrival at York — Addresses of Welcome — The Armistice — Renewal of hostilities. . . . 132-147

CHAPTER XL QUEEENSTON HEIGHTS, OCTOBER,

1812. Brock's forces — York Volunteers — 13th October, Battle of Queenston Heights — Letter of a York Volunteer — General Brock- — His last ride — The ambushed Americans — Capture of battery — General Brock's rally — His death — Heroic advance of Volunteers — Repulse — Colonel McDonell's death — General Sheaffe's arrival — More American troops — Sheaffe's attack — -Reinforcements for Canadians — Rout of Americans — Dreadful slaughter — The flag of truce — Surrender of American army — 900 prisoners — The honour roll — Bombardment of Fort Niagara — Its evacuation — Letter from Lieutenant Ridout— The Burial of Brock 148-160

Chapter XII. End Of First Campaign

1812. Sheaffe's armistice — Another invasion — General Smythe's arnly — Crossing at Black Rock — Battery taken by Americans — Charge of Volunteers — Recapture of battery — Retreat of enemy — General Smythe's pusillanimity — Invasion abandoned — Army of the North — Engagement at Lacolle —The enemy's mistake — Americans retire to Plattsburg — Results of first campaign — Meeting of Parliament — Letter from York — The Royal George — Great preparations for next campaign— Americal naval force — Frigates building at York. . . 161-171

Chapter XIII. Second Campaign-frenchtown, Ogdensburg, York

1813. Position of invading armies — Frenchtown — Capture of General Winchester — Proctor's success — The St. Lawrence frontier — Taking of Ogdensburg — Col. McDonell — Contents. Parliament at York — General Sheaffe's address — Open of navigation — Expedition against York — Its defenders — Humber Bay — Landing of Americans — Hot fight — Sheaffe's retreat — Explosion of Magazine — Death of General Pike — Americans take possession of town — Prisoners of war — Letter from Thomas G. Ridout — York after capitulation 172-186

Chapter XIV. Fort George, Stoney Creek, Beaver Dams

1813. General Dearborn's army — Off to Niagara — American force — Fort George — Arrival of Chauncey — Bombardment of Fort George — The attack — The evacuation — The retreat — Burlington Heights — Sir James Yeo — General Prevost — Sackett's Harbour — Failure of attack — The Niagara Frontier — American pursuit — Arrival at Stoney Creek — Harvey's plan — The midnight attack — Charge with the bayonets — Surprise of Americans — Their defeat — Retreat — Vincent's report — Flight of Americans — Booty taken — General Dearborn's position — Another reverse for him — Beaver Dams — Laura Secord — Her warning — Fitzgibbon 's ruse — Boerstler's surrender — Attack on Fort Schlosser — Attack on Black Rock — Stores captured — Colonel Bishopp's death. 187

Chapter XV. Chauncey's

FLEET— THE CAMP, SUMMER, 1813. Letters from camp — ,A skirmish at Niagara — Chauncey's fleet — Unsuccessful attempt on Burlington Heights — Second capture of York — Burning the barracks — Fire seen from Niagara — Americans cooped in Fort George — Mr. Ridout's diary — Movements of fleet — Two American vessels sink — Two are captured — Another skirmish at Niagara — Colonel Harvey's exploit— Camp at Four- Mile Creek — Foraging for supplies — Unwelcome visits ors — Sickness of army 203-213 NAVAL FIGHT, LAKE ERIE, SEPTEMBER, 1813. General Proctor — The Detroit frontier — Fort Meigs — Slaughter of American troops — Indian atrocities — Sandusky — Fleet on Lake Erie — Barclay and Perry — 10th September — Barclay's defeat — Important results — Gloom and consternation through Canada — Letters from camp at Niagara — Sickness and desertion. . . 214

Chapter XVII. Tecumseh, Battle Of The Thames, October

1813. After Barclay's defeat — General Harrison's advance — Tecumseh's advice — Proctor's panic — Battle of the Thames — Proctor's flight — Spoils of Americans — Fall of Tecumseh — His body not found — His burial-place not known 229-236

Chapter XVIII. Chateauguay, Chrysler's Field, October, November

1813 Letter from Burlington Heights — Gloomy times — Proctor's retreat — Proposed attack on Montreal — General Wilkinson's plans — The Niagara peninsula in peril — McClure at Fort George — Raids on inhabitants — Wilkinson's army — The descent of the St. Lawrence — An Invincible Armada — Letter from Kingston — Defeat of Hampton at Chateauguay — Morrison's march — Wilkinson's letter — Hamilton's reply — Letter from Prescott — Battle of Chrysler's field — Lieutenant-Colonel Harvey's letter — Defeat of Americans — Letter from Montreal — Withdrawal of American army from Canada 237-257

Chapter XIX. Fire And Sword, December

1813. General Drummond's arrival — Effect of Wilkinson's defeat — General McClure abandons Fort George — Burning of Newark — Colonel Murray's advance — 18th December Contents. — Taking of Fort Niagara — Retaliation — Desolation of frontier— Taking of Buffalo — Its total destruction — Results of campaign of 1813 — Victory for Canadians. 258-264

Chapter XX. Third Year Of War, Lacolle, Oswego

1814. The veteran troops — The American Generals — Meeting of Parliament at York — Congratulatory speech — Review of campaign by General Drummond — Two renegade members — Letter from Quebec — Letter from Prescott — Supplies for army — Cattle from the States — Colonel Chapin — Letter from York — Letter from Cornwall — Wilkinson's movements — Sherwood's raid — Letter from Cornwall — Rations — The fight at Lacolle — Wilkinson's discomfiture — Letter from York — The Canadian fleet — Letter from Cornwall — Movement of troops — Commissariat expenditure — Navigation opened — Attack on Oswego — Letter from York — Letter from Cornwall — Prices of Provisions 265-282

Chapter XXI. Fort Erie, Chippewa, Lundy's Lane

1814. American plans for campaign — Commands of Secretary of War — Attack and capture of Fort Erie — Advance on Chippewa — Battle there — Defeat of Canadians — General Riall's retreat — Arrival of Wounded at York — Letter from York — Description of battle — Gloomy prospects — After the battle — Americans advance on Queenston — Raids on inhabitants — Burning of St. David's — Brown's disappointment — Non-arrival of Chauncey — Americans retire to Chippewa — General Riall's troops — Arrival of General .Drummond at Niagara — Disposition of troops — Advance of Generals Drummond and Riall — Lundy's Lane — The struggle for the hill — A fight in the dark — Fearful carnage — The Americans retire — Drummond's report — Brown's report — Letter from York, 2nd August 283-301 FORT ERIE, YORK, MACKINAW, AUGUST, 1814.

After the battle — The Americans in Fort Erie — Strengthening the works — General Drummond's plans — A night assault — An entrance effected — Lieutenant-Colonel Drummond — His heroism — The fatal explosion — Killed and wounded — Letter from York — The defenceless town — The enemy's vessels — An attack expected — News from Mackinaw 302-316

Chapter XXIII. Lake Champlain, Plattsburg, September

1814. Letters from Cornwall — Lake Champlain — Sir George Prevost's plans — Great preparations — His advance on Plattsburg — His fatal delay — The battle on Lake Champlain — Capture of the British fleet — Retreat of General Prevost — Failure of expedition 317-326

Chapter XXIV. Last Days Of The

WAR— AUTUMN, 1814, 1815. After Plattsburg — Americans elated — The Niagara frontier — Generals Brown, Porter, Ripley — Sortie from Fort Erie — Attack on Canadian batteries — Repulse of Americans — The rainy season — Retirement to winter quarters — December, 1814 — Treaty of Ghent — Peace, February, 1815 327-338 Contents.

APPENDIX.

. Portrait of Hon. Thomas Ridout opp. 339 Thomas Ridout's journey from Annapolis to Fort Pitt, 1787 — Letters of introduction from General Washington, General Lee, Colonel Marshall — Over the Alleghanies by Braddock's trail — Arrival at Fort Pitt — Starts for Kentucky, March, 1788— The River Ohio— Wheeling— Fort Harmer — Limestone — On the way to the Falls of Ohio — The Indians appear — The attack — The capture — The other captives — Devoted to death — A night of anguish — The next morning — Mr. Ridout's life spared— The march — A friend in need — The great Miami — The encampment — Nenessica — On the way again — A painful march — Arrival at the village — Strange ceremony — The reception — Kakinathucca — Metsigemewa — Altowesa — Another journey — A novel dress — Through the forest — To the Wabash — The Council — Life or death — To be ransomed — The little books — An Indian vocabulary — On the march again — The White river — Another prisoner — His fate — Death by torture — Blood-thirsty Indians — In great danger — To Detroit on horseback — Enemies in pursuit — Saved by the squaws — Blue Jacket — Great Snake — Another Council — Saved again — Arrival at Fort Miami — Kind reception — Gn the Miami river — Arrival at Detroit — Captain McKee — 53rd Regiment — Fort Erie, 1788 — Arrival at Montreal — Fate of other prisoners ....... 339-375 Map (1788) showing Routes before and after Capture . opp. 344 Fac-simile of Letter of George Washington 372 Letter from Marquis de Lafayette 373 Letters from General Harry Lee 373-374 A Vocabulary of the Shawanese Language 376-381 Index

Introduction

. DARTLY to interest the members of a family, and partly for the sake of preserving, for future his torians of Canada, some additional records of a memor able time, the publication of these letters was taken in hand. If the explanatory notes have grown to a modest volume, it is because it is thought that the reader may, perhaps, share the absorbing interest the writer felt in tracing the historical bearing of the in cidents referred to in the letters. They range over a period from 1805 to 1815, and give a faithful picture of an epoch of Canadian History, which, overshadowed as it was at the time by the great events then passing in Europe, has now a deeper significance for us Cana dians than the contemporary triumphs of Salamanca and Waterloo. The earlier letters are simple ones, written by school-boys to their father, with his replies ; but so small was society in Upper Canada, that almost all the names mentioned are, in some way or other, interwo ven with its history.

The letters from England in 1811, and 1812 are placed in the collection because they relate to the state of affairs there, and bring vividly before us the condition of both England and Canada, just prior to the de-

INTRODUCTION.

. claration of war by the United States. The pictures these letters give of the times in which they are written are the impressions of a youth striving to chronicle for father and mother, in distant Canada, events of the great world beyond the sea. We see London in the days of the Regency, when Napoleon ruled Europe, and Wellington was earning his first laurels, when Siddons still reigned at Drury Lane, and Scott and Byron walked through London streets. Now and then flit across the pages the names of the great personages of the day, and Vauxhall is lighted up at a birthday fete for the Duke of Clarence, and the little Princess Charlotte drives through Kensington Gardens on a Sunday afternoon ; and there are a Lord Mayor's show, and a Mansion House ball, and many other festivities, which, to a young Canadian whose life had been spent in "Little York," seemed very wonderful.

We are told, too, of the famine and distress that then prevailed in England from the stoppage of the trade of the country, and of the smothered dis content of the people at the Ministry of the day, whose " Orders in Council," they thought, had caused the trouble. Then the scene changes, and the next letters are full of details of battles fought and hardships endured, when Canada was a battle-field, and the whole land from the St. Clair to Quebec was in peril. There is so much to be proud of in the war of 1812, that its events cannot be too strongly dwelt upon ; not in order to stir up old animosities, nor to revive a spirit of antagonism towards our kin beyond the border, but to inspire every Canadian with a feeling of pride in Introduction. his country, and of grateful admiration for those who saved the land in its hour of need.

As we have reached the last decade of our century, it is well to look back on those footprints stained with blood, that marked its beginning. The shores of Lake Erie, of Huron, and of Ontario, the banks of the Niagara and the St. Lawrence, are full of associations for those who have followed the fortunes of the little band of heroes, that for three years held the frontier against enormous odds. Every home in the land gave husband, or brother, or son, to the country's service, and had it not been for the martial spirit aroused in the people, the efforts of the small body of regular soldiers then in Canada, would have been useless. It is not intended in this chronicle to give a minute history of the war, which would include many other gallant fights on land and sea. The public events, described in the letters, form the thread of the story, and lead us on from scene to scene, in the tangled web of the drama of " The Three Years' War."

The details given in the letters are the more valuable, because, of that time there are but few contem porary records preserved. There was no daily paper then, no local reporter to picture each passing event. There are but few survivors now of those who bore a part in the gallant deeds, and bitter trials, that distin guished the first years of this century in Canada. " Here is the land, Shaggy with wood, With its old valley, Mound, and flood, But the heritors ! Fled like the flood's foam." Introduction. It has been a labour of love to collect these memo rials of an honoured father. Persia1 i i\r publication may lead other descendants of the pioneers of this country to search in dusty boxes, and ancient desks, for other records of these " days that are no more." Deputy Assistant-Comiuissaiv-General during the War of iS/3, Cashier of the Bank of Upper Canada from 1S22 to 1S61. Born 10th October, 1792. Died 29th July, 1861.

Chapter I

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO. "The great eventful Present hides the Past; but through the din Of its loud life, hints and echoes from the life behind steal in. " Thomas Ridout, to or by whom the greater part of these letters was written, settled with his family in York, now Toronto, in 1797, and was therefore identi fied with the place from its earliest years. He was an Englishman by birth, from Sherbourne, Dorsetshire, where his forefathers had lived peaceful and unevent ful lives. An elder brother of his had emigrated to Maryland in the old colonial days, had acquired a large property there, and also held an important position in the Government of that State. To this brother, Thomas, then twenty years of age, was sent in the year 1774. Of perils by land and perils by sea, during the stormy days of the Revolution, the young man had his full share, and a quaint account of his many adven tures is still preserved in his own handwriting.

The obnoxious " tea duty " was still unrepealed, and in Boston and other colonial ports, scenes of riot and •2 violence occurred whenever a tea cargo arrived. Mr. Ridout's first danger on landing arose from the " tea duty," and is told in his diary in the following lan guage :— I took leave of my parents for the last time and embarked in the Downs, the 4th September, 1774, for New York, where I arrived after seven weeks' passage. In this vessel went also, as passenger, the merchant who had shipped, a few weeks before, some tea to Annapolis, in Maryland, against the express rules of the Convention, then sitting at Annapolis. His anxiety on his arrival was, I perceived, very great, but two days passing away, and hearing no news of his tea, he flattered himself that all things were well. The arrival of the post, however, undeceived him.

He learned that his tea and vessel had been burnt by an enraged populace, and that in consequence of it his life was in danger. In an hour's time New York was in quest of him. He escaped, but I was in danger of feeling the effects his indiscretion, to say no worse of it; for hav ing, since our arrival, been always in his company, and lodging together, I was by many looked on as an accomplice, and, as such, was forbidden entrance to the house where I lodged. A gentleman, Hugh Wal lace, who was a member of the King's Council, and an acquaintance of my brother, hearing of my arrival, pro tected me, and by his attentions I was secured from insult. His Maryland brother provided him with capital to engage in trade with the West Indies and France; sugar, tobacco and wine were his merchandise, and Sindbad the Sailor's ventures were scarcely more ex citing; for on the high seas between the years 1775 and 1785, each trading vessel had to run the gauntlet of A Hundred Years Ago. privateers bent on capturing prizes, and many a time an exciting chase helped to break the monotony of a sea voyage.

In the year 1787, he set off from his brother's house in Annapolis, Maryland, on a journey to the western settlements of Kentucky. On the way, how ever, he and his party were taken prisoners by a party of Shawanese Indians on the Ohio, and most of his companions were slain. His life was spared, either on account of an extraordinary liking with which he in spired one of his savage captors, who thenceforward became his protector, or because he was the bearer of letters of introduction from General Washington to General Scott , from Colonel Lee to General St. Clair ; and to other well-known men in the western settlement.* These letters, which were examined by the Indian inter preters, may have caused the Indians to expect a ransom. It is not the place here to describe Mr. Ridout's adventures;! suffice it to say, that, after a captivity of four months, he was brought to Detroit, then an Eng lish garrison.

Here the officers of the 53rd regiment received him as a brother, clothed him, filled his purse, and as the regiment was about leaving for Montreal, they invited him to accompany them thither. On the way they stopped at Fort Erie and Niagara, and at the latter place were hospitably entertained by Colonel *The originals of these letters are now in possession of his grandson, Thomas Ridout, C.E., Ottawa. + See Appendix for his own narrative of his Indian captivity. Hunter, of the 60th, who commanded a battalion there. This officer was afterwards Lieutenant-Gov ernor of Upper Canada and Commander-in-chief of the forces in both Canadas. They arrived in Montreal about the middle of July, 1788, and Mr. Ridout was kindly received, as his old journal relates, by Sir John Johnson, Captain Grant, and Lord Dorchester, then Governor-General, residing at Quebec.

A hundred years ago Montreal was both a lively and hospitable place, as witness the cards of invitations to dinners, hops and assemblies which are still extant. The " engaging stranger," as Mr. Ridout is named in a Montreal Gazette of August 21st, 1788, soon determined to cast his lot in Canada. On the 26th of May, 1789, he married Mary Campbell, daughter of Alexander Campbell, a U. E. Loyalist, settled at the Bay of Quinte. Soon after he received an appointment in the Commissariat Department and re moved to Newark, now Niagara. As an example of what offices were held by one person in those early days, the following list is given of Mr. Ridout's different employments : — 1792— In the Commissary Department under Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe. 1793— In the Surveyor-General's Office ; D. W. Smith then being Surveyor-General.

In 1794— Public Notary. In 1794— Sergeant-at-Arms to the House of Assem bly. A Hundred Years Ago. 13 In 1796 — Registrar of County of York. In 1797 — Removed to York, seat of Government. In 1799 — Appointed Captain of York Militia. In 1800 — Clerk of the Peace for Home District, Clerk of the District Court. 1799 to 1800 — Joint Acting Surveyor-General with Mr. Chewett. Again from 1802 to 1805 — Joint Acting Surveyor- General with Mr. Chewett. 1807 — Joint Acting Surveyor-General, on suspen sion of Mr. Wyatt, who had been appointed Surveyor- General in 1805, and was dismissed by Lieutenant- Governor Gore. 1810 — Surveyor-General of Upper Canada. 1811 — Commissioner on Claims to Land. 1812 — Elected Member of Parliament for West Riding of York ; Member of Corporation for Manage ment of Clergy Reserves ; Member of Board for General Superintendence of Education. 1823 — Member of Board of Claims for Losses during war. 1824 — Called to seat in Legislative Council, Upper Canada. 1827 — Member of original Board of King's College, Upper Canada.

Mr. Ridout was, therefore, closely associated with the early history of Upper Canada, and his letters may well take their place among the few records we have of those primitive days. The scene opens at York in 1805, when Mr. Francis Gore was Lieutenant-Governor. Mr. Strachan's school had just been opened at Cornwall, and there Mr. Ridout's eldest son, George, was sent in 1805, and his second son, Thomas Gibbs, in 1806. A father's love placed their boyish letters carefully away, and in fair round hand each tells its little tale. York, at this date, is thus described by a traveller, showing what strides it had made in the ten years since Governor Simcoe selected it for the seat of Government : — A long and narrow peninsula, distinguished by the appellation of Gibraltar Point, forms and embraces the harbor, securing it from the storms of the lake, and rendering it the safest of any around the coast of that sea of fresh water.

Stores and block-houses are constructed near the extremity of this point. A spot called the garrison stands on the bank of the main land opposite this point, and consists only of a wooden block-house and some small cottages of the same material, little superior to temporary huts. The house in which the Lieutenant-Governor resides is likewise formed of wood in the figure of a half-square of one story in height, with galleries in the centre. It is sufficiently commodious for the present state of the Province, and is erected upon a bank of the lake near the mouth of Toronto Bay. The town, according to the plan, is projected to extend to a mile and a half in length, from the bottom of the harbor along its banks. Many houses are already completed, some of which display a considerable degree of taste.

The advance ment of this place to its present condition has been effected within the lapse of six or seven years ; and persons who have formerly travelled in this part of the country are impressed with sentiments of wonder on beholding a town, which may be termed handsome, reared as if by enchantment in the midst of a wilder- A Hundred Years Ago. 15 ness. Two buildings of brick, at the eastern ex tremity of the town, which were designed as wings to a centre, are occupied as Chambers for the Upper and Lower House of Assembly. The scene from this part of the basin is agreeable and diversified. A block-house situated on a wooden bank forms the nearest object ; part of the town, points of land clothed with spreading oak-trees gradually receding from the eye one behind another, until terminated by the buildings of the garrison and the spot on which the Governor's residence is placed, compose the objects on the right.