Travels & adventures in Canada and the Indian territories between the years 1760 and 1776

Front matter

TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES

IN

CANADA

Part The First. To The Right Honourable

SIR JOSEPH BANKS, BARONET;

KNIGHT-COMPANION

OF THE MOST HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH ;

ONE OF HIS MAJESTY'S

MOST HONOURABLE PRIVY COUNCIL ;

PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY, F. S. A. &c., &c., &c.

THIS VOLUME

WITH GREAT DEFERENCE.

IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,

BY

HIS VERY DEVOTED,

AND VERY HUMBLE SERVANT,

ALEXANDER HENRY.

Montreal, October 20th, 1809.

Preface

A PREMATURE attempt to share in the fur-trade of Canada, directly on the conquest of the country, led the author of the following pages into situations of some danger and singularity ; and the pursuit, under better auspices, of the same branch of coTnmerce, occasioned him, to visit various parts of the Indian Territories.

These transactions occupied a period of sixteen years, coinrfiencing nearly with the author's setting out in life. The details, from time to tirne committed to paper, form the subject matter of the present volume.

The heads, under which, for the most part, they will be found to range themselves, are three ; first, the incidents or adventures in which the author was engaged; secondly, the observations, on the geography and natural history of the countries visited, which he was able to make, and to preserve;

and, thirdly, the views of society and manners, among a jjart of the Indians of North America, which it has belonged to the course of his narrative to develops.

Upon the last, the author may he permitted to remark, that he has by no means undertaken to write the general history of the American Indians, nor any theory of their morals, or their merits. With but few exceptions, it has been tlie entire scope of his design, simply to relate those particular facts, which are either identified with his own fortunes, or with the truth of which he is otherwise personally conversant. All comment, therefore, in alviost all instances, is studiously avoided.

Montreal, October 20th, 1809.

TRAVELS

AND ADVENTURES,

Chapter I

Journies and Voyages between Oswegatchie and Montreal. Indian encampments. Indian hospitality. Winter travelling, in the wilder parts of Canada. Les Cedres, the uppermost white settlement on the river Saint-Lawrence. Author prepares for a voyage to Michilimackinac.

TN tlie year 1760, wlien the British arms, under General Amlierst, were employed in the reduction of Canada/ I accompanied the expedition, which,

^ The campaign during the summer of 1760, was undertaken to complete the conquest of Canada by the capture of the remaining portion of the French Army, which, under the command of Vaudreuii and L6vis, had retreated upon Montreal. The British and Colonial forces were divided into three divisions, General Murray being in command of that which was to ascend the St. Lawrence from Quebec ; Brigadier Haviland that by way of Lake Champlain, and General Amherst with the main body to descend the St. Lawrence from Lake Ontario. His forces consisted of ten thousand, one hundred and forty-two men, and about seven hundred Indians. This, strong force was thought necessary to prevent the escape of the French to Detroit and the West.

subsequently to the surrender of Quebec,* descended from Oswego, on Lake Ontario, against Fort de Levi,'* one of the upper posts situate on an island, which lies on the south side of the great river, Saint- Lawrence, at a short distance below the mouth of the Oswegatchie;^ Fort de Levi surrendered on the 21st day of August, seven days after the commencement of the siege; and General Amherst continued his voyage down the stream, carrying his forces against Montreal.

It happened, that in this voyage, one of the few fatal accidents, which are remembered to have occurred, in that dangerous part of the river, below Lake Saint-Frangais, called the Rapides des Cedres, befel the British army. Several boats, loaded with provisions and military stores, were lost, together

*Quebec surrendered on the 18th of September, 1759.

^Fort L6vis was erected in 1759 on Isle Royale, now known as Chimney Island, about five miles east of the town of Prescott, Ontario, for the purpose of defending the western entrance to the St. Lawrence, which the destruction of Fort Frontenac in August, 1758, had left open. Pouchot who had surrendered Fort Niagara to Sir William Johnson on September 25th, 1759, was in command. The investment was made by Amherst on August 20th, 1760, and the fort surrendered on the 25th. The Fi'ench lost fifty-two killed and wounded out of their entire force of two hundred and ninety-nine officers and men. A plan of the fort will be found in Mante's History of the late war in North America. London, 1772, p. 302, which has been reproduced in Hough's Edition of Pouchot's Memoir upon the late war in North America, Roxbury, 1866.

Now Ogdensburg, New York.

with upward of a hundred men.* I had three boats, loaded with merchandize, all of which were lost; and I saved my life, only by gaining the bottom of one of my boats, which lay among the rocky shelves, and on which I continued for some hours, and until I was kindly taken off, by one of the general's aides-decamp.

The surrender of Montreal, and, with it, the surrender of all Canada, followed that of Fort de Levi, at only the short interval of three days; and, proposing to avail myself of the new market, which was thus thrown open to British adventure, I hastened to Albany, where my commercial connections were, and where I procured a quantity of goods, with which I bCt out, intending to carry them to Montreal. For this, however, the winter was too near approached; I was able only to return to Fort de Levi, to which the conquerors had now given the name of Fort William- August us, and where I remained until the month of January, in the following year.

At this time, having disposed of my goods to the garrison, and the season, for travelling on the snow and ice, being set in, I prepared to go down to Montreal. The journey was to be performed through a country, inhabited only by Indians and by beasts of the forest, and which presented to the eye no other change, than from thick woods, to the broad

* Owing to want of proper precautions forty-six boats were wrecked, eighteen damaged and eighty-four men lost their lives, besides a considerable quantity of stores.

surface of a frozen river. It was necessary that I should be accompanied, as well by an interpreter as by a guide, to both of which ends, I engaged the services of a Canadian, named John-Baptist Bodoine.

The snow, which lay upon the ground, was, by this time, three feet in depth. The hour of departure an-iving, I left the fort, on snow-shoes, an article of equipment which I had never used before, and which I found it not a little difficult to manage. I did not avoid frequent falls; and, when down, I was scarcely able to rise.

At sunset, on the first day, we reached an Indian encampment, of six lodges and about twenty men. As these people had been very recently employed offensively, against the English, in the French service, I agreed but reluctantly to the proposal of my guide and interpreter, which was nothing less, than that we should pass the night with them. My fears were somewhat lulled by his information, that he was personally acquainted with those who composed the camp, and by his assurances, that no danger was to be apprehended; and, being greatly fatigued, I entered one of the lodges, where I presently fell asleep.

Unfortunately, Bodoine had brought, upon his back, a small keg of rum, which, while I slept, he opened, not only for himself, but for the general gratification of his friends ; a circumstance, of which I was first made aware, in being awakened, by a kick on the breast, from the foot of one of my hosts, and by a yell, or Indian cry, which immediately succeeded. At the instant of opening my eyes, I saw tliat my assailant was strug-gling' with one of his companions, who, in conjunction with several women, was endeavouring to restrain his ferocity. Perceiving, however, in the countenance of my enemy, the most determined mischief, I sprung upon my feet, receiving, in so doing, a wound in my hand, from a knife, which had been raised to give a more serious wound. While the rest of my guardians continued their charitable efforts for my protection, an old woman took hold of my arm, and, making signs that I should accompany her, led me out of the lodge, and then gave me to understand, that unless I fled, or could conceal myself, I should certainly be killed.

My guide was absent; and, without his direction, I was at a loss where to go. In all the surrounding lodges, there was the same howling and violence, as in that from which I had escaped. I was without my snow-shoes, and had only so much clothing as I had fortunately left upon me, when I lay down to sleep. It was now one o'clock in the morning, in the month of January, and in a climate of extreme rigour.

I was unable to address a single word, in her own language, to the old woman who had thus befriended me; but, on repeating the name of Bodoine, I soon found that she comprehended my meaning; and, having first pointed to a large tree, behind which, she made signs, that until she could find my guide, I should hide myself, she left me, on this important errand. Meanwhile, I made my way to the tree, and seated myself in the snow. From my retreat, I beheld several Indians, running from one lodge to another, as if to quell the disturbance which prevailed.

The coldness of the atmosphere congealed the blood about my wound, and prevented further bleeding; and the anxious state of my mind rendered me almost insensible to bodily suffering. At the end of half an hour, I heard myself called, by Bodoine, whom, on going to him, I found as much intoxicated, and as much a savage, as the Indians themselves; but, he was nevertheless able to fetch my snow-shoes, from the lodge in which I had left them, and to point out to me a beaten path, which presently entered a deep wood, and which he told me I must follow.

After walking about three miles, I heard, at length, the foot-steps of my guide, who had now overtaken me. I thought it most prudent to abstain from all reproof; and we proceeded on our march till sun-rise, when we arrived at a solitary Indian hunting-lodge, built with branches of trees, and of which the only inhabitants w^ere an Indian and his wife. Here, the warmth of a large fire reconciled me to a second experiment on Indian hospitality. The result was very different from that of the one which had preceded it; for, after relieving my thirst with melted snow, and my hunger with a plentiful meal of venison, of which there was a great quantity in the lodge, and which was liberally set before me, I resumed my journey, full of sentiments of gratitude, such as almost obliterated the recollection of what had befallen me, among the friends of my benefactors.

From tlie hunting-lodge, I followed my guide till evening, when we encamped on the banks of the Saint-Lawrence, making a fire, and supping on the meat with which our wallets had been filled in the morning.

While I indulged myself in rest, my guide visited the shore, where he discovered a bark canoe, which had been left there, in the beginning of the winter, by some Indian way-farers. We were now at the head of the Longue Sault, one of those portions of the river, in which it passes over a shallow, inclining and rocky bed, and where its motion consequently prevents it from freezing, even in the coldest part of the year; and my guide, as^soon as he had made his discovery, recommended, that we should go by water down the rapids, as the means of saving time, of shortening our iourney, and of avoiding a numerous body of Indians, then hunting on the banks below. The last of these arguments was, with me, so powerful, that though a bark canoe was a vehicle to which I was altogether a stranger; though this was a very small one/ of only sixteen or eighteen feet in length,*

* There are still smaller.

^ This is about the usual length of the canoe in use on the smaller lakes and rivers, but the larger, which are known as North- West canoes, are required by traders for the transportation of heavy loads and for making the long traverses on the great lakes. These are 'from thirty to thirty-five feet long, five feet wide in the middle, with a depth of two feet three inches. They carry about six thousand pounds weight of stores and goods, and eight or ten men, two of whom can carry it over a portage.

and much out of repair; and though the misfortune which I had experienced, in the navigation of these rocky parts of the Saint-Lawrence^ when descending with the army, naturally presented itself to my mind, as a still further discouragement, yet I was not long in resolving to undertake the voyage.

Accordingly, after stopping the leaks, as completely as we were able, we embarked, and proceeded. My fears were not lessened, by perceiving that the least unskilful motion was sufficient to overset the ticklish craft into which I had ventured; by the reflection, that a shock, comparatively gentle, from a mass of rock or ice, was more than its frail material could sustain; nor by observing that the ice, which lined the shores of the river, was too strong to be pushed through, and, at the same time, too weak to be walked upon, so that, in the event of disaster, it would be almost impossible to reach the land. In fact, we had not proceeded more than a mile, when our canoe became full of water, and it was not till after a long search, that we found a place of safety.

Treading, once more, upon dry ground, I should willingly have faced the wilderness and all its Indians, rather than embark again; but my guide informed me that I was upon an island, and I had therefore no choice before me. We stopped the leaks a second time, and recommenced our voyage, which we performed with success, but sitting, all the way, in six inches of water. In this manner, we arrived at the foot of the rapids, where the river was frozen all across. Here, we disembarked upon the ice, walked to tlie bank, made a fire, and encamped; for such is tlie phrase employed, in the woods of Canada.

At day-break the next morning, we put on our snow-shoes, and commenced our journey over the ice; and, at ten o'clock, arrived in sight of Lake Saint- Fran^ais, which is from four to six miles in breadth** The wind was high, and the snow, drifting over the expanse, prevented us, at times, from discovering the land, and consequently (for compass we had none), from pursuing, with certainty, our course.

Toward noon, the storm became so violent, that we directed our steps to the shore, on the north side, by the shortest route we could; and, maldng a fire, dined on the remains of the Indian hunter's bounty. At two o'clock, in the afternoon, when the wind had subsided, and the atmosphere grown more clear, I discerned a cariole, or sledge, moving our way, and immediately sent my guide to the driver, with a request, that he would come to my encampment. On his arrival, I agreed with him to carry me to Les Cedres/ a distance of eight leagues, for a reward of eight dollars. The driver was a Canadian, who had been to the Indian village of Saint-Regis,*^ and was

^ More exact measurements show that the widest part of Lake St. Francis is rather less than five miles.

■^In Soulanges County, Que., 27 miles south-west of Montreal.

® A settlement of French Mohawk Indians, on the boundary line between the United States and Canada, where it touches the St. Lawrence river, four miles south-east of Cornwall, Ont.

now on Ids return to Les Cedres, the -uppermost white settlement on the Saint-Lawrence.

Late in the evening, I reached Les Cedres, and was carried to the house of Ai. Leduc, its seignior,'' by whom I was politely and hospitably received. M. Leduc being disposed to converse with me, it became a subject of regret, that neither party understood the language of the other; but, an interpreter was fortunately found, in the person of a Serjeant of His Majesty's Eighteenth Regiment of Foot.

I now learned, that M. Leduc, in the earlier part of his life, had been engaged in the fur-trade, with the Indians of Michilimackinac and Lake Superior. He informed me of his acquaintenance with the Indian languages, and his knowledge of furs; and gave me to understand, that Michilimackinac was richer, in this commodity, than any other part of the world. He added, that the Indians were a peaceable -race of men, and that an European might travel, from one side of the continent to the other without experiencing insult Further, he mentioned, that a guide, who lived at no great distance from his house, could confirm the truth of all that he had advanced.

I, who had previously thought of visiting Michilimackinac, with a view to the Indian trade, gave the strictest attention to all that fell, on this subject, from my host; and, in order to possess myself, as far as

^Jean Baptiste Leduc, seigneur de I'lle-Perrot : et etait au Bout-de-l'Ile, M., le II. Mars, 1757. — Tanguays Dictionnaire Gen4alogi(pie, vol. 5, p. 260.

possible, of all tliat might be collected in addition, I requested, that tbe guide sboiild be sent for. This man arrived; and a short conversation terminated in my engaging him to conduct myself, and the canoes which I was to procure, to Michilimackinac, in the month of June following.

There being, at this time, no goods in Montreal,^° adapted to the Indian trade, my next business was to proceed to Albany, to make my purchases there. This I did in the beginning of the month of May, by the way of Lake Champlain ; and, on the 15th of June, arrived again in Montreal, bringing with me my outfits. As I was altogether a stranger to the commerce in which I was engaging, I confided in the recommendations, given me, of one Etienne Campion, as my assistant; a part which he uniformly fulfilled with honesty and fidelity.

His Excellency, General Gage," who now command-

i^The blockade of the St. Lawrence for two years had prevented both the Government and the merchants from replenishing their warehouses and the English merchants were slowly arriving.

" Born in 1721, he entered the army in 1741, attaining the rank of Brigadier-General in 1759, when he was sent to supersede Johnson who had taken command of the forces before Niagara on the death of Prideaux. He commanded the rearguard of Amherst's army during the descent of the St. Lawrence. After the capitulation he was appointed Govt^rnor of the District of Montreal. In 1774 he was Governor of Massachusetts and in 1776, Commander-in-Chief of the North American forces. He died in 1787.

ed in cliief, in Canada, very reluctantly gTanted me the permission, at this time requisite, for going to Michilimackinac. JSTo treaty of peace had yet been made, between the English and the Indians, which latter were in arms, under Pontiac, an Indian leader, of more than common celebrity, and General Gage was therefore strongly, and (as it became manifest) but too justly apprehensive, that both the property and lives of His Majesty's subjects would be very insecure, in the Indian countries. But, he had already granted such permission to a Mr. Bostwick'-; and this 1 was able to employ, as an argument against his refusal, in respect to myself. General Gage complied; and on the 3d day of August, 1761, after some further delay, in obtaining a passport from the town-major, I dispatched my canoes to Lachine, there to take in their lading.

^^ An English trader who was afterwards present with Henry at Michilimackinac. He escaped the massacre and was brought by the Ottawas to Montreal, where he was ransomed.

Chapter II

Voyage from Montreal to Michilimackinac. Canoes. Canoe-men. Lachine. Saint-Anne. Lake Des Deux Montagnes. Indian Mission. Description of part of the river Des Outaouais. Indians returning from the chace — their opinion of the Authors undertaking. Claims of the Algonquins, on the banks of the Outaouais — their regard to the right of property. Leave the Outaouais, and enter the Matawa.

THE inland navigation, from Montreal to Micliilimackinac, may be performed, either by the way of LakeSj Ontario and Erie, or by the river Des Outaouais, Lake Nipisingue and the river Des Francais/ for, as well by one as the other of these routes, we are carried to Lake Huron. The second is the shortest, and that which is usually pursued by the canoes, employed in the Indian trade.

The canoes, which I provided for my undertaking, were, as is usual, five fathom and a half in length, and four feet and a half in their extreme breadth, and formed of birch-tree bark, a quarter of an inch in thickness. The bark is lined with small splints of cedar-wood; and the vessel is further strengthened

^ Ottawa River, Lake Nipissing and French River, with ribs of the same wood, of which the two ends are fastened to the gunwales: several bars, rather than seats, are also laid across the canoe, from gunwale to gunwale. The small roots of the spruce-tree afford the wattap, with which the bark is sewed ; and the gum of the pine-tree supplies the place of tar and oakum. Bark, some spare wattap and gum, are always carried in each canoe, for the repairs which frequently become necessary.

The canoes are worked, not with oars, but with paddles; and, occasionally, with a sail. To each canoe there are eight men ; and to every three or four canoes, which constitute a hrigade, there is a guide or conductor. Skilful men, at double the wages of the rest, axe placed in the head and stern. They engage to go from Montreal to Michih'm ackinac, and back to Montreal again, the middle-men at one hundred and fifty livres' and the end-men at three hundred livres, each.* The guide has the command of his brigade, and is answerable for all pillage and loss; and, in return, every man's wages is answerable to him. This regulation was established under the French government.

* These particulars may be compared with those of a more modern date, given in the Voyages of Sir Alexander Mackenzie.

-' By the ordinance of 1764, the shilling (colonial currency) was adopted as the basis, and declared equal to one French livre. The British shilling was rated at one shilling and four pence and the dollar at six shillings. Consequently the middle-men received twenty-five dollars, and the end men fifty dollars •each.

•ARDEVANT les NOT AIRES de la Province

- da>t.i.nd* y!sCan(.thpvj. fa;rcle voyage tant en t r lie' Inchna, fi il en c 1 1. 's , p.T i Flilt ricce<- fvii if r; ( i ,,)'vf<-n tit nt, tt^^.r/^tP' qn^c en loitint, on iibitie

i'op 1 .1 de<=dir -uurs V ] w i ?, . f u 1 ui I'-p/- d fan\ .t(Ld vvl nx < m ic c pt. u f iW

m. r!v I a . v.. btn t. a . I k<; nu\s, j^t e^ai ^rj

dii ill." ^

T

S A ivns Pel

]e p c nf t Jtlil nion'' <

1'

vice, Ifuaie p( fir.. "' ^urt t H id-

, ri<- ' Li re *\ t et s\ L I ue

ni tn < cit" 's le, ct .1 i Id v'l / X

ion da L i i lAp !ut ,it <;xJr^,iy*-«^ ^ t n en t ivmce

par r n' , r'ui. k i< ^. C u auai &c.

I ( -I 'i~re 1 iV'j.f'p nn dodit engtgt - qvravintdfecla.en< ki. o.r , .'"e , d c.^tanv., ai^.ti^niaique ord^ ord

Oopi/ of i/ie i^orm of Contract with Voyage^irs.

The freight of a canoe, of tlie substance and dimensions wliich I liave detailed, consist of sixty pieces, or packages, of mercliandize, of the weight of from ninety to a hundred pounds each; and provisions to the amount of one thousand weight. To this is to be added, the v,-eight of eight men, and of eight bags, weighing forty pounds each, one of which every man is privileged to put on board. The whole weight must therefore exceed eight thousand pounds; or may perhaps be averaged at four tons.

The nature of the navigation, which is to be described, will sufficiently explain, why the canoe is the only vessel which can be employed along its course. The necessity, indeed, becomes apparent, at the very instant of our departure from Montreal itself.

The Saint-Lawrence, for several miles, immediately above Montreal, descends, with a rapid current, over a shallow rocky bed; insomuch, that even canoes themselves, when loaded, cannot resist the stream, and are therefore sent empty to Lachine, where they meet the merchandize which they are to carry, and which is transported thither by land.* Lachine is about nine miles higher up the river, than Montreal, and is at the head of the Sault de Saint-Louis, which is the highest of the sauUs, falls, or leaps, in this part of the Saint- Lawrence.

* La Chine, or China, has always been the point 'of departure, for the upper countries. It owes its name to the expeditions of M. de la Salle, which were fitted out at this place, for the discovery of a north-wesb passage to China.

16 TKAVELS AND [A.D.

On the third of August, I sent my canoes to Lachine; and, on the following morning, embarked with them, for Michilimackinac. The river is here so broad as to be denominated a lake, by the title of Lake Soint-Louis; the prospect is wide and cheerful; and the village has several well-built houses.

In a short time, we reached the rapids and carrying-place of Saint-Anne, two miles below the upper end of the island of Montreal; and it is not till after passing these, that the voyage may be properly said to be commenced.^ At Saint- Anne's, the men go to confession, and, at the same time, offer up their vows; for the saint, from which this parish derives its name, and to whom its church is dedicated, is the patroness of the Canadians, in all their travels by water.

There is still a further custom to be observed, on arriving at Saint-Anne's, and which is, that of distributing eight gallons of rum to each canoe (a gallon for each man) for consumption during the voyage; nor is it less according to custom, to drink the whole of this liquor upon the spot. — The saint, therefore, and the priest, were no sooner dismissed, than a scene of intoxication began, in which my men surpassed, if possible, the drunken Indian, in singing, fighting, and the display of savage gesture and conceit. In the morning, we reloaded the canoes, and pursued our course, across the lake Des Deux Montagues.

^ " Soon as the woods on the shore look dim, We'll sing at St. Ann's our parting hymn."

Canadian Boat Song. — Moore.

This lake, like that of Saint-Louis, is only a part of the estuary of the Outaouais, which here "unites itself with the Saint-Lawrence, or rather, according to some, the Cataraqui; for, with these, the Saint-Lawrence is formed by the confluence of the Cataraqui and Outaouais.*

At noouj we reached the Indian Mission of the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice,^ situate on the north bank of the lake, with its two villages, Algonquin and Iroquois, in each of which was reckoned an hundred souls. Here, we received a hospitable reception, and remained during two hours. I was informed, by one of the missionaries, that since the conquest of the country, the unrestrained introduction of spirituous liquors, at this place, which had not been allowed un-

*This is the Utaivas of some writers, the Ottaway of others, &c., &c., &c. It is also called the Grand River — la Grande Riviere.

* Caiiasadaga, or the Lake of the Two Mountains, now the villasj;e of Oka, was a mission established by the Sulpicians for Christianizing the vagrant Algonquin and Iroquois Indians, who clustered round the walls of Montreal in the early days of its settlement. They were first gathered together in its neighbourhood, afterwards were removed to the Sault-au-Recollet, and finally settled upon the seigniory of the Lac de Deux Montagnes, where Henry found them. Disputes as to the ownership of the land aggravated by religious controversies, led to the removal of a portion of them in 1884, to the township of Gibson, Ontario. Alexander Mackenzie, in his " Voyages Through the Continent of North America," p. xxix., says that they numbered 500 warriors. The present Indian population is 413. 2 der tlie former government, had occasioned manyoutrages.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, we prosecuted our voyage; and, at sun-set, disembarked, and encamped, at the foot of the Longue Sault. — There is a Longue Sault, both on this river, and on the Saint-Lawrence.

At ten leagues, above the island of Montreal, I passed the limits of the cultivated lands, on the north bank of the Outaouais.'^ On tlie south, the fanus ar'; \'ery few in number; but the soil has every appearance of fertility.*

In ascending the Longue Sault, a distance of three miles, my canoes were three times unladen, and, together with their freight, carried on the shoulders of the voyageursS' The locky carrying-places are not crossed, without danger of serious accidents, by men bearing heavy burdens.