Canada and the Canadians Volume I Part 14

Then comes Lake Erie, the Stormy Lake, which is 240 miles long, 40 miles wide, 408 feet in its deepest part, and contains 9,600 square miles.

Lake Erie is 565 feet above tide-water. Its average depth is 85 feet only.

Lake Ontario, the Beautiful Lake, is 180 miles long, 45 miles wide, 500 feet average depth, where sounded successfully, but said to be fathomless in some places, and contains 6,300 square miles. It is 232 feet above the tide of the St. Lawrence.

The Canadian lakes have been computed to contain 1,700 cubic miles of water, or more than half the fresh water on the globe, covering a s.p.a.ce of about 93,000 square miles. They extend from west to east over nearly 15 degrees and a half of longitude, with a difference of lat.i.tude of about eight and a half degrees, draining a country of not less surface than 400,000 square miles.

The greatest difference is observable between the waters of all these lakes, arising from soil, depth, and sh.o.r.es. Ontario is pure and blue, Erie pure and green, the southern part of Michigan nothing particular.

The northern part of Michigan and all Huron are clear, transparent, and full of carbonic gas, so that its water sparkles. But the extraordinary transparency of the waters of all these lakes is very surprising. Those of Huron transmit the rays of light to a great depth, and consequently, having no preponderating solid matters in suspension, an equalization of heat occurs. Dr. Drake ascertained that, at the surface in summer, and at two hundred feet below it, the temperature of the water was 56.

One of the most curious things on the shallow parts of Huron is to sail or row over the submarine or sublacune mountains, and to feel giddy from fancy, for it is like being in a balloon, so pure and tintless is the water. It is, like Dolland's best telescopes, achromatic.

The lakes are subject in the latter portion of summer to a phenomenon, which long puzzled the settlers; their surface near the sh.o.r.es of bays and inlets are covered by a bright yellow dust, which pa.s.sed until lately for sulphur, but is now known to be the farina of the pine forests. The atmosphere is so impregnated with it at these seasons, that water-barrels, and vessels holding water in the open air, are covered with a thick sc.u.m of bright yellow powder.

A curious oily substance also pervades the waters in autumn, which agglutinates the sand blown over it by the winds, and floats it about in patches. I have never been able to discover the cause of this; perhaps, it is petroleum, or the sand is magnetic iron. Singular currents and differently coloured streams also appear, as on the ocean; but, as all the lakes have a fall, no weed gathers, except in the stagnant bays.

The bottom of Ontario is unquestionably salt, and no wonder that it should be so, for all the Canadian lakes were once a sea, and the geological formation of the bed of Ontario is the saliferous rock.

I have often enjoyed on Ontario's sh.o.r.es, where I have usually resided, the grand spectacle which takes place after intense frost. The early morning then exhibits columns of white vapour, like millions of Geysers spouting up to the sky, curling, twisting, shooting upwards, gracefully forming spirals and pyramids, amid the dark ground of the sombre heavens, and occasionally giving a peep of little lanes of the dark waters, all else being shrouded in dense mist.

People at home are very apt to despise lakes, perhaps from the usual insipidity of lake poetry, and to imagine that they can exhibit nothing but very placid and tranquil scenery. Lake Erie, the shallowest of the great Canadian fresh-water seas, very soon convinces a traveller to the contrary; for it is the most turbulent and the most troublesome sea I ever embarked upon--a region of vexed waters, to which the Bermoothes of Shakespeare is a trifle; for that is bad enough, but not half so treacherous and so thunder-stormy as Erie.

Huron is an ocean, when in its might; its waves and swells rival those of the Atlantic; and the beautiful Ontario, like many a lovely dame, is not always in a good temper. I once crossed this lake from Niagara to Toronto late in November, in the Great Britain, a steamer capable of holding a thousand men with ease, and during this voyage of thirty-six miles we often wished ourselves anywhere else: the engine, at least one of them, got deranged; the sea was running mountains high; the cargo on deck was washed overboard; gingerbread-work, as the sailors call the ornamental parts of a vessel, went to smash; and, if the remaining engine had failed in getting us under the shelter of the windward sh.o.r.e, it would have been pretty much with us as it was with the poor fellow who went down into one of the deepest shafts of a Swedish mine.

A curious traveller, one of "the inquisitive cla.s.s," must needs see how the miners descended into these awful depths. He was put into a large bucket, attached to the huge rope, with a guide, and gradually lowered down. When he had got some hundred fathoms or so, he began to feel queer, and look down, down, down. Nothing could he see but darkness visible. He questioned his guide as to how far they were from the bottom, cautiously and nervously. "Oh," said the Swede, "about a mile."

"A mile!" replied the c.o.c.kney: "shall we ever get there?"--"I don't know," said the guide. "Why, does any accident ever happen?"--"Yes, often."--"How long ago was the last accident, and what was it?"--"Last week, one of our women went down, and when she had got just where we are now, the rope broke."--"Oh, Heaven!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the inquisitive traveller, "what happened to her?" The Swede, who did not speak very good English, put the palm of his right hand over that of his left, lifted the upper hand, slapped them together with a clap, and said, most phlegmatically--"Flat as a pankakka."

I once crossed Ontario, in the same direction as that just mentioned, in another steamer, when the beautiful Ontario was in a towering pa.s.sion.

We had a poor fellow in the cabin, who had been a Roman Catholic priest, but who had changed his form of faith. The whole vessel was in commotion; it was impossible for the best sea-legs to hold on; so two or three who were not subject to seasickness got into the cabin, or saloon, as it is called, and grasped any thing in the way. The long dinner-table, at which fifty people could sit down, gave a lee-lurch, and jammed our poor _religioner_, as Southey so affectedly calls ministers of the word, into a corner, where chairs innumerable were soon piled over him. He abandoned himself to despair; and long and loud were his confessions. On the first lull, we extricated him, and put him into a birth. Every now and then, he would call for the steward, the mate, the captain, the waiters, all in vain, all were busy. At last his cries brought down the good-natured captain. He asked if we were in danger.

"Not entirely," was the reply. "What is it does it, captain?"--"Oh,"

said the skipper, gruffly enough, "we are in the trough of the sea, and something has happened to the engine." "The trough of the _say_?"--my friend was an Irishman--"the trough of the say? is it that does it, captain?" But the captain was gone.

During the whole storm and the remainder of the voyage, the poor ex-priest asked every body that pa.s.sed his refuge if we were out of the trough of the say. "I know," said he, "it is the trough of the say does it." No cooking could be performed, and we should have gone dinnerless and supperless to bed, if we had not, by force of steam, got into the mouth of the Niagara river. All became then comparatively tranquil; she moored, and the old Niagara, for that was her name, became steady and at rest. Soon the cooks, stewards, and waiters, were at work, and dinner, tea, and supper, in one meal, gladdened our hearts. The greatest eater, the greatest drinker, and the most confident of us all, was our old friend and companion of the voyage, "the Trough of the Say," as he was ever after called.

Such is tranquil Ontario. I remember a man-of-war, called the Bullfrog, being once very nearly lost in the voyage I have been describing; and never a November pa.s.ses without several schooners being lost or wrecked upon Lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario; whilst the largest American steamers on Erie sometimes suffer the same fate. Whenever Superior is much navigated, it will be worse, as the seasons are shorter and more severe there, and the sh.o.r.es iron-bound and mountainous.

Through the Welland Ca.n.a.l there is now a continuous navigation of those lakes for 844 miles; and the St. Lawrence Ca.n.a.l being completed, and the La Chine Locks enlarged at Montreal, there will be a continuous line of s.h.i.+pping from London to the extremity of Lake Superior, embracing an inland voyage on fresh water of upwards of two thousand miles. Very little is required to accomplish an end so desirable.

It has been estimated by the Topographical Board of Was.h.i.+ngton, that during 1843 the value of the capital of the United States afloat on the four lakes was sixty-five millions of dollars, or about sixteen millions, two hundred thousand pounds sterling; and this did not of course include the British Canadian capital, an idea of which may be formed from the confident a.s.sertion that the Lakes have a greater tonnage entering the Canadian ports than that of the whole commerce of Britain with her North American colonies. This is, however, _un peu fort_. It is now not at all uncommon to see three-masted vessels on Lake Ontario; and one alone, in November last, brought to Kingston a freight of flour which before would have required three of the ordinary schooners to carry, namely, 1500 barrels.

A vessel is also now at Toronto, which is going to try the experiment of sailing from that port to the West Indies and back again; and, as she has been properly constructed to pa.s.s the ca.n.a.ls, there is no doubt of her success.

Some idea of the immense exertions made by the government to render the Welland Ca.n.a.l available may be formed by the size of the locks at Port Dalhousie, which is the entrance on Lake Ontario. Two of the largest cla.s.s, in masonry, and of the best quality, have been constructed: they are 200 feet long by 45 wide; the lift of the upper lock is 11, and of the lower, 12, which varies with the level of Lake Ontario, the mitre sill being 12 feet below its ordinary surface. Steamers of the largest cla.s.s can therefore go to the thriving village of St. Catherine's, in the midst of the granary of Canada.

The La Chine Ca.n.a.l must be enlarged for s.h.i.+p navigation more effectually than it has been. I subjoin a list of colonial s.h.i.+pping for 1844 from Simmonds' "Colonial Magazine."

NUMBER, TONNAGE, AND CREWS OF VESSELS, WHICH BELONGED TO THE SEVERAL BRITISH PLANTATIONS IN THE YEAR 1844:--

Countries. Vessels. Tons. Crews.

Europe-- Malta, 85 15,326 893

Africa-- Bathurst, 25 1,169 215 Sierra Leone, 17 1,148 111 Cape of Good Hope, Cape Town, 27 3,090 265 Port Elizabeth, 2 201 10 Mauritius, 124 12,079 1,413

Asia-- Bombay, 113 50,767 3,393 Cochin, 15 5,674 275 Tanjore, 33 5,070 257 Madras, 32 5,474 248 Malacca, 2 288 13 Coringa, 17 3,384 126 Singapore, 13 1,543 289 Calcutta, 186 5,1779 2,004 Ceylon, 674 30,076 2,696 Prince of Wales Island, 7 996 51

New Holland-- Sydney, 293 28,051 2,128 Melbourne, 29 1,240 147 Adelaide, 17 864 60 Hobart Town, 103 7,153 724 Launceston, 42 3,150 257

New Zealand-- Auckland, 13 305 42 Wellington, 2 262 32

America-- Canada, Quebec, 509 45,361 2,590 " Montreal, 60 10,097 556 Cape Breton, Sydney, 369 15,048 1,296 " Arichat, 96 4,614 335 New Brunswick, Miramichi, 81 10,143 509 St. Andrews, 193 18,391 918 St. John, 398 63,676 2,480 Newfoundland, St. John, 847 53,944 4,567 Nova Scotia, Halifax, 1,657 82,890 5,292 Liverpool, 31 2,641 163 Pictou, 60 6,929 354 Yarmouth, 146 11,724 637

Prince Edward's Island, 237 13,851 857

West Indies, Antigua, 85 833 220 Bahama, 140 3,252 587 Barbadoes, 37 1,640 305 Berbice, 18 854 89 Bermuda, 54 3,523 323 Demerara, 54 2,353 250 Dominicia, 14 502 85 Grenada, 48 812 198

Jamaica, Port Antonio 5 95 22 Antonio Bay, 2 70 13 Falmouth, 5 107 29 Kingston, 68 2,659 359 Montego Bay, 18 849 105 Morant Bay, 9 251 51 Port Maria, 3 86 18 St. Ann's, 1 20 5 Savannah la Mar, 3 153 22 St. Lucca, 2 64 10

Montserrat, 4 100 19 Nevis, 11 178 45 St. Kitts, 35 546 114 S. Lucia, 19 013[*] 132 St. Vincent, 27 1,164 180 Tobago, 7 182 46 Tortola, 48 277 127 Trinidad, 61 1,832 378

----- ------- ------ Total, 7,304 592,839 40,659

[*Transcriber's note: This figure is not correct]

It will be seen, from the foregoing statement, that the tonnage of the vessels belonging to our colonies is about equal to that of the whole of the French mercantile marine, which in 1841 consisted of 592,266 tons--1842, 589,517--1843, 599,707.

The tonnage of the three princ.i.p.al ports of Great Britain in 1844 was:--

London 598,552 Liverpool 307,852 Newcastle 259,571 --------- Total 1,165,975

On Lake Erie, the Canadians have a splendid steamer, the London, Captain Van Allen, and another still larger is building at Chippewa, which is partly owned by government, and so constructed as to carry the mail and to become fitted speedily for warlike purposes.

Lake Ontario swarms with splendid British steam-vessels; but on Lake Huron there is only at present one, called in the Waterloo, in the employment of the Canada Company, which runs from G.o.derich to the new settlements of Owen's Sound.

Propellers now go all the way to St. Joseph's, at the western extremity of Lake Huron; and the trade on this lake and on Michigan is becoming absolutely astonis.h.i.+ng. Last year, a return of American and foreign vessels at Chicago, from the commencement of navigation on the 1st of April to the 1st of November only, shows that there arrived 151 steamers, 80 propellers, 10 brigs, and 142 schooners, making a total of 1,078 lake-going vessels, and a like number of departures, not including numerous small craft, engaged in the carrying of wood, staves, ashes, &c., and yet, such was the glut of wheat, that at the latter date 300,000 bushels remained uns.h.i.+pped.

Upwards of a million of money will be expended by the Canadian Government in protecting and securing the transit trade of the lakes; and the Canadians have literally gone ahead of Brother Jonathan, for they have made a s.h.i.+p-ca.n.a.l round the Falls of Niagara, whilst "the most enterprising people on the face of the earth," who are so much in advance of us according to the ideas of some writers, have been, dreaming about it.--So much for the welfare of the earth being co-equal with democratic inst.i.tutions, _a la mode Francaise_!

The American government up to 1844 had spent only 2,100,000 dollars on the same objects, or about half a million sterling, according to the statement of Mr. Whittlesey of Ohio. But that government is actually stirring in another matter, which is of immense future importance, although it appears trivial at this moment, and that is the opening up of Lake Superior, where a new world offers itself.

They have projected a s.h.i.+p-ca.n.a.l round, or rather by the side of the rapids of St. Marie. The length of this ca.n.a.l is said to be only, in actual cutting, three-quarters of a mile, and the whole expense necessary not more than 230,000 dollars, or about 55,000 sterling.

The British government should look in time to this; it owns the other side of the Sault St. Marie, and the Superior country is so rich in timber and minerals that it is called the Denmark of America, whilst a direct access hereafter to the Oregon territory and the Pacific must be opened through the vast chain of lakes towards the Rocky Mountains by way of Selkirk Colony, on the Red River.

The lakes of Canada have not engaged that attention at home which they ought to have had; and there is much interesting information about them which is a dead letter in England.

Their rise and fall is a subject of great interest. The great sinking of the levels of late years, which has become so visible and so injurious to commerce, deserves the most attentive investigation. The American writers attribute it to various causes, and there are as many theories about it as there are upon all hidden mysteries. Evaporation and condensation, woods and glaciers, have all been brought into play.

If the lakes are supplied by their own rivers, and by the drainage streams of the surrounding forests, and all this is again and again returned into them from the clouds, whence arises the sudden elevation or the sudden depression of such enormous bodies of water, which have no tides?