APPENDIX. (continued 4)

No. LVIII.

The following is Lafitau's description of this barbarous operation: "Ils cernent pour cet effet la peau qui couvre la crâne, coupant au-dessus du front et des oreilles jusqu'au derrière de la tête. Après l'avoir arrachée, ils la préparent, et la ramollissent comme ils ont coûtume de faire a celles des bêtes qu'ils ont prises à la chasse. Ils étendent ensuite cette peau sur un cercle au ils l'attachent, ils la peignent des deux côtés de diverses couleurs, quelquefois ils tracent du côté opposé aux cheveux, le portrait de celui à qui ils l'ont enlevée at la suspendent au bout d'une perche et la portent ainsi en triomphe. Ce qu'il y a de surprenant, c'est que tous ceux à qui l'on fait cette cruelle opération de leur enlever la chevelure, n'en meurent point, non plus que du coup de casse-tête, dont on a crû les avoir assommés à n'en plus revenir. Plusieurs en sont réchappés et j'ai vu une femme dans notre mission, à qui après un semblable accident, les François avoient donnée le nom de la Tête-pelée, et qui se portoit fort bien. Elle étoit mariée à un François Iroquoisé, dont elle avoit des enfans." Lafitau does not omit to notice the striking similarity between Indian and Scythian barbarity; he cites the following passage from Herodotus as a support and illustration of his own peculiar theory: "Un Scythe boit du sang du premier prisonnier qu'il fait, et il présente au roi les têtes de tous ceux qu'il a tués dans le combat; car en portant une tête il a part au butier, auquel il n'a nul droit sans cette condition. Il coupe la tête de cette manière. Il la cerne autour les oreilles et ayant séparé le test d'avec le reste, il en arrache la peau, qu'il a soin de ramollir avec ses mains, et d'apprêter comme un apprête une peau de bœuf. Il en fait ensuite un ornement, et l'attache au harnois de son cheval en guise de trophèe. Plus un particulier a de ces sortes de dépouilles, plus il est considéré et estimé."—Lafitau, tom. ii., 258; Herodotus, lib. iv., n. 64.

"The scalping is an operation not calculated of itself to take life, as it only removes the skin, without injuring the bone of the head, and necessarily, to be a genuine scalp, must contain and show the crown and center of the head—that part of the skin which lies directly over what the phrenologists call 'self-esteem,' where the hair divides and radiates from the center, of which they all profess to be strict judges, and able to decide whether an effort has been made to produce two or more scalps from one head. Besides taking the scalp, the victor generally, if he has time to do it without endangering his own scalp, cuts off and brings home the rest of the hair, which his knife will divide into a great many small locks, and with them fringe the seams of his shirt and leggins, which also are worn as trophies and ornaments to the dress, and these are familiarly called 'scalp-locks.' ... As the scalp is taken in evidence of a death, it will easily be seen that an Indian has no business or inclination to take it from the head of the living, which I venture to say is never done in North America, unless it be, as has sometimes happened, when a man falls in the heat of battle, and the Indian, rushing over his body, snatches off his scalp, supposing him dead, who afterward rises from the field of battle, and easily recovers from this superficial wound of the knife, wearing a bald spot on his head during the remainder of his life."—Catlin, vol. i., p. 238.

No. LIX.

Charlevoix gives the following account of some of the games of chance in use among the red Indians:

"Le Jeu de Pailles.—Ces pailles sont de petits joncs de la grosseur des tuyaux de froment et de la longueur de deux doigts. On en prend un paquet, qui est ordinairement de deux cent un, et toujours en nombre impair. Après qu'on les a bien remués, en faisant mille contortions, et en invoquant les génies, on les sépare avec une espèce d'aliene, ou un os pointee, en paquets de dix; chacun prend le sien à l'aventure, et celui, à qui échoit le paquet de onze, gagne un certain nombre de points, dont on est convenu: les parties sont en soixante ou en quatre vingt.... On m'a dit qu'il y avoit autant d'addresse que de hazarde dans ce jeu, et que les sauvages y sont extremement fripons, comme dans tous les autres; qu'ils s'y acharnent souvent jusqu'à y passer les jours et les nuits.

"Le Jeu de la Crosse.—On y joue avec une bale et des bâtons, recourbés et terminés par une espèce de raquette. On dresse deux poteaux qui servent des bornes, et qui sont éloignés l'un de l'autre, à proportion du nombre des joueurs. Par exemple s'ils sont quatre vingt, il y a entre les poteaux une demie lieue de distance. Les joueurs sont partagés en deux bandes, qui ont chacune leur poteau, et il s'agit de faire aller la bale jusqu'à celui de la partie adverse, sans qu'elle tombe à terre, et sans qu'elle soit touchée avec la main; car si l'un ou l'autre arrive on perd la partie, à moins que celui qui a fait la faute ne la répare, en faisant aller la bale d'un seul trait au but, ce qui est souvent impossible. Ces sauvages sont si adroits à prendre la bale avec leurs crosses, que quelquefois ces parties durent plusieurs jours de suite.

"Le Jeu du Plat, appellé aussi le Jeu des Osselets.—Il ne se joue qu'entre deux personnes. Chacun a six ou huit osselets, que je pris d'abord pour des noyaux d'abricots; els en ont la figure et sont de même grandeur, mais en les regardant de près je m'aperçus qu'ils étoient à six faces inégales, dont les deux principales sont peintes, l'une en noir, l'autre en blanc tirant sur le jaune. On les fait sauter en l'air, en frappant la terre, ou la table, avec un plat rond et creux, où ils sont, et qu'ils font pirouetter auparavant. Si tous en tombant présentent la même couleur, celui qui a joué gagne cinq points, la partie est en quarante, et on défalque les points gagnés, à mesure que l'adversaire en gagne de son côté. Cinq osselets d'une même couleur ne donnent qu'un point pour la première fois, mais à la seconde on fait rafle de tout. En moindre nombre on ne gagne rien. Celui, qui gagne la partie, continue de jouer; le perdant cède sa place à un autre, qui est nommé par les marqueurs de sa partie. Car on se partage d'abord, et souvent tout le village s'intéresse au jeu: quelquefois même un village joue contre un autre. Chaque partie choisit son marqueur, mais il se retire quand il veut, ce qui n'arrive que lorsque la chose tourne mal pour les siens. À chaque coup que l'on joue, surtout si c'est un coup décisif, il s'élève de grands cris: les joueurs paroissent comme des fascinés, et les spectateurs ne sont pas plus tranquils."—Charlevoix, vol. v., p. 386; vol. vi., p. 26.

No. LX.

"The action in which Sir Richard met with his death is so extraordinary that it well merits recital: its object was to surprise the Spanish fleet when it rendezvoused at the Azores, on its return from America. For this purpose, Lord Thomas Howard sailed from England with six of the queen's ships, six victualers, and some pinnaces, Sir Richard Grenville being vice admiral in the Revenge. Having set out in the spring, 1591, they waited six months at Flores in expectation of their prize. Philip, however, obtaining intelligence of their design, dispatched Don Alphonso Barcau with fifty-three ships of war to act as convoy. So secure had the English become by protracted delay, that this armament was bearing down upon them before they had the least suspicion of its approach. Most of the crews were on shore, providing water, ballast, and other necessaries, and many were disabled by sickness. To hurry on board, weigh anchor, and leave the place with the utmost speed, was their only safety; and Grenville, upon whom the charge of the details at this pressing crisis was imposed, was the last upon the spot, superintending the embarkation, and receiving his men on board, of whom ninety were on the sick-list, and only one hundred able for duty. Thus detained, he found it impossible to recover the wind, and there was no alternative but either to cut his mainsail, tack about, and fly with all speed, or remain and fight it out single handed. It was to this desperate resolution that he adhered. 'From the greatness of his spirit,' says Raleigh, 'he utterly refused to turn from the enemy, protesting he would rather die than be guilty of such dishonor to himself, his country, and her majesty's ship.' His design was to force the squadron of Seville, which was on his weather bow, to give way; and such was the impetuosity of his attack, that it was on the point of being successful. Divers of the Spaniards, springing their loof, as the sailors of those times termed it, fell under his lee; when the San Philip, a galleon of 1500 tons, gained the wind, and coming down on the Revenge, becalmed her sails so completely that she could neither make way nor obey the helm. The enemy carried three tier of guns on each side, and discharged eight foreright from her chase, besides those of her stern ports. At the moment Sir Richard was thus entangled, four other galleons loofed up and boarded him, two on his larboard and two on his starboard. The close fight began at three in the afternoon, and continued, with some slight intermission, for fifteen hours, during which time, Grenville, unsupported, sustained the reiterated attacks of fifteen Spanish ships, the rest not being able to engage in close fire. The unwieldy San Philip, having received a broadside from the lower tier of the Revenge, shifted with all speed, and avoided the repetition of such a salute; but still, as one was beaten off, another supplied the vacant space. Two galleons were sunk, and two others so handled as to lie complete wrecks upon the water; yet it was evident no human power could save Sir Richard's vessel. Although wounded in the beginning of the action, its brave commander refused, for eight hours, to leave the upper deck. He was then shot through the body, and as his wound was dressing he received another musket ball, and saw the surgeon slain at his side. Such was the state of things during the night; but the darkness concealed the full extent of the calamity. As the day broke, a melancholy spectacle presented itself. 'Now,' says Raleigh, 'was to be seen nothing but the naked hull of a ship, and that almost a skeleton, having received eight hundred shot of great artillery, and some under water; her deck covered with the limbs and carcasses of forty valiant men, the rest all wounded, and painted with their own blood; her masts beat overboard; all her tackle cut asunder; her upper works raised and level with the water, and she herself incapable of receiving any direction or motion except that given her by the heaving billows.' At this moment Grenville proposed to sink the vessel, and trust to the mercy of God rather than fall into the hands of the Spaniards—a resolution in which he was joined by the master gunner and a part of the crew; but the rest refused to consent, and compelled their captain to surrender. Faint with the loss of blood, and, like his ship, shattered with repeated wounds, this brave man soon after expired, with these remarkable words: 'Here die I, Richard Grenville, with a joyful and quiet mind, for that I have ended my life as a true soldier ought to do, fighting for his country, queen, religion, and honor.'"—Report of the Truth of the Fight about the Isles of the Azores, 4to, 1501, quoted in Tytler's "Life of Raleigh."

No. LXI.

"Pocahontas, before her marriage, was instructed in the principles of the Christian religion, which she cordially embraced, and was baptized by the name of Rebecca. Soon after, she set sail to visit England. As soon as Smith heard of her arrival, he sent a letter to the queen, recounting all her services to himself and to the nation, assuring her majesty that she had a great spirit, though a low stature, and earnestly soliciting her majesty's kindness and courtesy. Mrs. Rolfe was accordingly introduced, and well received at court. At first James fancied that Rolfe, in marrying her, might be advancing a claim to the crown of Virginia; however, by great pains, this idea was at last driven out of his brains. Mrs. Rolfe was for some time, as a novelty, the favorite object in the circles of fashion and nobility. On her introduction into these, she deported herself with a grace and propriety which, it is said, many ladies, bred with every advantage of education and society, could not equal. Purchas mentions meeting her at the table of his patron, Dr. King, bishop of London, where she was entertained 'with festival state and pomp,' beyond what, at his hospitable board, was shown to other ladies. She carried herself as the daughter of a king, and was respected as such. She was accompanied by Vitamokomakkin, an Indian chief and priest, who had married one of her sisters, and had been sent to attend her. Purchas saw him repeatedly 'sing and dance his diabolical measures.' He endeavored to persuade this chief to follow the example of his sister-in-law, and embrace Christianity, but found him 'a blasphemer of what he knew not, preferring his God to ours.' He insisted that their Okee, having taught them to plant, sow, and wear a cork twisted round their left ear, was entitled to their undivided homage. Powhatan had instructed him to bring back every information respecting England, and particularly to count the number of people, furnishing him for that purpose with a bundle of sticks, that he might make a notch for every man. Vitamokomakkin, the moment he landed at Plymouth, was appalled at the magnitude of the task before him; however, he continued notching most indefatigably all the way to London; but the instant that he entered Piccadilly, he threw away the sticks, and on returning, desired Powhatan to count the leaves on the trees, and the sand on the sea-shore. He also told Smith that he had special instructions to see the English god, their king, their queen, and their prince. Smith could do nothing for him as to the first particular; but he was taken to the levee, and saw the other three, when he complained bitterly that none of them had made him any present. As soon as Smith learned that Pocahontas was settled in a house at Brentford, which she had chosen in order to be out of the smoke of London, he hastened to wait upon her. His reception was very painful. The princess turned from him, hid her face, and for two hours could by no effort be induced to utter a word. A certain degree of mystery appears to hang on the origin of this deadly offense. Her actual reproaches, when she found her speech, rested on having heard nothing of him since he left Virginia, and on having been assured there that he was dead. Prevost has taken upon him to say that the breach of plighted love was the ground of this resentment, and that it was only on believing that death had dissolved the connection between them that she had been induced to marry another. I can not in any of the original writers meet with the least trace of this alleged vow, and should be sorry to find in Smith the false lover of the fair Pocahontas. It would not also have been much in unison with her applauded discretion to have resented a wrong of this nature in such a time and manner. I am persuaded that this love was a creation of the romantic brain of Prevost, and that the real ground of her displeasure was, that during the two years when she was so shamefully kept in durance, she had heard nothing of any intercession made in her favor by one whom she had laid under such deep obligation, and really the thing seems to require some explanation. It appears that when Smith at last was able to draw speech from the indignant fair one, he succeeded in satisfying her that there had been no such neglect as she apprehended, and she insisted on calling him by the name of father.

"It is said that Pocahontas departed from London with the most favorable impressions, and with every honor, her husband being appointed Secretary and Recorder General of Virginia. But Providence had not destined that she should ever revisit her native shore. As she went down to embark at Gravesend she was seized with illness, and died in a few days. Her end is described to have edified extremely all the spectators, and to have been full of Christian resignation and hope."—Murray's America. See Smith, in Pinkerton, vol. xiii., p. 120-123; Beverley; Prevost, Hist. Gen. des Voyages, vol. xiv., p. 471; Purchas, vol. iv., 1774.

No. LXII.

"The historians of Virginia have left some records respecting this unfortunate race, who have not even left behind a relic of their name or nation. A rude agriculture, devolved solely on the women; hunting, pursued with activity and skill, but rather as a pastime than a toil; strong attachment of the members of the little communities to each other, but deadly enmity against all their neighbors, and this manifesting itself in furious wars—these features belong to the Virginians, in common with almost every form of savage life. There are others which are more distinctive. Although a rude independence has been supposed to be, and in many cases is, the peculiar boast of the savage, yet, when a yoke of opinion and authority has once been established over his mind, he yields a submission more entire and more blind than is rendered to the most absolute of Eastern despots. Such a sway had the King of Virginia. 'When he listeth,' says Smith, 'his will is a law, and must be obeyed; not only as a king, but as half a god they esteem him. What he commandeth they dare not disobey in the least thing. It is strange to see with what great fear and adoration all this people do adore this Powhatan; at the least frown of his brow their greatest spirits will tremble with fear.' Powhatan (father of the celebrated Pocahontas; see Appendix, No. LXI.) had under him a number of chiefs, who ruled as supreme within their own circle; and they were so numerous, and covered so large an extent of territory, that Powhatan is often dignified by Europeans with the title of emperor.

"The priests and conjurers formed a separate order, and enjoyed that high influence which marks a certain advance in the social state. They possessed some knowledge of nature, and of the history and traditions of their country, superior, at least, to that of their ruder countrymen. Their temples were numerous, formed on a similar plan to those of Florida, and each served by one or more priests.

"Beverley was the man who made the most close inquiry into the Virginian mythology. He did not meet with all the success he wished, finding them excessively mysterious on the subject. Having got hold, however, of an intelligent Indian, and plied him heartily with strong cider, he at last got him to open his heart in some degree. As he declared his belief in a wise, perfect, and supremely beneficent being, who dwelt in the heavens, Beverley asked him how then he could confine his worship to the devil, a wicked, ugly, earthly being. The Indian said that they were secure as to the good being, who would shower down his blessings without asking any return; but that the evil spirit was perpetually busy and meddling, and would spoil all if court were not paid to him. Beverley, however, pressed upon him how he could think that an insensible log, 'a helpless thing, equipped with a burden of clouts,' could ever be a proper object of worship. The visage of the Indian now assumed a very marked and embarrassed expression. After a long pause, he began to utter, in broken sentences, 'It is the priests;' then, after another pause, 'It is the priests;' but 'a qualm crossed his conscience,' and he would say no more.

"Beverley had been so well informed upon this last point, in consequence of a favorable accident of which he had availed himself. While the whole town were assembled to deliberate upon some great state affair, he was ranging the woods, and stumbled upon their great temple. He resolved not to lose so favorable an occasion. After removing about fourteen logs, with which the door was barricadoed, he entered the mansion, which appeared at first to consist only of a large, empty, dark apartment, with a fire-place in the middle, and set round with posts, crowned with carved or painted heads. On closer observation, he at length discovered a recess, with mats hung before it, and involved in the deepest darkness. With some hesitation he ventured into this wondrous sanctuary, where he found the materials, which, on being put together, made up Okee, Kiwasee, or Mioceos, the mighty Indian idol. The main body consisted of a large plank, to whose edges were nailed half hoops, to represent the breast and belly. Long rolls of blue and red cotton cloth, variously twisted, made arms and legs, the latter of which were represented in a bent position. The reputation of the god was chiefly supported by the very dim religious light under which he was viewed, and which enabled also the conjurer to get behind him, and move his person in such a manner as might be favorable to the extension of his influence, while the priest in front, by the most awful menaces, deterred any from approaching so near as might lead to any revelation of the interior mysteries.

"Smith alleges against the Virginians that they made a yearly sacrifice of a certain number of children; but it appears clear, from the statements of Beverley, that he misunderstood, in this sense, the practice of huskenawing, a species of severe probation through which those were required to pass who desired either to be chiefs or priests. On this occasion, after various preparatory ceremonies, the children are led naked through two lines of men, armed with bastinadoes, which are employed with great rigor against the victims, who, after running through this gauntlet, are more dead than alive, and are covered with boughs and leaves of trees. If any expire under this trial, it is esteemed that the Okee has fixed his heart upon him, and carried him off. The rest are conveyed into the depths of a wood, and shut up into a cage or pen, where they are plied with intoxicating drugs till they are said to become for several weeks actually deranged. By this process they are supposed completely to lose all memory of what they have seen and known in their former life, and to begin a new and brighter era. They must not, on their return home, recognize their nearest friends or comrades, the most common objects, nor even know a word of their own language; all must be learned afresh. If any indications of memory escape, the youth must pass again through the dreadful ordeal. Above all, he must be careful not to have retained the slightest recollection of any property he may have possessed, and which the neighbors usually consider a favorable opportunity to appropriate.

"These Indians had not the least tincture of science, nor, of course, used any form of writing. They made, however, paintings of animals and other natural objects, by the form and natural position of which information was transmitted; but it is to be regretted that none of the Virginian paintings have been preserved to compare with those of the Mexicans."—Murray's America, vol. i., p. 235. See History of Virginia, by R. Beverley, a native and inhabitant of the place. 8vo. London, 1702.

No. LXIII.

The following is Hennepin's account of the voyage of the first vessel built by Europeans on the American lakes:

"It now became necessary for La Salle, in furtherance of his object, to construct a vessel above the Falls of Niagara sufficiently large to transport the men and goods necessary to carry on a profitable trade with the savages residing on the Western lakes. On the 22d of January, 1679, they went six miles above the falls to the mouth of a small creek, and there built a dock convenient for the construction of their vessel.[229]

"On the 26th of January, the keel and other pieces being ready, La Salle requested Father Hennepin to drive the first bolt, but the modesty of the good father's profession prevented.

"During the rigorous winter La Salle determined to return to Fort Frontenac;[230] and leaving the dock in charge of an Italian named Chevalier Tuti, he started, accompanied by Father Hennepin, as far as Lake Ontario; from thence he traversed the dreary forests to Frontenac on foot, with only two companions and a dog, which drew his baggage on a sled, subsisting on nothing but parched corn, and even that failed him two days' journey from the fort. In the mean time, the building of the vessel went on under the suspicious eyes of the neighboring savages, although the most part of them had gone to war beyond Lake Erie. One of them, feigning intoxication, attempted the life of the blacksmith, who defended himself successfully with a red-hot bar of iron. The timely warning of a friendly squaw averted the burning of their vessel on the stocks, which was designed by the savages. The workmen were almost disheartened by frequent alarms, and would have abandoned the work had they not been cheered by the good father, who represented the great advantage their perseverance would afford, and how much their success would redound to the glory of God. These and other inducements accelerated the work, and the vessel was soon ready to be launched, though not entirely finished. Chanting Te Deum, and firing three guns, they committed her to the river amid cries of joy, and swung their hammocks in security from the wild beasts and still more dreaded Indians.

"When the Senecas returned from their expedition they were greatly astonished at the floating fort, 'which struck terror among all the savages who lived on the great lakes and river within 1500 miles.' Hennepin ascended the river in a bark canoe with one of his companions as far as Lake Erie. They twice pulled the canoe up the rapids, and sounded the lake for the purpose of ascertaining the depth. He reported that with a favorable north or northwest wind the vessel could ascend to the lake, and then sail without difficulty over its whole extent. Soon after, the vessel was launched in the current of Niagara, about four and a half miles from the lake. Hennepin left it for Fort Frontenac, and, returning with La Salle and two other fathers, Gabriel and Zenobe Mambre, anchored in the Niagara on the 30th of July, 1769. On the 4th of August they reached the dock where the ship was built, which he calls distant eighteen miles from Lake Ontario, and proceeded from thence in a bark canoe to their vessel, which they found at anchor three miles from the 'beautiful Lake Erie.'

"The vessel was of sixty tons burden, completely rigged, and found with all the necessaries, arms, provisions, and merchandise; it had seven small pieces of cannon on board, two of which were of brass. There was a griffin flying at the jib-boom, and an eagle above. There were also all the ordinary ornaments and other fixtures which usually grace a ship of war.

"They endeavored many times to ascend the current of the Niagara into Lake Erie without success, the wind not being strong enough. While they were thus detained La Salle employed a few of his men in clearing some land on the Canadian shore opposite the vessel, and in sowing some vegetable seeds for the benefit of those who might inhabit the place.

"At length, the wind being favorable, they lightened the vessel by sending most of the crew on shore, and with the aid of their sails and ten or a dozen men at the tow-lines, ascended the current into Lake Erie. Thus, on the 7th of August, 1679, the first vessel set sail on the untried waters of Lake Erie. They steered southward after having chanted their never-failing Te Deum, and discharged their artillery in the presence of a vast number of Seneca warriors. It had been reported to our voyagers that Lake Erie was full of breakers and sandbanks, which rendered a safe navigation impossible; they therefore kept the lead going, sounding from time to time.

"After sailing without difficulty through Lake Erie, they arrived on the 11th of August at the mouth of the Detroit River, sailing up which they arrived at Lake St. Clair, to which they gave the name it bears. After being detained several days by contrary winds at the bottom of the St. Clair River, they at length succeeded in entering Lake Huron on the 23d of August, chanting Te Deum through gratitude for a safe navigation thus far. Passing along the eastern shore of the lake, they sailed with a fresh and favorable wind until evening, when the wind suddenly veered, driving them across Saginaw Bay (Sacinaw). The storm raged until the 24th, and was succeeded by a calm, which continued until next day noon (25th), when they pursued their course until midnight. As they doubled a point which advanced into the lake, they were suddenly struck by a furious wind, which forced them to run behind the cape for safety. On the 26th the violence of the storm compelled them to send down their top-masts and yards and to stand in, for they could find neither anchorage nor shelter.

"It was then the stout heart of La Salle failed him; the whole crew fell upon their knees to say their prayers and prepare for death, except the pilot, whom they could not compel to follow their example, and who, on the contrary, 'did nothing all that time but curse and swear against M. la Salle, who had brought him thither to make him perish in a nasty lake, and lose the glory he had acquired by his long and happy navigation on the ocean.' On the 27th, favored with less adverse winds, they arrived during the night at Michillimackinack, and anchored in the bay, where they report six fathoms of water and a clay bottom. This bay is protected on the southwest, west, and northwest, but open to the south. The savages were struck dumb with astonishment at the size of their vessel and the noise of their guns.

"Here they regaled themselves on the delicious trout, which they described as being from 50 lbs. to 60 lbs. in weight, and as affording the savages their principal subsistence. On the 2d of September they left Mackinack, entered Lake Michigan (Illinois), and sailed forty leagues to an island at the mouth of the Bay of Puara (Green Bay). From this place La Salle determined to send back the ship laden with furs to Niagara. The pilot and five men embarked in her, and on the 10th she fired a gun and set sail on her return with a favorable wind. Nothing more was heard from her, and she undoubtedly foundered in Lake Huron, with all on board. Her cargo was rich, and valued at 60,000 livres.

"Thus ended the first voyage of the first ship that sailed over the Western lakes. What a contrast is presented between the silent waves and unbroken forests which witnessed the course of that adventurous bark, and the busy hum of commerce which now rises from the fertile bottoms, and the thousand ships and smoking palaces which now furrow the surface of those inland seas!"—American Tourist.

FOOTNOTES:

No. LXIV.

Militia of Canada Before the Conquest in 1760.

"All the inhabitants of the colony, by virtue of the Law of Fiefs (except such gentlemen and other persons who, by their employments, had the privilege of nobles), were militia-men, and enrolled in the several companies of militia of the province. The captains of militia were the most respectable persons in the country parishes, and were entitled to the first seat in the churches; they also received the same distinctions as the magistrates in the towns; they were held in great respect, and government exacted from the inhabitants obedience to the orders they signified to them on the part of government. If any of the inhabitants did not obey orders, the captains were authorized to conduct them to the city, and, on complaint, they were punished according to the nature of the delinquency. When the government wanted the services of the militia as soldiers, the colonels of militia, or the town majors, in consequence of a requisition from the governor general, sent orders to the several captains of militia in the country parishes to send a certain number of militia-men, chosen by those officers who ordered the draughts, into town, under an escort commanded by an officer of militia, who conducted them to the town major, who furnished each militia-man with a gun, a capot or Canadian cloak, a cotton shirt, a cap, a pair of leggins, a pair of Indian shoes, and a blanket; after which they were marched to the garrison to which they were destined. The militia were generally reviewed once or twice a year to inspect their arms. The militia of the city of Quebec were frequently exercised, and the company of artillery every Sunday were exercised at the great gun practice, under the orders and directions of the artillery sergeant major of the king's troops. To excite the emulation of the militia-men, a premium was given to such as excelled. The captains in the country were obliged to execute all orders addressed to them by the governor general, and also all processes from the intendant respecting the police, and also with regard to suits touching fiefs. They were also obliged to execute all orders respecting the roads from the grand voyer. It was customary for the governor general to deliver to the several captains of militia every year, by way of gratification, a quantity of powder and ball."—General Murray's Report.

No. LXV.

"When the French began their settlements in Canada, the country exhibited one vast and unbounded forest, and property was granted in extensive lots called seigneuries, stretching along either coast of the St. Lawrence for a distance of ninety miles below Quebec, and thirty miles above Montreal, comprehending a space of three hundred miles in length.

"The seigneuries each contain 100 to 500 square miles, and are parceled out into small tracts on a freehold lease to the inhabitants, as the persons to whom they were granted had not the means of cultivating them. These consisted of officers of the army, of gentlemen, and of communities, who were not in a state to employ laborers and workmen. The portion to each inhabitant was of three acres in breadth, and from seventy to eighty in depth, commencing on the banks of the river, and running back into the woods, thus forming an entire and regular lot of land.

"To the proprietors of seigneuries some powers, as well as considerable profits, are attached. They are by their grants authorized to hold courts and sit as judges in what is termed haute and basse justice, which includes all crimes committed within their jurisdiction, treasons and murders excepted. Few, however, exercised this privilege except the ecclesiastical seigneurs of Montreal, whose right of jurisdiction the King of France purchased from them, giving them, in return, his droit de change. Some of the seigneurs have a right of villain service from their tenants.

"At every transfer or mutation of proprietor, the new purchaser is bound to pay a sum equal to a fifth part of the purchase money to the seigneur or to the king; but if this fine be paid immediately, only one third of the fifth is demanded. This constituted a principal part of the king's revenues in the province. When an estate falls by inheritance to a new possessor, he is by law exempted from the fine.

"The income of a seigneur is derived from the yearly rent of his lands, from lots et vents, or a fine on the disposal of property held under him, and from grist mills, to whose profits he has an exclusive right. The rent paid by each tenant is considerable; but they who have many inhabitants on their estates enjoy a tolerably handsome revenue, each person paying in money, grain, or other produce, from five to twelve livres per annum. In the event of a sale of any of the lots of his seigneurie, a proprietor may claim a preference of repurchasing it, which is seldom exercised but with a view to prevent frauds in the disposal of the property. He may also, whenever he finds it necessary, cut down timber for the purpose of building mills and making roads; tithes of all the fisheries on his domain likewise belong to him.

"Possessed of these advantages, seigneurs might in time attain to a state of comparative affluence were their estates allowed to remain entire. But by the practice of divisions among the different children of a family, they become, in a few generations, reduced. The most ample share, which retains the name of seigneurie, is the portion of eldest son; the other partitions are denominated feofs. These are, in the next generation, again subdivided, and thus, in the course of a few descents, a seigneur is possessed of little more than his title. This is the condition of most of those estates that have passed to the third or fourth generation.

"The inhabitants, in like manner, make divisions of their small tracts of land, and a house will sometimes belong to several proprietors. It is from these causes that they are in a great measure retained in a state of poverty, that a barrier to industry and emulation is interposed, and that a spirit of litigation is excited.

"There are in Canada upward of 100 seigneuries, of which that of Montreal, belonging to the seminary of St. Sulpicius, is the richest and most productive. The next in value and profit is the territory of the Jesuits. The members of that society who resided at Quebec were, like the priests of Montreal, only agents for the head of their community. But since the expulsion of their order from France, and the seizure by the Catholic sovereigns of Europe of all the lands of that society within their dominions, the Jesuits in Canada held their seigneurie in their own right.

"Some of the domiciliated savages held also in the province land in the right of seigneurs.

"Upon a representation of the narrow circumstances to which many of the noblesse and gentlemen of the colony were reduced, not only by the causes already assigned, but by others equally powerful, Louis XIV. was induced to permit persons of that description to carry on commerce by sea or land without being subjected to any inquiry on this account, or to an imputation of their having derogated from their rank in society.

"To no seigneurie is the right of patronage to the Church attached; it was upon the advancement of the pretensions of some seigneurs, founded on their having built parochial churches, that the king in 1685 pronounced in council that this right should belong to the bishop, he being the most capable of judging concerning the qualifications of persons who were to serve, and the incomes of the curacies also being paid from the tithes, which belonged to him alone. The right of patronage was at the same time declared not to be reputed an honor."—Heriot's Canada, p. 98.

No. LXVI.

"Louis Joseph, marquis de Montcalm de St. Véran, lieutenant général, naquit au château de Candiac, près de Nîmes, en 1712. Sa famille, originaire du Ronerque, joint ordinairement à son nom celui de Gozon.[231] L'éducation du Marquis de St. Véran fut confiée, ainsi que celle de son frère aîné, enfant célébre,[232] aux soins de Dumas, l'inventeur du bureau typographique. Quoiqu'il fut sorti à l'âge de quatorze ans des mains de cet habile instituteur, pour entrer dans la carrière militaire, il avoit si bien profité de ses leçons qu'il conserva le goût de l'étude jusque dans le tumulte des camps; et l'étendue de ses connaissances justifia son ambition et son espérance d'être admis à l'Académie Royale des inscriptions et belle-lettres de Paris. Il ne vécut pas assez pour jouir de cette honneur.

"Sa vie militaire a jetté un grand éclat. Il se distingua dès les premiers pas dans la carrière, reçut trois blessures à la bataille de Plaisance, et deux au funeste combat d'Exilles (ou de l'Assiette).[233] Il étoit alors colonel d'infanterie. Devenue brigadier il passa dans la cavalerie et fut fait mestre-de-camp d'un régiment de son nom. Maréchal-de-camp en 1756 il alla commander en chef les troupes chargées de la défense des colonies Françaises dans l'Amérique Septentrionale."-Biographie Universelle, art. Montcalm.

The French troops that served in Canada, being desirous of erecting a monument in honor of Montcalm, their general, who fell in the action at Quebec, when we also lost the brave Wolfe, a French colonel wrote to the Academy of Belles-Lettres for an epitaph to be placed over Montcalm's tomb, in a church in that city, which occasioned the following letter from M. de Bougainville, member of the academy, to Mr. Pitt:

"Sir,—The honors paid, under your ministry, to Mr. Wolfe, assure me that you will not disapprove of the grateful endeavors of the French troops to perpetuate the memory of the Marquis de Montcalm. The body of their general, who was honored by the regret of your nation, is interred in Quebec. I have the honor to send you an epitaph made for him by the Academy of Inscriptions. I beg the favor of you, sir, that you will be pleased to examine it, and, if not improper, obtain leave for me to send it to Quebec, engraved on marble, and to be placed on the Marquis de Montcalm's tomb. Should such leave be granted, may I presume, sir, that you will be so good as to inform me of it, and at the same time to send me a passport, that the marble, with the epitaph engraved upon it, may be received into an English ship, and Mr. Murray, governor of Quebec, allow it to be placed in the Ursuline Church. You will be pleased, sir, to pardon me for this intrusion on your important occupations; but endeavoring to immortalize illustrious men and eminent patriots is doing honor to yourself.

"I am, with respect, &c., De Bougainville."[234]

Mr. Pitt's answer:

"Sir,—It is a real satisfaction to me to send you the king's consent on a subject so affecting as the epitaph composed by the Academy of Inscriptions at Paris for the Marquis de Montcalm, and which it is desired may be sent to Quebec, engraved on marble, to be placed on the tomb of that illustrious soldier. It is perfectly beautiful; and the desire of the French troops which served in Canada to pay such a tribute to the memory of their general, whom they saw expire at their head in a manner worthy of them and himself, is truly noble and praiseworthy.

"I shall take a pleasure, sir, in facilitating every way such amiable intentions; and on notice of the measures taken for shipping this marble, I will not fail immediately to transmit you the passport you desire, and send directions to the governor of Quebec for its reception.

"I withal beg of you, sir, to be persuaded of my just sensibility of that so obliging part of the letter with which you have honored me relating to myself, and to believe that I embrace as a happiness the opportunity of manifesting the esteem and particular regard with which I have the honor to be, &c.,

W. Pitt "London, April 10th, 1761."

The epitaph was as follows:

Utroque in orbe æternum victurus, Ludovicus Josephus de Montcalm Gozon, Marchio Sancti Verani, Baro Gebriaci, Ordinis sancti Ludovici commendator, Legatus generalis exercituum Gallicorum; Egregius et civis et miles, Nullius rei appetens præterquam veræ laudis, Ingenio felici, et literis exculto; Omnes militiæ gradus per continua decora emensus, Omnium belli artium, temporum, discriminum gnarus, In Italia, in Bohemia, in Germania Dux industrius. Mandata sibi ita semper gerens ut majoribus par haberetur. Jam clarus periculus Ad tutandam Canadensem provinciam missus, Parva militum manu hostium copias non semel repulit, Propuguacula cepit viris armisque instructissima. Algoris, inediæ, vigiliarum, laboris patiens, Suis unice prospiciens, immemor sui, Hostis acris, victor mansuetus. Fortunam virtuti, virium inopiam peritia et celeritate compensavit; Imminens coloniæ fatum et consilio et manu per quadrimum sustinuit, Tandem ingentum exercitum duce strenuo et audaci, Classemque omni bellorum mole gravem, Multiplici prudentia diu ludificatus, Vi pertractus ad dimicandum, In prima acie, in primo conflictu vulneratus, Religioni quam semper coluerat innitens, Magno suorum desiderio, nec sine hostium mœrore, Extinctus est Die xiv. Sept., A.D. MDCCLIX., ætat. XLVIII. Mortales optimi ducis exuvias in excavata humo, Quam globus bellicus decidens dissiliensque defoderat, Galli lugentes deposuerunt, Et generosæ hostium fidei commemdârunt.

TRANSLATION.

Here lieth, In either hemisphere to live forever, Lewis Joseph de Montcalm Gozon, Marquis of St. Veran, Baron of Gabriac, Commendatory of the Order of St. Louis, Lieutenant general of the French army; Not loss an excellent citizen than soldier, Who knew no desire but that of true glory; Happy in a natural genius, improved by literature, Having gone through the several steps of military honors With uninterrupted luster, Skill'd in all the arts of war, The juncture of times, and the crisis of dangers, In Italy, in Bohemia, in Germany, An indefatigable general. He so discharged his important trusts, That he seemed always equal to still greater. At length, grown bright with perils, Sent to secure the province of Canada, With a handful of men He more than once repulsed the enemy's forces, And made himself master of their forts, Replete with troops and ammunition. Inured to cold, hunger, watchings, and labors, Unmindful of himself, He had no sensation but for his soldiers; An enemy with the fiercest impetuosity, A victor with the tenderest humanity. Adverse fortune he compensated with valor, The want of strength with skill and activity, And, with his counsel and support, For four years protracted the impending fate of the colony. Having with various artifices Long baffled a great army, Headed by an expert and intrepid commander, And a fleet furnished with all warlike stores, Compelled at length to an engagement, He fell, in the first rank, in the first onset, With those hopes of religion which he had always cherished, To the inexpressible loss of his own army, And not without the regret of the enemy's, XIV. September, A.D. MDCCLIX., of his age XLVIII. His weeping countrymen Deposited the remains of their excellent general In a grave, Which a fallen bomb in bursting had excavated for him, Recommending them to the generous faith of their enemies.

—Annual Register, 1762.

FOOTNOTES:

No. LXVII.

Memoir of General Wolfe.

James Wolfe was the second son of Colonel Edward Wolfe, who was afterward colonel of the 8th Regiment, and died on the 27th of March, 1759, but a short time before the death of his gallant son. Colonel Wolfe had served and won honorable estimation, under Marlborough in early life; on his return from the continental wars he married Miss Harriett Thompson, sister to the then member of Parliament for York. The inhabitants of that city made a vigorous effort to appropriate the honor of James Wolfe having been born among them, and a controversy in prose and verse, neither of them of a very brilliant description, was long carried on in the periodicals of the day, between the capital of the North and the quiet village of Westerham. Whatever the merits of the writers upon either side may have been, and their power of wit and argument, there were a few lines in the parish register of the Kentish hamlet which proved more convincing than any thing else; James, son of Colonel Edward Wolfe, was baptized on January 11th, 1727. On a tablet erected to his memory in Westerham Church, it is stated that he was born on the 2nd of January, 1727.

The vicarage house of the village was the place of Wolfe's birth, then leased to his father by the Reverend George Lewis, the vicar, whose son was vicar when Wolfe died, and wrote the inscription for his monument. The elder brother of this gallant general died young; he himself was sent to a respectable private school in the neighborhood, where, although an ardent and clever boy, he was not distinguished for any very remarkable characteristics.

When only fourteen years of age he embarked with his father, who was engaged in the expedition to Flanders under Lord Cathcart; the youth, however, who was then and always of a very delicate constitution, fell ill, and was under the necessity of being landed at Portsmouth. After a little time, his health being somewhat re-established, he joined his father on the Continent, and at once began to read the lessons of military art in the stern school of reality.

On the 3rd of November, 1741, Colonel Wolfe caused his youthful son to be appointed to a commission in a battalion of marines which he himself commanded. On the 27th of March, 1742, James Wolfe removed into the 12th Regiment as ensign, and fought at the battle of Dettingen in that same year. In April he appears to have been on leave, traveling probably for health; in this month he writes to his mother, dating Rome, a grateful and affectionate letter. On the 14th of July, 1743, he was promoted to a lieutenancy in the same regiment, while serving with the allies behind the Scheldt, and in 1744 was engaged under Wade in his inglorious operations; in that year he was given a company in the 4th Regiment; in the following, he fought under the Duke of Cumberland in the fatal but glorious battle of Fontenoy. Up to this time Wolfe had been with his regiment in every engagement in which it had taken part, and had already gained greater distinction than can usually fall to the lot of those in the junior ranks of the army. In 1746 he fought under Hawley in the front line at the disgraceful rout at Falkirk, and his conduct, even in that unfortunate occasion, called forth the praise of his superiors. In the same year his services were transferred to a service more worthy of his future fame than the obscure and painful struggles of a civil war; he served and gained new approbation under the gallant Ligonier at Liers.

On the 5th of February, 1746-7, he was raised to a majority in the 33d Regiment. This step of rank afforded new opportunity to this gallant youth; at the battle of La Feldt, in the same year, he distinguished himself in so remarkable a manner, that the British general-in-chief, the Duke of Cumberland, publicly thanked him on the battle-field. On the 5th of January, 1748-9, he removed into Lord George Sackville's, the 20th Regiment of Foot.

Wolfe commanded this regiment during the absence of the colonel for a considerable time, and soon brought it into a state of the highest discipline. Wherever he went, he received the praise of the different general officers commanding, and gained the esteem and regard of all who became acquainted with him in civil or military life. His regimental orders, which are still extant, are admirable, and furnish ample evidence of zeal for, and knowledge of, his profession.

In February, 1748-9, Wolfe served at Stirling, in Scotland; in April, at Glasgow; in October, at Perth. March 20th, 1749-50, he was made colonel of the regiment which he had for some time so admirably commanded; in October he was at Dundee, in November at Banff; and remained in Scotland till 1753, when he removed to Reading, where his regiment was reviewed and highly commended by the Duke of Cumberland. In December in that year he was at Dover Castle. In 1755 he was at Winchester and Southampton; at the end of October he marched to Gravesend, and in December to Canterbury. While in the south of England, he constantly practiced his regiment in such evolutions as might be necessary to oppose the landing of an invading army, and wrote an elaborate code of instructions, to be acted upon in case of any attempt being made upon the coast. At the same time, a number of his trained soldiers were withdrawn to fill up the ill-fated ranks of the 44th and 48th, then about to sail for America under Braddock, where many of them perished miserably and ingloriously.

Early in 1757, Lieutenant-colonel Wolfe was selected, on account of his known merit, by Mr. Pitt to serve as quarter-master general of the force sent against Rochefort, under Sir John Mordaunt, the general, and Sir Edward Hawke, the admiral. While the expedition lay motionless in Basque Roads, from the untoward dissensions between the naval and military officers, Wolfe landed one night alone upon the hostile shore, and walked two miles up the country. He found that there were no real difficulties in the way of debarkation, and that no preparations had been made to oppose it. When he returned to the fleet he reported the result of his observations, and strongly, but vainly, urged the general to land, and at once attack Rochefort. Finally, he pledged himself to carry the place, should three ships of war and 500 men be placed at his disposal. The proposal was neglected: however, the zeal and daring shown by the gallant young soldier on this occasion confirmed Pitt in the estimate which he had formed of his character. Some more days were wasted in inaction, and at length the expedition, having destroyed the unimportant fortifications of Aix, returned ingloriously to England. Wolfe's merit was thrown out in strong relief by the incapacity of those under whom he served; while they were despised, he was honored. The rank of brevet colonel on the 21st of October of that year was his first reward.

On the 23d of January, 1758, Mr. Pitt made Wolfe brigadier general, and gave him the command of a brigade under Amherst, in the expedition against Louisburg, disregarding the mere official routine of seniority. Events soon proved the wisdom of the selection. From thenceforward Wolfe's biography is English history. However, it may be added that he was made colonel of the 67th Foot on the 21st of April, 1758. In January, 1759, Pitt again selected him for service. This time he was to command in chief: he was gazetted as major general, and intrusted with the conduct of the arduous expedition against Quebec.

It is a painful duty to repeat here an anecdote of Wolfe, which stands recorded by the high authority of Lord Mahon. The young general dined with Mr. Pitt shortly after his appointment to the command, a third person only being present. After dinner, when the conversation turned upon the approaching expedition, Wolfe became unreasonably excited: he strode about the room, flourished his sword, and broke forth in a style of vaporing altogether surprising in a man of real spirit. When he at length departed, Mr. Pitt remained dismayed at having intrusted the fate of the country and of the ministry in such hands. Happily, he did not suffer new doubts to alter his former arrangements.

For some time Wolfe appears to have been unsuccessful in a suit which he pleaded to Miss Lowther, and, in consequence, his naturally domestic mind was re-strung to the harsher tones of ambition. Subsequently, however, he became engaged to this lady, and the marriage was to have been celebrated immediately on his return from the expedition against Quebec. After his death Miss Lowther became Duchess of Bolton, but tradition says that she always wore henceforth a pearl necklace which he had given her, covered with black velvet, in memory of the departed.

Wolfe was a plain man: his features were sharp, his forehead somewhat receding, his hair sandy or red, and, contrary to the fashion of the time, was not powdered; his skin was coarse, fair, and freckled; but his mouth wore a smiling and gentle expression, and his eyes were blue and benignant. He was delicate from early youth, and the seeds of fatal diseases were displayed in his constitution. At first his address and manner were unengaging, but he invariably endeared himself to all with whom he was familiar. All his thoughts and actions were influenced by a deep religious feeling. When a courtier remonstrated with the king upon Wolfe's appointment to command the expedition against Quebec, saying that "he was mad" (meaning that he was over-religious), the king replied, "If he be mad, I wish he would bite some of my other generals."

Wolfe was assiduously and conscientiously attentive to his profession, and was constitutionally and steadily daring. His mind was clear and active, his temper lively and almost impetuous; he was independent without pride, and generous to profusion. "He never caviled with his instructions, or hesitated to obey orders; exact in discipline himself, he was always punctual to obey. His judgment was acute, his memory quick and retentive, and his disposition candid, constant, and sincere. The union of the gentle and the bold, of ambition and affection, formed the peculiar charm of his character. His courage never quailed before danger, nor shrank from responsibility."

Little is known of Wolfe's private life. Dr. Southey contemplated the task of writing his biography, but abandoned it from the want of materials. To Lord Mahon and Mr. Gleig we are indebted for some very interesting particulars, and for a few judiciously selected portions of such of the hero's letters as are still extant. It only remains to conclude this imperfect memoir with a few of these selections.

On first assuming the command of a regiment, Wolfe writes, "I take upon me the difficult duty of a commander. It is a hard thing to keep the passions within bounds, where authority and immaturity go together. It is hard to be a severe disciplinarian, yet humane; to study the temper of all, and endeavor to please them, and yet be impartial—to discourage vice at the turbulent age of twenty-three."

His letters breathe a spirit of tenderness and gentleness, over which ambition could not triumph. In writing to his mother on the 28th of September, 1755, he says, "My nature requires some extraordinary events to produce itself. I want that attention and those assiduous cares that commonly go along with good nature and humanity. In the common occurrences of life I am not seen to advantage." So far back as the 13th of August, 1749, he writes also to his mother from Glasgow, "I have observed your instructions so rigidly that, rather than want the word, I got the reputation of being a very good Presbyterian by frequenting the Kirk of Scotland till our chapel opens." Again he writes to his mother from Inverness, November 6th, 1751, "There are times when men fret at trifles, and quarrel with their tooth-picks. In one of these ill habits I exclaim against my present condition, and think it the worst of all, but coolly and temperately, it is plainly the best. Where there is most employment and least vice, there should one wish most to be."

On the 18th of February, 1755, he writes to his father, "I find that your bounty and liberality keep pace, as they usually do, with my necessities. I shall not abuse your kindness, nor receive it unthankfully, and what use I make of it shall be for your honor and the king's service—an employment worthy of the hand that gives it." His amiable temper strongly inclined him, from an early age, to domestic life; in the letter, November 6th, 1751 (before quoted), he declares that he has "a turn of mind that favors matrimony prodigiously; I love children, and think them necessary to people in their later days." He, however, struggled with these wishes, and for a long time overcame them, from his ardent love of fame.

Of Wolfe's life we know but little; the waves of oblivion have closed over it, but the story of his death remains forever treasured in England's grateful memory.

"Annual Register," May, 1760.

Some gentlemen in the parish of Westerham, in Kent, have erected a plain monument to the late General Wolfe, in the inscription on which the extraordinary honor intended his memory by his sovereign is hinted at, and the impropriety of a more expensive monument in that place justly shown. The table is of statuary marble, beautifully executed by Mr. Lovel, near Cavendish Square.

JAMES, Son of Colonel Edward WOLFE, and Henrietta his wife, was born in this parish, January 2d, 1727, And died in America, September 13th, 1759. "While George in sorrow bows his laurel'd head, And bids the artist grace the soldier dead, We raise no sculptured trophy to thy name, Brave youth! the fairest in the list of fame. Proud of thy birth, we boast th' auspicious year; Struck with thy fall, we shed a general tear; With humble grief inscribe one artless stone, And from thy matchless honors date our own." "I Decus I Nostrum."[235] "Annual Register," October, 1773.

On an oval tablet on front of the sarcophagus of General Wolfe's monument in Westminster Abbey, just opened, is the following inscription:

To the memory of JAMES WOLFE, Esq., Major General and Commander-in-Chief Of the British Land Forces On an expedition against Quebec, Who, Surmounting, by ability and valor, All obstacles of art and nature, Was slain, In the moment of Victory, At the head of his conquering troops, On the 13th of Sept., 1759, The King And the Parliament of Great Britain Dedicate this monument. "Annual Register," 1762.

The Right Honorable the Earl Temple has lately dedicated a most magnificent building at Stowe, of the Ionic order, Concordiæ Et Victoriæ.

In the pediment of the portico is a fine alto relievo, representing the four quarters of the world bringing gifts to Britain. In the portico, or ante-temple, two medallions, Concordia fœderatorum, Concordia civium. Over the door, Quo tempore salus corum in ultimas angustias deducta nullum ambitioni locum relinquebat. In the inner temple, in a niche facing the entrance, the statue of Britannia: over which, in a tablet, Candidis autem animis voluptatum, præbuerint in conspicuo posita, quæ cuique magnifica merito contigerunt. On the walls, fourteen medallions, representing the taking of Quebec, Martinico, &c.; Louisburg, Guadeloupe, &c.; Montreal, &c.; Pondicherry, &c. Naval victory off Belleisle, naval victory off Lagas, Crevelt and Minden, Fellinghausen; Senegal and Gorce, Niagara and Crown Point, Beau Sejour and Fort du Quesne, Cherburg and Belleisle. On a hill at a distance, in a diagonal line, runs an obelisk above a hundred feet, inscribed

To Major-General Wolfe. Ostendunt Terris nunc tantum Fata.

FOOTNOTES:

No. LXVIII.

"Lord Howe always lay in his tent with the regiment which he commanded, while the rest of the army were quartered in the town and fort of Albany. This regiment he modeled in such a manner that they were ever after considered as an example to the whole American army. Lord Howe laid aside all pride and prejudice, and gratefully accepted council from those whom he knew to be the best qualified to direct him. Madame Schuyler was delighted with the calm steadiness with which he carried through the austere rules which he found it necessary to lay down. In the first place, he forbade all displays of gold and scarlet in the rugged march they were about to undertake, and set the example by wearing himself an ammunition coat, that is to say, one of the surplus soldiers' coats cut short. This was a necessary precaution, because, in the woods, the hostile Indians who started from behind the trees usually caught at the long and heavy skirts then worn by the soldiers; and, for the same reason, he ordered the muskets to be shortened, that they might not, as on former occasions, be snatched from behind by these agile foes. To prevent the march of his regiment from being descried at a distance by the glittering of their arms, the barrels of their guns were all blackened; and to save them from the tearing of bushes, the stings of insects, &c., he set them the example of wearing leggins, a kind of buskin made of strong woolen cloth. The greatest privation to the young and vain yet remained. Hair well dressed and in great quantity was then considered as the greatest possible ornament, which those who had it took the utmost care to display to advantage, and to wear in a bag or queue. Lord Howe's was very full and very abundant; he, however, cropped it, and ordered every one else to do the same.

"The austere regulations and constant self-denial which he imposed upon the troops he commanded were patiently borne, because he was not only gentle in his manners, but generous and humane in a very high degree, and exceedingly attentive to the health and real necessities of the soldiery. Among many instances of this, a quantity of powdered ginger was given to every man, and the sergeants were ordered to see that when, in the course of marching, the soldiers arrived hot and tired at the banks of any stream, they should not be permitted to stoop to drink, as they generally inclined to do, but be obliged to lift water in their canteens, and mix ginger with it. This became afterward a general practice, and in those aguish swamps through which the troops were forced to march, was the means of saving many lives. Aunt Schuyler, as this amiable young officer familiarly styled his maternal friend, had the greatest esteem for him, and the greatest hope that he would at some future time redress all those evils that had formerly impeded the service. The night before the march they had a long and serious conversation. In the morning Lord Howe proposed setting out very early; but, when he arose, was astonished to find Madame Schuyler waiting, and breakfast ready; he smiled, and said he would not disappoint her, as it was hard to say when he might again breakfast with a lady. Impressed with an unaccountable degree of concern about the fate of the enterprise in which he was embarked, she again repeated her counsels and her caution; and when he was about to depart, embraced him with the affection of a mother, and shed many tears, a weakness she did not often give way to. A few days after Lord Howe's departure, in the afternoon, a man was seen coming on horseback from the north, galloping violently, without his hat. Pedrom ran eagerly to inquire, well knowing he rode express. The man galloped on, crying out that Lord Howe was killed. Shrieks and sobs of anguish re-echoed through every part of the house."—Letters of an American Lady, vol. ii.; p. 73.

No. LXIX.

"Le troisième de Juillet de cette année Samuel de Champlain fonda la ville de Quebec, capitale de la Nouvelle France, sur la rivière septentrionale du fleuve St. Laurent à six-vingt lieuës de la mer, entre une petite rivière qui porte le nom de St. Charles et un gros cap, qu'on appelle le Cap aux Diamans, parce qu'on y trouvoit alors quantité de diamans assez semblables à ceux d'Alençon."—Fastes Chronologiques, 1608.

"Cape Diamond abounds with very fine specimens of quartz, or rock crystals. I have myself, in walking on the banks of the river at the foot of the rocks, found many of them. They are discovered from the brilliancy of their reflecting surfaces: they sparkle like the diamond, and hence the place had its name. On examination, I have generally found that they are pentagons, terminating in a point, and possessing naturally much of the brilliancy and polish of a cut diamond; and they are so hard, that, like a diamond, they cut glass."—Gray's Canada, p. 68.

"The mountain on which Quebec is built, and the hills along the River St. Lawrence, consist of it for some miles together on both sides of Quebec. About a yard from the surface this stone is quite compact, and without any cracks, so that one can not perceive that it is a slate, its particles being imperceptible. It lies in strata, which vary from three or four inches to twenty thick and upward. In the mountains on which Quebec is built the strata do not lie horizontal, but dipping, so as to be nearly perpendicular, the upper ones pointing northwest and the lower ones southeast. From hence it is, the corners of these strata always strike out at the corners into the streets, and cut the shoes in pieces. I have likewise seen some strata inclining to the northward, but rather perpendicular, as the former. The strata are divided by narrow cracks, which are commonly filled by fibrous white gypsum, which can sometimes be got loose with a knife, if the larger stratum of slate above it is broken in pieces; and in that case it has the appearance of a thin white leaf. The large cracks are almost filled up with transparent quartz crystals of different sizes. One part of the mountain contains great quantities of these crystals, from which the corner of the mountain which lies to S.S.E. of the palace has got the name of Pointe de Diamante, or Diamond Point."—Kalm, in Pinkerton, vol. xiii., p. 678.

No. LXX.

"The Cherokees are planters and farmers, tradespeople and mechanics. They have corn-fields and orchards, looms and work-shops, schools and churches, and orderly institutions. In 1824, when the population of the Cherokees was 15,560 persons, it included 1277 negroes; they had 18 schools, 36 grist-mills, 13 saw-mills, 762 looms, 2486 spinning-wheels, 172 wagons, 2923 plows, 7683 horses, 22,531 black cattle, 46,732 swine, 2546 sheep, 430 goats, 62 blacksmiths' shops, &c., with several public roads, and fences, and turnpikes. The natives carry on a considerable trade with the adjoining states, and some of them export cotton to New Orleans. A printing-press has been established for several years, and a newspaper, written partly in the English and partly in the Cherokee language, has been successfully carried on. This paper, called the Cherokee Phœnix, is written entirely by a Cherokee, a young man under thirty. The missionaries among them declare that the converts generally are very attentive to preaching, and very exemplary in their conduct. Public worship, conducted by native members of the church, is held in three or four places remote from the station. The pupils are making great progress at the schools. Many of them are leaving the schools with an education sufficient for life. New Echota is the seat of government of the Cherokees. The provisions of the Constitution are placed under six heads, divided into sections. The trial by jury is in full operation. The right of suffrage is universal; every free male citizen who has attained the age of eighteen years is entitled to vote at public elections."—Stuart's Three Years in North America, vol. ii., p. 143.

"The Creeks, Cherokees, and Choctaws certainly hold out a promise of the gradual attainment of civilization.... The recent invention of written characters by a full-blood Cherokee,[236] consisting of eighty-four signs expressing all the dominant sounds of that language, and the great number of half words among them, are both favorable to this change of life. The best proof that they are advancing from their savage state to a higher grade is, that their numbers increase, while almost all other tribes spread over the American continent far and near are known to diminish in numbers so rapidly that common observation alone would enable any one to predict their utter extinction before the lapse of many years."—Latrobe, Rambler in America, vol. i., p. 163.

The Stockbridge Indians (so called from Stockbridge, Massachusetts) are, upon the whole, considered to have made greater attainments in the useful arts of civilized life, and also in the Christian religion, than any other tribe of the aborigines. They heard the preaching of Brainard and Edwards, and have enjoyed Christian privileges and education with little interruption for more than ninety years. The Stockbridge Indians, and the Oneidas, under the celebrated Oneida half-blood Mr. Williams, were the principal of those unfortunate New York Indians who were persuaded, on the faith of solemn treaties, to leave their homes in New York and form new settlements among the wild Indian tribes beyond the Mississippi. One of the visitors to these new settlements, after the Indians had been a few years established there, thus describes the improvements they had effected in this remote wilderness: "On the east bank of Fox River they had in the course of some half dozen years reared a flourishing settlement; built houses and barns in the usual style of the white settlements under similar circumstances; cleaved away portions of the forest, and reduced their farms to an interesting state of improvement; organized and brought into solitary operation a political and civil economy; established schools, and in 1830 were building a very decent Christian church; had erected mills and machinery; exhibiting, in a word, a most interesting phasis of civilization, along with the purest morals under the simplest manners."—Colton's Tour among the Northwest Indians, vol. i., p. 203. This American writer is justly indignant at the cruel and dishonest policy of the American government in driving these unfortunate wanderers away from the new home solemnly promised them into the wild and dreary regions of the Far West, as soon as the settlement at Fox River was ascertained to possess sufficient natural advantages to entitle it to form a part of the Union.

FOOTNOTES:

No. LXXI.

Articles of Capitulation demanded by M. de Ramsay, the king's lieutenant, commanding the high and low towns of Quebec, chief of the Military Order of St. Louis, to his excellency the general of the troops of his Britannic majesty.

"The capitulation demanded on the part of the enemy, and granted by their excellencies, Admiral Saunders and General Townshend, &c., &c., is in manner and form as hereafter expressed:

"I.M. de Ramsay demands the honors of war for his garrison, and that it shall be sent back to the army in safety, and by the shortest route, with arms, baggage, six pieces of brass cannon, two mortars or howitzers, and twelve rounds for each of them. The garrison of the town, composed of land forces, marines, and sailors, shall march out with their arms and baggage, drums beating, matches lighted, with two pieces of French cannon, and twelve rounds for each piece, and shall be embarked as conveniently as possible, to be sent to the first port in France.

"II. That the inhabitants shall be preserved in the possession of their houses, goods, effects, and privileges.—Granted, upon their laying down their arms.

"III. That the inhabitants shall not be accountable for having carried arms in the defense of the town, forasmuch as they were compelled to do it, and that the inhabitants of the colonies, of both crowns, equally serve as militia.—Granted.

"IV. That the effects of the absent officers and citizens shall not be touched.—Granted.

"V. That the inhabitants shall not be removed, nor obliged to quit their houses, until their condition shall be settled by their Britannic and most Christian majesties.—Granted.

"VI. That the exercise of the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion shall be maintained, and that safeguards shall be granted to the houses of the clergy and to the mountaineers, particularly to his lordship the Bishop of Quebec, who, animated with zeal for religion, and charity for the people of his diocese, desires to reside in it constantly, to exercise freely, and with that decency which his character and the sacred offices of the Roman religion require, his episcopal authority in the town of Quebec, whenever he shall think proper, until the possession of Canada shall be decided by a treaty between their Britannic and most Christian majesties. The free exercise of the Roman religion is granted, likewise safeguards to all religions persons, as well as to the bishop, who shall be at liberty to come and exercise, freely and with decency, the functions of his office whenever he thinks proper, until the possession of Canada shall have been decided between their Britannic and most Christian majesties.

"VII. That the artillery and warlike stores shall be faithfully given up, and that an inventory of them shall be made out.—Granted.

"VIII. That the sick and wounded, the commissaries, chaplains, physicians, surgeons, apothecaries, and other people employed in the service of the hospitals, shall be treated conformably to the cartel of the 6th of February, 1759, settled between their Britannic and most Christian majesties.—Granted.

"IX. That before delivering up the gate and the entrance of the town to the English troops, their general will be pleased to send some soldiers to be posted as safeguards upon the churches, convents, and principal habitations.—Granted.

"X. That the king's lieutenant commanding in Quebec shall be permitted to send information to the Marquis de Vaudreuil, governor general, of the reduction of the place, as also that the general may send advice thereof to the French ministry.—Granted.

"XI. That the present capitulation shall be executed according to its form and tenor, without being subject to non-execution under pretense of reprisals, or for the non-execution of any preceding capitulation.—Granted.

"Duplicates hereof, taken and executed by and between us, at the camp before Quebec, this 18th day of September, 1759.

"Charles Saunders, George Townshend, De Ramsay."

No. LXXII

Extracts from "Lettres de M. le Marquis de Montcalm, G.G. en Canada, à MM. de Berryer et de la Molé, 1757-1759. Londres, 1777."

In 1757.—Letter 1. Montcalm informs M. de Berryer that he carries on a correspondence with the English planters by giving them a few prohibited articles. "They dupe their own people, who think they dupe us; their letters discover to me many curious political secrets. Our governors of Canada have neglected the only means of making the country prosperous ... another system is indispensable."

S.J., of Boston, writes to Montcalm, "The cause of your non-progress lies in the genius of your nation. Your governors were French gentlemen, hating and despising commerce—wealth, commerce, and strength are inseparable—your skeleton colony has lost more in a year than it can regain in ten. Your commerce with us ought to be free and unfettered.... We shall soon break with England for commercial reasons."

Montcalm observes on the foregoing, "Let us beware how we allow the establishment of manufactures in Canada; she would become proud and mutinous like the English. So long as France is a nursery to Canada, let not the Canadians be allowed to trade, but kept to their wandering, laborious life with the savages, and to their military exercises. They will be less wealthy, but more brave and more faithful to us.

"We may lose Canada—no great loss, if we keep some port in North America for fishing and trade.... The English settlers are as hostile to their mother country as to us. The state of their country is singular—not a city is fortified. The English governors often wished to fortify, but the people objected. If Canada be in the hands of an able (French) governor when the certain quarrel comes on, it will repay us for all former cost. England made a great mistake in not taxing these colonies from the first, even ever so little. If they now attempt it—revolt."

Letter from M. de Montcalm to M. de Molé, Premier Président au Parliament de Paris, 1759:

"Monsieur et cher Cousin,

"Me voici, depuis plus de trois mois, aux prises avec M. Wolfe: il ne cesse jour et nuit de bombarder Quebec, avec une furie qui n'a guères d'example dans le siège d'une place qu'en veut prendre et conserver. Il a déjà consumé par le feu presque toute la basse ville, une grande partie de la haute est écrasée par les bombes. Mais ne laissa-t-il pierre sur pierre, il ne viendra jamais à bout de s'emparer de cette capitale de la colonie, tandis qu'il se contentera de l'attaquer de la rive opposée, dont nous lui avons abandonné la possession. Aussi après trois mois de tentative, n'est il pas plus avancé dans son dessein qu'on premier jour. Il nous ruine, mais il ne s'enrichit pas. La campagne n'a guères plus d'un mois à durer, à raison du voisinage de l'automne, terrible dans ces parages pour une flotte, par les coups de vent qui règnent constamment et périodiquement.

"Il semble qu'après un si heureux prélude, la conservation de la colonie est presque assurée. Il n'en est cependant rien: la prise de Quebec dépend d'un coup du main. Les Anglois sont maîtres de la rivière: il n'ont qu'à effectuer une descente sur la rive, où cette ville, sans fortifications et sans défense, est située. Les voilà en état de me présenter la battaille, que je ne pourrai plus refuser, et que je ne devrai pas gagner. M. Wolfe, en effet, s'il entend son métier, n'à qu'à essuyer le premier feu, venir en suite à grand pas sur mon armée, faire à bout partant sa décharge, mes Canadiens, sans discipline, sourds à la voix du tambour, et des instrumens militaires, dérangés par cet escarre, ne sçauront plus reprendre leurs rangs. Ils sont ailleurs sans bagonettes pour repondre à celles de l'ennemi: il ne leur reste qu'à fuir, et me voilà, battue sans ressource. Voilà ma position!... Position bien fâcheuse pour un général, et qui me fait passer de bien terribles momens. La connaissance que j'en aye m'a fait tenir jusqu'ici sur la défensive, qui m'a réussi; mais réussira-t-elle jusqu'à la fin? Les évènemens en décideront! Mais une assurance que je puis vous donner, c'est, que je ne survivrois pas probablement la perte de la colonie. Il est des situations où il ne reste plus à un général, que de périr avec honneur: je crois y être: et sur ce point je crois que jamais la postérité n'aura rien à reprocher à ma mémoire; mais si la Fortune décide de ma vie, elle ne décidera pas de mes sentimens—ils sont François, et ils le seront, jusque dans le tombeau, si dans le tombeau on est encore quelque chose! Je me consolerai du moins de ma défaite, et de la perte de la colonie, par l'intime persuasion où je suis, que cette défaite vaudroit un jour à ma patrie plus qu'une victoire, et que le vainqueur en s'aggrandissant, trouveroit un tombeau dans son aggrandissement même.

"Ce que j'advance ici, mon cher cousin, vous paroitra un paradoxe; mais un moment de réflexion politique, un coup d'œil sur la situation des choses en Amérique, et la vérité de mon opinion, brillera dans tout son jour. Non, mon cher cousin, les hommes n'obéissent qu'à la force et à la nécessité; c'est à dire, que quand ils voyent armé devant leurs yeux, un pouvoir toujours prêt, et toujours suffisant pour les y contraindre, ou quand la chaine de leurs besoins leur en dicte la loi. Hors de là point de joug pour eux, point d'obéissance de leur part; ils sont à eux; ils vivent libres, parce qu'ils n'ont rien au dedans, rien au dehors, qui les oblige à se dépouiller de cette liberté, qui est le plus bel appanage, la plus précieuse prérogative de l'humanité. Voilà les hommes! et sur ce point les Anglois, soit par l'éducation, soit par sentiment, sont plus hommes que les autres: La gêne de la contrainte leur déplait plus qu'à tout autre: il leur faut respirer un air libre et dégagé; sans cela ils sont hors de leur élément. Mais si ce sont là les Anglois de l'Europe, c'est encore plus les Anglois d'Amérique. Une grand partie de ces colons sont les enfans de ces hommes qui s'expatrièrent dans ces temps de trouble, où l'ancienne Angleterre, en proye aux divisions, étoit attaquée dans ses privilèges et droits, et allèrent chercher en Amérique une terre, où ils puissent vivre et mourir libres, et presqu'indépendents; et ces enfans n'ont pas dégénerés des sentimens republicains de leurs pères. D'autres sont des hommes, ennemis de tout frein, de tout assujettissement, que le government y a transporté pour leur crimes. D'autres, enfin, sont un ramas de différentes nations de l'Europe, qui tiennent très peu à l'ancienne Angleterre par le cœur et le sentiment, tous en général no se soucient guères du roi ni du Parlement d'Angleterre.

"Je les connois bien, non sur des rapports étrangers, mais sur des corréspondances, et des informations secrets, que j'ai moi-même ménages, et dont un jour, si Dieu me prête vie, je pourrais faire usage à l'avantage de ma patrie. Pour surcroit de bonheur pour eux, tous ces colons sont parvenu dans un état très florissant; ils sont nombreux et riches; ils recueillent dans le sein de leur patrie, toutes les nécessités de la vie. L'ancienne Angleterre a été assez sotte, et assez dupe, pour leur laisser établir chez eux les arts, les métiers, les manufactures; c'est à dire, qu'elle leur a laissé briser la chaine de besoins, qui les lioit, qui les attachoit à elle, et qui les fait dépendants. Aussi toutes ces colonies Angloises auroient depuis long temps secoué le joug, chaque province auroient formé une petite république indépendante, si la crainte de voir les François à leur porte n'avoit été un frein, qui les avoit rétenu. Maîtres pour maîtres ils ont préferé leur compatriotes aux étrangers, prenant cependant pour maxime, de n'obéir que le moins qu'ils pourroient; mais que la Canada vînt à être conquis, et que les Canadiens et ces colons ne fussent plus qu'un seul peuple, et la première occasion, où l'ancienne Angleterre sembleroit toucher à leurs intérêts, croiez-vous, mon cher cousin, que colons obéiroient? Et qu'auroient-ils à craindre, en se revoltant?

"Je ne puis cependant pas dissimuler que l'ancienne Angleterre avec un peu de bonne politique pourroit toujours se réserver dans les mains une ressource toujours prête pour mettre à la raison ses anciennes colonies. Le Canada considéré dans lui-même, dans ses richesses, dans ses forces, dans le nombre de ses habitans n'est rien en comparaison du conglobat des colonies Angloises; mais la valeur, l'industrie, la fidélité de ses habitans, y supplie si bien, que depuis plus d'un siècle ils se battent avec avantage contre toutes ces colonies: dix Canadiens sont suffisants contre cent colons Anglois. L'expérience journalière prove ce fait. Si l'ancienne Angleterre, après avoir conquis le Canada sçavoit se l'attacher par la politique des bienfaits, et se le conserver à elle seule, si elle le laissoit à sa religion, à ses loix, à son language, à ses coûtumes, à son ancienne gouvernement, le Canada, divisé dans tous ces points, d'avec les autres colonies, formerait toujours un pais isolé, qui n'entreroit jamais dans leurs intérêts; ... mais ce n'est pas là la politique Brittannique. Les Anglois font-ils une conquête, il faut qu'ils changent la constitution du pays, ils y portent leur loix, leur coûtumes, &c., &c.... Voilà les Canadiens transformés en politiques, en négocians, en hommes infatués d'une prétendue liberté, qui chez la populace tient souvent en Angleterre de la licence, et de la nardin.... Je suis si sûr de ce que j'écris, que je ne donnerai pas dix ans après la conquête de Canada pour en voir l'accomplissement.

"Voilà ce que, comme François, me console aujourd'hui du danger éminent que court ma patrie, de voir cette colonie perdue pour elle.

"Du camp devant Quebec, Jan. Montcalm. "24 d'Août, 1759."

THE END.