Chapter V: Modern Quebec (1)

"I can re-people with the Past; and of
The Present there is still, for eye and thought
And meditation, chasten'd down, enough."
--(CHILDE HAROLD.)

Quebec, with the limitations set forth elsewhere, under the English regime, was governed by Justices of the Peace, who sat in special sessions, under authority of Acts of the Provincial Legislature, until 1833. In 1832 the city was incorporated (1 William IV., chap. 52,), Its first Mayor, elected in 1833, was a barrister of note, Elzéar Bédard, Esq., subsequently Mr. Justice Elzéar J.S.C. The amended Act of Incorporation of the City of Quebec, the 29th Vic., cap. 57, sanctioned on the 18th September, 1865, thus defines the limits of the city, the number and limits of the wards:--"The City of Quebec, for all municipal purposes, comprises the whole extent of land within the limits assigned to the said city by a certain proclamation of His Excellency Sir Alured Clarke, bearing date the 7th May, 1792, and in addition all land extending to low water mark of the River St. Lawrence, in front of the said city, including the shore of the River St Charles, opposite the city, as limited by high water mark on the north side of the said river, from, the prolongation of the west line of St. Ours street to the west line of the farm of the Nuns of the Hôtel Dieu; thence running southwards along the said line, about 550 feet, to the southern extremity of a pier erected on the said farm, at low water mark; thence running due east, about 800 feet, to the intersection of the line limiting the beach grants of the Seigniory of Notre Dame des Anges, at low water; and finally, thence along the said beach line, running north 40 degrees east, to the intersection of the prolongation of the line of the Commissioners for the Harbour of Quebec, and thence following the said Commissioners' line to the westerly line of the city. The said city also comprises all wharves, piers and other erections made or to be made in the said River St. Lawrence, opposite to or adjoining the said city, though extending beyond the low water mark of the said river, and being within the said Commissioners' line, and even beyond the same, should it be hereafter extended or reduced.

_BOUNDARIES OF THE WARDS._

"The said city is divided into eight wards, to wit: St. Louis Ward, Palace Ward, St. Peter's Ward, Champlain Ward, St. Roch's Ward, Jacques Cartier Ward, St. John's Ward and Montcalm Ward.

1st. St. Louis Ward comprises all that part of the Upper Town within the fortifications, and south of a line drawn from Prescott Gate to St John's Gate, along the middle of Mountain street, Buade street, Fabrique street, and St. John street.

2nd. Palace Ward comprises all that part of the Upper Town within the fortifications, and not included in St. Louis Ward. 3rd. St. Peter's Ward comprises all that part of the Lower Town bounded on the south by a line drawn in the middle of Sous-le-Fort street, and prolonged in the same direction to low water mark in the River St. Lawrence at the one end, and to the cliff below the Castle of St. Louis at the other, and on the west by the eastern limits of the Parish of St. Roch, together with all the wharves, piers and other erections, opposite to this part of the Lower Town, although built beyond low water mark in the said river.

4th. Champlain Ward comprises all that part of the Lower Town lying between St. Peter's Ward and the limits of the said city, together with all wharves, piers and other erections, opposite thereto, although built beyond the low water mark in the said river.

5th. St. Roch's Ward comprises all that part of the Parish of St. Roch which lies within the limits of the said City of Quebec, on the north-west side of a line drawn in the middle of St. Joseph street, from one end to the other.

6th. Jacques Cartier Ward comprises all that part of the Parish of St. Roch which lies within the limits of the said City of Quebec, not comprised in St. Roch's Ward.

7th. St John's Ward comprises all that space bounded by Jacques Cartier Ward, the fortifications, the limits of the said city on the west, and a line drawn in the middle of St. John street from St. John's Gate to the western limits of the city.

8th. Montcalm Ward comprises all that space bounded by the fortifications on the east, and on the west by the city limits, on the north by St John's Ward, and on the south by the _cime du cap_ of the St. Lawrence.

The city is administered by a Mayor, holding office for two years, at a salary of not more than $1,200, nor less than $600, per annum; and by eight Aldermen and sixteen Councillors, returned by the eight wards,-- elected to serve gratuitously three years by the duly qualified electors of each ward: no one is eligible as Mayor, Aldermen or Councillor unless he be a British subject, by birth or naturalization, and of the full age of twenty-one years, and owning within the city limits real estate, free from encumbrance, of the value of $2,000. Quebec contains ten small _Fiefs_ or Domaines. The _Fief_ Sault-au-Matelot belongs to the Seminary. The Ursuline Nuns, the R. C. Church (_La Fabrique_), the Heirs LaRue, the Hôtel-Dieu Nuns, the Récollet Friars, each had his _Fief_. The _Fief de la Miséricorde_ (Mercy) belongs to the Hôtel-Dieu. The Heirs LaRue own the _Fief de Bécancour_ and that of _de Villeraie_; there is also the _Fief Tasseville_. The _Fief_ of the Récollets--or Franciscan Friars--the order being extinct, reverted to the Crown.

_WAR DEPARTMENT PROPERTY IN QUEBEC CITY AND DISTRICT._

_As per Schedule, Consolidated Statutes of Canada (22 Vict.) Cap. 36._

_LOCAL NAME OF THE PROPERTY AND ORIGIN OF THE TITLE._

Exercising Ground, Plains of Abraham--Leasehold from the Ursuline
Nuns, 99 years from 1st May, 1802.

No. 3 Tower Field, N. W. of the Grande Allée, Plains of Abraham--
Leasehold from the Nuns of the Hôtel-Dieu, 99 years from 1st May, 1790;
space covered by the tower is freehold.

No. 4 Tower Field, N. W. of St. John's Road--Leasehold from the Nuns
of the Hôtel-Dieu; 99 years from 1st May, 1790; including a freehold
strip of 0_a_. 1_r_. 0-1/2_p_.

Land surrounding Nos. 1 and 2, Towers, S. E. side of the Grande Allée
Plains of Abraham--Acquired by purchase from the Ursuline Nuns, 15th
June, 1811, Joseph Plante, N. P., Quebec.

Land S. E. of the Grande Allée to the Cime du Cap and between Nos. 1
and 2, Towers property, and counterscarp of the Citadel and works
adjacent--The greater part acquired by purchase from individuals, and
partly by conquest, of the old French Works, &c., an annual ground
rent of £1 17s. 0d., is payable on part of this land to the Fief de
Villeray.

The Esplanade, Town Works--Glacis, Cricket Field, ditches, ravelin,
&c., in front, lying between St. Louis and St. John's Gates--Acquired
partly by conquest and partly by purchase from various individuals
(Cricket Field, 5_a_. 3_r_. 22_p_.)

Citadel--Glacis and Town Works, as far as St. Louis Gate, Engineer
Yard, &c.--Chiefly by right of conquest and military appropriation.

Town Works, Artillery Barracks, Glacis, &c., between St. John's Gate,
Palace Gate and St. Valier street--Chiefly by conquest and military
appropriation. Lots in St. Vallier street, purchased in 1846-7.

Mount Carmel, a commanding eminence, and site of the Windmill Redoubt
or Cavalier, formerly a portion of the defenses of Quebec.--Acquired
by purchase, 25th Nov, 1780. J. Plinguet, N.P.

Officers' Barracks, Garrison Hospital, &c., fronting on St. Louis
street, and in rear by St. Geneviève street.--Acquired by purchase,
5th April, 1811.

Commissariat Premises, opposite old Court House, on St. Louis street,
and in rear by Mount Carmel street.--Acquired by purchase, 11th
August, 1815.

Jesuit Barracks, with other buildings and land attached, fronting on
St. Anne street and Upper Town market square.--By right of conquest
and military appropriation, occupied as Infantry Barracks, &c.

The Town Works, along the top of the Cape (Cime du Cap), between the
King's Bastion of the Citadel and Prescott Gate, Mountain Hill,
including site of old Fort St. Louis, Government Garden, &c.--Part of
the Crown Domain by conquest and military appropriation, with small
portions at either end acquired by purchase in 1781, and about 1827-
29.

Near Grand Battery, East end of St. George street. Magazine F., and
Ordnance stores, &c.--By right of conquest and military appropriation.

Magazine E., Hôtel Dieu, on Rampart street, between Palace and Hope
Gates.--Acquired by purchase, 17th June, 1809.

The Defences along the Ramparts between Prescott Gate, Grand Battery,
Hope Gate and Palace Gate (Upper Town).--By right of conquest and
military appropriation (including Rampart street and cliff
underneath).

Inclined Plane Wharf and land to the Cime du Cap (top of the cliff) on
Champlain street, S. E. of the Citadel.--Acquired by purchase, 24th
Sept., 1781, afterwards used in connection with the Citadel.

Queen's Wharf premises, and small lot opposite, on Cul-de-Sac street--
Formerly a part of the defences of Quebec, site of a battery.--
Acquired by right of conquest, &c.

Land at the foot of the cliff in La Canoterie and St. Charles streets,
as a Glacis in front of the Town Works.--Acquired by purchase in 1846-
7, to prevent buildings against the defences.

Commissariat Fuel Yard, &c., on Palace Harbor, St. Roch's.--Part of
the Intendant's Palace property, held by conquest.

_SEIGNIORY OF NEUVILLE COUNTY OF PORTNEUF._

(_Site of Fort Jacques-Cartier._)

A strong defensive position, on the right bank of the River Jacques
Cartier, about 30 miles above Quebec.--Acquired by purchase from the
Seignior, 26th June, 1818.

THE ENVIRONS OF QUEBEC.

_INTRODUCTION._

"Oh give me a home where the maple and pine
Around the wild heights so majestically twine;
Oh give me a home where the blue wave rolls free
From thy bosom, Superior, down to the sea."

"Could you not write the history of 'Our Parish,' and also sketch briefly our country seats, marking out the spots connected with historical events?" Thus discoursed one day to us, in her blandest tones, a fair denizen of Sillery. There was a poser for a _galant homme_; a crusher for the first _littérateur_ of ... the parish. In vain did we allege we were not a "Christopher North," but a mere retiring "antiquaire"--a lover of books, birds, flowers, &c. The innate civility of a Frenchman elicited from us an unreflective affirmative reply. Thus, compassionate reader, was entrapped, caught and committed the first _littérateur_ of Sillery--irrevocably handed over to the tender mercies of all the critics, present and future, in and out of the parish. Oh, my friends, what a crunching up of literary bones in store! what an ample repast was thus prepared for all the reviewers--the Jeffreys and LaHarpes--in and out of the parish, should the luckless _littérateur_ fail to assign fairy scenery--important historical events--great battles, not only to each renowned spot, but even to the merest potato-patch, turnip-ground or cabbage-garden within our corporate limits? Yes, tremble for him.

Joking apart, is there not a formidable difficulty besetting our path--the insipidity and monotony inseparable from the necessity which will devolve on us of having constantly to discover new beauties in spots identical in their main features; and should we, in order to vary the theme, mix up the humorous with the rural, the historical, or the antiquarian style, may not fun and humour be mistaken for satire--a complimentary notice for flattery, above all others, a thing abhorrent to our nature? But 'tis vain to argue. That fatal "yes" has been uttered, and no true knight goes back from his plighted word. There being no help, we devoutly commend our case to St. Columba, St. Joseph, and the archangel St. Michel, the patrons of our parish, and set to our task, determined to assume a wide margin, draw heavily on history, and season the whole with short anecdotes and glimpses of domestic life, calculated to light up the past and present.

O critic, who would fain seek in "Our Parish"--in our homes--great architectural excellence, we beseech you to pause! for the majority of them no such pretension is set up. Nowhere, indeed, on our soil are to be found ivied ruins, dating back to doomsday book, moated castle, or mediaeval tower. We have no Blenheims, no Walton Halls, nor Chatsworths, nor Woburn abbeys, nor Arundel castles, to illustrate every style of architectural beauty, rural embellishment, and landscape. A Dainpierre, a Rochecotte, a LaGaudinière, may suit old France: they would be lost in New France. Canadian cottages, the best of them, are not the stately country homes of

"Old pheasant-lords,
... Partridge-breeders of a thousand years,"

typifying the accumulated wealth of centuries or patrician pride; nor are they the gay _châteaux_ of _La Belle France_. In the Canada of the past, we could--in many instances we had to--do without the architect's skill; nature having been lavish to us in her decorations, art could be dispensed with. Our country dwellings possess attractions of a higher class, yea, of a nobler order, than brick and mortar moulded by the genius of man can impart. A kind Providence has surrounded them in spring, summer and autumn with scenery often denied to the turreted castle of the proudest nobleman in Old England. Those around Quebec are more particularly hallowed by associations destined to remain ever memorable amongst the inhabitants of the soil.

Some of our larger estates, like Belmont (comprising 450 acres,) date back more than two centuries, whilst others, though less ancient, retrace vividly events glorious in the same degree to the two races, who, after having fought stoutly for the mastery, at last hung out the olive branch and united long since, willing partners, in the bonds of a common nationality, neither English nor French, though participating largely of both, and have linked their destinies together as Canadians. Every traveller in Canada, from Baron La Hontan, who "preferred the forests of Canada to the Pyrénées of France," to the Hon. Amelia Murray, Charlevoix, LaGalissonière, Peter Kalm, Isaac Weld, John Lambert, Heriot, Silliman, Dickens, Lever, Ampère, Marmier, Rameau, Augustus Sala, have united in pronouncing our Quebec landscape so wild, so majestic, and withal so captivating, as to vie in beauty with the most picturesque portions of the Old or the New World.

Let us first sketch "Our Parish," the home of our forefathers--the home of our children.

_SILLERY._

Henry IV. of France had for his chancellor, in 1607, Nicholas Brulart de Sillery, a worthy and distinguished magistrate, who, as state councillor, ever enjoyed the confidence of his sovereign until death closed his useful career in 1627, at the ripe age of 80. He was the eldest brother: his father had also for years basked in the smiles of good King Henry IV. for his unwavering adherence to his fortunes. To this eminent lawyer and statesman was born a patriarchal family of sons and daughters. The youngest of his sons, Noël Brulart de Sillery, [169] having brilliantly completed his studies at Paris in the classics, entered, at the age of 18, the military order of the Knights of Malta, and resided twelve years in that island as a knight; his martial bearing and ability, modesty, and uniform good conduct soon paved the way for him to the highest dignities in this celebrated Order. Soon the Grand Master appointed him "Commandeur de Troyes"; this preferment yielded him 40,000 livres per annum.

On his return to Paris in 1607, the favour of the court and the protection of Marie de Medicis were the means of having him nominated Knight of Honour. His talents, birth, deportment and position soon procured him the appointment of French Ambassador to the Court of Spain in 1614, which high position he left for that of Ambassador at Rome in 1622, where he replaced the Marquis of Coeuvres. He spent two years in the Eternal City, and subsequently acknowledged that it was there that he conceived the idea first of embracing Holy Orders; Cardinal de LaValette replacing him at the Roman Court as French _Chargé d'Affaires_. From what can be gleaned in history, this distinguished personage led a princely life, his enormous rent-roll furnishing the means for a most lordly establishment of retainers, liveries and domains. [170] His fancy for display, great though it was, never, however, made him lose sight of the poor, nor turn a deaf ear to the voice of the needy.

In 1626, the Pope (Barberini), Urban the VIII., having proclaimed a jubilee, the ex-ambassador, as if a new light had dawned on him, and under the guidance of a man famous for his pious and ascetic life, Vincent de Paul, determined to reform his house and whole life. Thus, a few years after, viz., in 1632, the Commandeur de Sillery sold to Cardinal Richelieu his sumptuous and princely hôtel in Paris, called Sillery, entered Holy Orders in 1634, and devoted all the energy of his mind and his immense wealth to the propagation of the faith amongst the aborigines of Canada, having been induced to do so by the Commandeur de Razili, who had previously solicited him to join the company des "Cents Associés," or Hundred Partners, of which Razili was a member.

The Commandeur de Sillery inaugurated his benevolent purpose by placing 12,000 livres in the hands of Father Charles Lalemant, a zealous Jesuit; this was the beginning of the mission which, through gratitude to its founder, was called Sillery--it was distant about four miles and a half from Quebec, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence; date of the foundation, July, 1637. [171] History has preserved a letter addressed from Paris by the Commandeur de Sillery to the Chevalier de Montmagny, governor of the colony, in which the benevolent man asked the Governor to ratify a grant of "twelve arpents" made to him in the city itself by the company of the Hundred Partners, and also to ratify a promised grant of other lands to open a seminary or school to educate Algonquin and Montagnais children, although, at the request of the Indians, the settlement became, in 1638, more extensive, and comprised also the residence of the christianized Indians. Negabamat and Nenasesenat were the first to establish their families there. On the last day of June, 1665, we will find the eloquent Negabamat, then a resident of Quebec, sent by his tribe to harangue and compliment the great Marquis of Tracy on his arrival at Quebec. (_Relations_, 1665, _p_. 4.) Father LeJeune, a learned Jesuit, had charge and control over the workmen who were sent out from France at the expense of the Commandeur de Sillery; and on the 22nd February, 1639, a permanent bequest was authentically recorded in favor of the mission by the Commandeur placing at interest, secured on the Hôtel-de-Ville at Paris, a sum of 20,000 livres tournois. Palisades had been used originally to protect the settlement; in 1651, the Governor of Quebec, Jean de Lauzon, strengthened the palisades and added redoubts. [172] In 1647 the church of the mission had been placed under the invocation of St. Michael the Archangel; hence Sillery Cove, once called St. Joseph's, was, in 1647, named St Michael's Cove.

The Commandeur de Sillery extended his munificence to several other missionary establishments in Canada and other places. What with the building of churches, monasteries and hospitals in Champagne, France; at Annecy, Savoy; at Paris, and elsewhere, he must, indeed, have been for those days a veritable Rothschild in worldly wealth.

This worthy ecclesiastic died in Paris on the 26th September, 1640, at the age of sixty-three years, bequeathing his immense wealth to the Hôtel-Dieu of that city. Such was, in a few words, the noble career of one of the large-minded pioneers of civilization in primitive Canada, le Commandeur Noël Brulart de Sillery--such the origin of the name of "Our Parish," our sweet Canadian Windermere.

One of the first incidents, two years after the opening of the mission, was the visit paid to it by Madame de la Peltrie, the benevolent founder of the Ursuline Convent at Quebec. This took place on the 2nd August, 1639, the day after her arrival from Dieppe and stately reception by the Governor, M. deMontmagny, who had asked her to dinner the day previous. This same year the nuns called _Hospitalières_ (Hôtel-Dieu) opened a temporary hospital at Sillery, as the inmates and resident Indians suffered fearfully from the ravages of small-pox. In attempting a sketch of the Sillery of ancient days, we cannot follow a truer nor pleasanter guide than the old historian of Canada in the interesting notes he published on this locality in 1855, after having minutely examined every inch of ground. "A year after their arrival at Quebec," says Abbé Ferland, "in August, 1640, the _Hospitalières_ nuns, desirous of being closer to the Sillery mission, where they were having their convent built according to the wishes of the Duchess D'Aiguillon, left Quebec and located themselves in the house of M. de Puiseaux. They removed from this house at the beginning of the year 1641 to take possession of their convent, a mile distant. During that winter no other French inhabitants resided near them except the missionaries, and they suffered much from cold and want. But the following year they had the happiness to have in the neighbourhood a good number of their countrymen. M. de Maisonneuve, Mlle. Mance, the soldiers and farmers recently arrived from France, took up their abode at M. de Puiseaux.... They spent the winter there, and paid us frequent visits, to our mutual satisfaction." [173]

The mission of St. Joseph at Sillery being constantly threatened by the Five Nations, the _Hospitalières_ ladies were compelled to leave their convent and seek refuge in Quebec on the 29th May, 1644, having thus spent about three years and a half amongst the savages. [174] The locality where they then resided still goes under the name of "Convent Cove."

"Monsieur Pierre Puiseaux, Sieur de l'habitation de Sainte Foye, after whom was, called _Pointe-à-Pizeau_, at Sillery, seems to have been a personage of no mean importance in his day. Having realized a large fortune in the West Indies, he had followed Champlain to Canada, bent on devoting his wealth to the conversion of the aboriginal tribes. His manor stood, according to the Abbé Ferland, on that spot in St Michael's Cove on which the St. Michael's Hotel [175]--long kept by Mr. W. Scott--was subsequently built, to judge from the heavy foundation walls there. Such was the magnificence of the structure that it was reckoned "the gem of Canada'--"_Une maison regardée dans le temps comme le bijou du Canada_," says the old chronicler. Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve having arrived, in 1641, with colonists for Montreal, the laird of Ste. Foye [176] generously tendered him the use of his manor. Under the hospitable roof of this venerable old gentleman, M. de Maisonneuve, Mlle. Mance, the founder of the Hôtel Dieu Hospital at Montreal, and Mdme. de la Peltrie spent the winter of 1641-2, whilst the intended colonists [177] for Ville-Marie were located close by in the Sillery settlement. During the winter, dissensions took place between the future Governor of Montreal, M. de Maisonneuve, and the then present Governor of Quebec, Chevalier de Montmagny. It appears that on a certain festival a small cannon and also fifteen musket shots had been fired without authority; His Excellency Governor Montmagny, in high dudgeon at such a breach of military discipline, ordered Jean Gorry, the person who had fired the shots, to be put in irons; Mlle. Mance had furnished the powder for this military display The future Governor of Montreal, Monsieur de Maisonneuve, is said to have, on this occasion, publicly exclaimed: "Jehan Gorry, you have been put in irons for my sake and I affronted! I raise your wages of ten half crowns (dix écus), let us only reach Montreal; no one there will prevent us from firing." [178] Bravo! M. de Maisonneuve! Peace, however, was restored, and His Excellency Governor Montmagny headed in person the expedition which, on the 8th May following, sailed from St Michael's Cove, Sillery, to found at Montreal the new colony. Monsieur Puiseaux accompanied M. de Maisonneuve, to take part also in the auspicious event, but his age and infirmities compelled Him soon after to return to France, where he died a few years subsequently, and by his last will, executed at LaRochelle on the 21st June, 1647, he bequeathed his Ste. Foye property to the support of the future bishops of Quebec. "The walls of the Sillery Chapel," says the historian of Canada previously quoted, "were still standing about thirty years ago, and the foundations of this edifice, of the hospital and of the missionary residency are still perceptible to the eye on the spot now occupied by the offices and stores of Hy. LeMesurier, Esq., at the foot of the hill, and opposite the residence of the Honourable Mr. Justice Caron."

"Amongst the French gentlemen of note who then owned lands at Sillery may be mentioned. François de Chavigny, _sieur de Berchéreau qui_," adds Abbé Ferland, "_occupait un rang élevé dans le colonie. En quelques occasions, il fut chargé de remplacer le Gouverneur, lors que celui-ci s'absentait de Québec_." Now, dear reader, let it be known to you that you are to look with every species of respect on this worthy old denizen of Sillery, he being, as the Abbé has elsewhere established beyond the shadow of a doubt, not only the ancestor of several old families, such as the Lagorgendières, the Rigaud de Vaudreuils and Tachereaus, but also one of the ancestors of your humble servant the writer of these lines.

"The Sillery settlement contained during the winter of 1646-7, of Indians only, about two hundred souls. Two roads led from Quebec to the settlement, one the Grande Allée or St. Louis Road, the other the Cove Road, skirting the beach. Two grist mills stood in the neighbourhood: one on the St. Denis streamlet which crosses the Grande Allée road (from Thornhill to Spencer Wood)--the dam seems to have been on the Spencer Wood property. 'This mill, and the _fief_ on which it was built, belonged to M. Juchereau,' one of the ancestors of the Duchesnays. 'Another mill existed on the Bell Borne brook,' which crosses the main road, the boundary between Spencer Grange and Woodfield. Any one visiting these two streamlets during the August droughts will be struck with their diminutiveness, compared to the time when they turned the two grist mills two hundred years back: the clearing of the adjoining forests, whence they take their source, may account for the metamorphosis."

The perusal of the Rev. Mr. Ferland's work brings us to another occurrence, which, although foreign to the object of this sketch, deserves notice:--

"The first horse [179] seen in Canada was landed from a French vessel about the 20th June, 1647, and presented as a gift to His Excellency Governor Montmagny." Another incident deserving of mention occurs under date of 20th August, 1653. The Iroquois [180] surprised at Cap Rouge Rev. Father J. Antoine Poncet and a peasant named Mathurin Tranchelot, and carried them off to their country. For three days the rev. missionary was subjected to every kind of indignity from the Indian children and every one else. A child cut off one of the captive's fingers. He was afterwards, with his companion, tied up during two nights, half suspended in the air; this made both suffer horribly; burning coals were applied to their flesh. Finally, the missionary was handed over to an old squaw; he shortly after became free, and returned to Quebec on the 5th of November, 1653, to the joy of everybody.

His comrade, Tranchelot, after having had his fingers burnt, was finally consumed by fire on the 8th September, 1653. Such were some of the thrilling incidents of daily occurrence at Sillery two centuries ago.

What with breaches of military etiquette by M. de Maisonneuve's colonists, the ferocity of skulking Iroquois, and the scrapes their own neophytes occasionally got into, the reverend fathers in charge of the Sillery mission must now and again have had lively times, and needed, we would imagine, the patience of Job, with the devotion of martyrs, to carry out their benevolent views.

We read in history [181] how, on one Sunday morning in 1652, the Sillery Indians being all at mass, a beaver skin was stolen from one of the wig- wams, on which a council of the chiefs being called, it was decided that the robbery had been committed by a Frenchman, [182] enough to justify the young men to rush out and seize two Frenchmen then accidentally passing by, and in no wise connected--as the Indians even admitted--with the theft. The Indian youths were for instantly stripping the prisoners, in order to compel the Governor of the colony to repair the injury suffered by the loss of the peltry. One of them, more thoughtful than the rest, suggested to refer the matter to the missionary father, informing him at the same time that in cases of robbery it was the Indian custom to lay hold of the first individual they met belonging to the family or nation of the suspected robber, strip him of his property, and retain it until the family or nation repaired the wrong. The father succeeded, by appealing to them as Christians, to release the prisoners. Fortunately, the real thief, who was not a Frenchman, became alarmed, and had the beaver skin restored.

Old writers of that day occasionally let us into quaint glimpses of a churchman's tribulations in those primitive times. The historian Faillon tells some strange things about Bishop Laval and Governor D'Argenson: their squabble about holy bread. (_Histoire de la Colonie Française en Canada_, vol. ii., p. 467.) At page 470, is an account of a country girl, ordered to be brought to town by Bishop Laval and shut up in the Hôtel-Dieu, she being considered under a spell, cast on her by a miller whom she had rejected when he popped the question: the diabolical suitor was jailed as a punishment. Champlain relates how a pugnacious parson was dealt with by a pugnacious clergyman of a different persuasion respecting some knotty controversial points. The arguments, however irresistible they may have been, Champlain observes, were not edifying either to the savages or to the French: "J'ay veu le ministre et nostre curé s'entre battre è coup de poing sur le différend de la religion. Je ne scay pas qui estait le plus vaillant et qui donnait le meilleur coup; mais je scay tres bien que le ministre se plaignoit quelque fois au Sieur de Mons (Calviniste, directeur de la compagnie) d'avoir ésté battu et vuoidoient en ceste faccon les poincts de controverse. Je vois laisse à penser si cela éstait beau à voir; les sauvages éstoient tantôt d'un côté, tantôt de l'autre, et les François meslez selon leur diverse croyance, disaient pis que pendre de l'une et de l'autre religion." The fighting parson had evidently caught a tartar. However, this controversial sparring did _not_ take place at Sillery.

The winter of 1666 was marked by a novel incident in the annals of the settlement. On the 9th of January, [183] 1666, the Governor of the colony, M. de Courcelles, with M. du Gas as second in command, and M. de Salampar, a volunteer, together with two hundred colonists who had volunteered, and three hundred soldiers of the dashing regiment of Carignan, [184] which the viceroy, the proud Marquis de Tracy, had brought over from Europe, after their return from their campaign in Hungary, sallied forth from the capital on snow-shoes. A century and a half later one might have met, with his gaudy state carriage and outriders, on that same road, another viceroy--this time an English one, as proud, as fond of display, as the Marquis de Tracy--with the Queen's Household Troops, the British Grenadiers, and Coldstream Guards--the Earl of Durham, one of our ablest, if not one of the most popular of our administrators. Let us now follow the French Governor of 1666, heading his light-hearted soldiers along the St. Louis road, all on snow-shoes, each man, His Excellency included, carrying on his back from 25 to 30 lbs. of biscuit, &c. The little army is bound towards the frontiers of New Holland (the State of New York) on a 900 miles' tramp (no railroads in those days), in the severest season of the year, to chastise some hostile Indian tribes, after incorporating in its ranks, during its march, the Three Rivers and Montreal reinforcements. History tells of the intense suffering [185] experienced during the expedition by these brave men, some of them more accustomed to Paris _salons_ than to Canadian forest warfare on snow-shoes, with spruce boughs and snow-drifts for beds. But let us not anticipate. We must be content to accompany them on that day to the Sillery settlement, a march quite sufficient for us degenerate Canadians of the nineteenth century.

Picture to yourself, our worthy friend, the hurry and scurry at the Missionary residence on that day--with what zest the chilled warriors crowd round the fires of the Indian wigwams, the number of pipes of peace they smoked with the chiefs, the fierce love the gallant Frenchmen swore to the blackeyed Montagnais and Algonquin houris of Sillery, whilst probably His Excellency and staff were seated in the residency close by, resorting to cordials and all those creature comforts to be found in monasteries, not forgetting _Grande Chartreuse_, to restore circulation through their benumbed frames!--How the reverend fathers showered down the blessings of St. Michael, the patron saint of the parish, on the youth and chivalry of France!--How the Sillery duennas, the _Capitainesses_, closely watched the gallant sons of Mars lest some of them [186] should attempt to induce their guileless neophytes to seek again the forest wilds, and roam at large--the willing wives of white men!

We shall clip a page from Father Barthélémy Vimont's _Journal of the Sillery Mission_, (Relations des Jesuits, 1643, pp. 12, 13, 14) an authentic record, illustrative of the mode of living there; it will, we are sure, gladden the heart even of an anchorite:--

"In 1643, the St. Joseph or Sillery settlement was composed of between thirty-five and forty Indian families, who lived there the whole year round except during the hunting season; other nomadic savages occasionally tarried at the settlement to procure food, or to receive religious instruction. That year there were yet but four houses built in the European fashion; the Algonquins were located in that part of the village close to the French residences; the Montagnais, on the opposite side; the houses accommodate chiefs only, their followers reside in bark huts until we can furnish proper dwellings for them all. In this manner was spent the winter season of 1642-3, the French ships left the St Lawrence for France on the 7th October, 1642; a period of profound quiet followed. Our Indians continued to catch eels, (this catch begins in September)--a providential means of subsistence during winter. The French settlers salt their eels, the Indians smoke theirs to preserve them. The fishing having ended about the beginning of November, they removed their provisions to their houses, when thirteen canoes of Atichamegues Indians arrived, the crews requesting permission to winter there and be instructed in the Christian religion. They camped in the neighborhood of the Montagnais, near to Jean Baptiste, the chief or captain of these savages, and placed themselves under the charge of Father Buteux, who undertook to christianize both, whilst Father Dequen superintended the religious welfare of the Algonquins. Each day all the Indians attended regularly to mass, prayers, and religious instruction. Catechism is taught to the children, and the smartest amongst them receive slight presents to encourage them, such as knives, bread, beads, hats, sometimes a hatchet for the biggest boys. Every evening Father Dequen calls at every hut and summons the inmates to evening prayers at the chapel. The _Hospitalières_ nuns also perform their part in the pious work; Father Buteux discharged similar duties amongst the Montagnais and Atichamegues neophytes. The Atichamegues have located themselves on a small height back of Sillery. 'When the Reverend Father visits them each evening, during the prevalence of snow storms, he picks his way in the forest, lantern in hand, but sometimes losing his footing, he rolls down the hill.' Thus passed for the Sillery Indians, the early portion of the winter. In the middle of January they all came and located themselves about a quarter of a league from Quebec, to make tobogins and began the first hunt, which lasted about three weeks. Each day they travelled a quarter of a league to Quebec to attend mass, generally at the chapel of the Ursuline Convent, where Father Buteux and also the nuns instructed them. In February they sought the deep woods to hunt the moose." "On my return to Sillery," adds Father Vimont, "twelve or thirteen infirm old Indians, women and children, who had been left behind, followed me to the Hospital, where we had to provide for them until the return, at Easter, of the hunting party."

Whilst the savage hordes were being thus reclaimed from barbarism at Sillery, a civilized community a few hundred miles to the east of it were descending to the level of savages. We read in Hutchinson's _History of Massachusetts Bay_, of our Puritan brethren of Boston, occasionally roasting defenceless women for witchcraft; thus perished, in 1645, Margaret Jones; and a few years after, in 1656, Mrs. Ann Hibbens, the lady of a respectable Boston merchant. Christians cutting one another's throats for the love of God. O, civilization, where is thy boast!

During the winter of 1656-7, Sillery contained, of Indians alone, about two hundred souls.

Let us now sum up the characteristics of the Sillery of ancient days in a few happy words, borrowed from the _Notes_ [187] published in 1855 on that locality, by the learned Abbé Ferland.

"A map of Quebec by Champlain exhibits, about a league above the youthful city, a point jutting out into the St. Lawrence, and which is covered with Indian wigwams. Later on this point received the name of Puiseaux, from the first owner of the Fief St. Michael, bounded by it to the southwest. [188] On this very point at present stands the handsome St. Columba church, surrounded by a village." [189]

"Opposite to it is the Lauzon shore, with its river _Bruyante_ [190] (the 'Etchemin'), its shipyards, its numerous shipping, the terminus of the Grand Trunk Railway; the villages and churches of Notre Dame de Lévis, St. Jean Chrysostôme and Saint Romuald. To your right and to your left the St. Lawrence is visible for some twelve or fifteen miles, covered with inward and outward bound ships. Towards the east the landscape is closed by Cap Tourment, twelve leagues distant, and by the cultivated heights of the _Petite Montagne_ of St. Féréol, exhibiting in succession the _Côte de Beaupré_, (Beauport), (L'Ange Gardien, &c.) the green slopes of the Island of Orleans, Cape Diamond, crowned with its citadel, and having at its feet a forest of masts, Abraham's Plains, the Coves and their humming, busy noises, St. Michael's Coves forming a graceful curve from Wolfe's cove to Pointe à Puiseaux. Within this area thrilling events once took place, and round these diverse objects historical souvenirs cluster, recalling some of the most important occurrences in North America; the contest of two powerful nations for the sovereignty of the New World; an important episode of the revolution which gave birth to the adjoining Republic. Such were some of the events of which these localities were the theatre. Each square inch of land, in fact, was measured by the footsteps of some of the most remarkable men in the history of America: Jacques Cartier, Champlain, Frontenac, Laval, Phipps, d'Iberville, Wolfe, Montcalm, Arnold, Montgomery, have each of them, at some time or other, trod over this expanse.

"Close by, in St. Michael's Cove, M. de Maisonneuve and Mademoiselle Mance passed their first Canadian winter, with the colonists intended to found Montreal. Turn your eyes towards the west, and although the panorama is less extensive, still it awakens some glorious memories. At Cap Rouge, Jacques Cartier established his quarters, close to the river's edge, the second winter he spent in Canada, and was succeeded in that spot by Roberval, at the head of his ephemeral colony. Near the entrance of the Chaudière river stood the tents of the Abnoquiois, the Etchemins and the Souriquois Indians, when they came from the shores of New England to smoke the calumet of peace with their brethren the French; the river Chaudière in those days was the highway which connected their country with Canada. Closer to Pointe à Puiseaux is Sillery Cove where the Jesuit Fathers were wont to assemble and instruct the Algonquin and Montagnais Indians, who were desirous of becoming Christians. It was from that spot that the neophytes used to carry the faith to the depths of the forest; it was here that those early apostles of Christianity congregated before starting with the joyous message for the country of the Hurons, for the shores of the Mississippi, or for the frozen regions of Hudson's Bay. From thence went Father P. Druilletes, the bearer of words of peace on behalf of the Christians of Sillery, to the Abnoquiois of Kennebeki, and to the puritans of Boston. Near this same mission of Sillery, Friar Liégeois was massacred by the Iroquois, whilst Father Poncet was carried away a captive by these barbarous tribes.

"Monsieur de Sillery devoted large sums to erect the necessary edifices for the mission, such as a chapel, a missionary residence, an hospital, a fort, houses for the new converts, together with the habitations for the French. The D'Auteuil family had their country seat on the hill back of Pointe à Puiseaux; and the venerable Madame de Monceau, the mother-in-law of the Attorney-General Ruette D'Auteuil, was in the habit of residing there from time to time, in a house she had constructed near the chapel."

In 1643, Father Bressani having been taken prisoner by the Iroquois, and having heard them discuss a plan to seize on the white maidens of Sillery (such were the names the Nuns went by); wrote it on some bark, which a Huron Indian having found, took it to Governor Montmagny. The Governor then organized a guard of six soldiers, who each day relieved one another at Sillery, to watch over the village--the incursions of the savages increasing, the soldiers refused to remain any longer, and Governor Montmagny gave the Hospitalières the use of a small house on the beach of the river in the lower town. (Hist. de l'Hôtel-Dieu, p. 50.)

Francis Parkman furnishes interesting details of the arrival of Piesharit, a famous Indian chief, at Sillery in 1645, and of a grand council held by deMontmagny, in the Jesuits House, which exists to this day, probably the oldest structure of the kind in Canada, dating from 1637.

"As the successful warriors approached the little mission settlement of Sillery, immediately above Quebec, they raised their song of triumph and beat time with their paddles on the edges of their canoes; while, from eleven poles raised aloft, eleven fresh scalps fluttered in the wind. The Father Jesuit and all his flock were gathered on the strand to welcome them. The Indians fired three guns, and screeched in jubilation; one Jean Baptiste, a Christian chief of Sillery, made a speech from the shore; Pisharet repeated, standing upright in his canoe, and to crown the occasion, a squad of soldiers, marching in haste from Quebec, fired a salute of musketry, to the boundless delight of the Indians. Much to the surprise of the two captives, there was no running of the gauntlet, no gnawing off of finger-nails or cutting off of fingers; but the scalps were hung, like little flags, over the entrance of the lodges, and all Sillery betook itself to feasting and rejoicing. One old woman, indeed, came to the Jesuit with a pathetic appeal. "Oh, my father! let me caress these prisoners a little: they have killed, burned, and eaten my father, my husband and my children." But the missionary answered with a lecture on the duty of forgiveness.

On the next day, Montmagny came to Sillery and there was a grand council in the house of the Jesuits. Pisharet, in a solemn harangue, delivered his captives to the Governor, who replied with a speech of compliment and an ample gift. The two Iroquois, were present, seated with a seeming imperturbability, but great anxiety of heart; and when at length they comprehended that their lives were safe, one of them, a man of great size and symmetry, rose and addressed Montmagny." [191]

It would be indeed a pleasant and easy task to recall all the remarkable events which occurred in this neighborhood. One thing is certain, the cool retreats studding the shores of the St. Lawrence were equally sought for by the wealthy in those days as they have been since by all those who wish to breathe pure air and enjoy the scenery.

The Sillery settlement commenced to be deserted about the beginning of the last century. After the cession of Canada the care of the buildings was neglected, and they soon fell to ruins; but the residence of the missionary fathers was preserved, and the ruins of the other structures remained standing long enough to be susceptible of identification with certainty. Several of the old inhabitants recollect having seen the church walls demolished, and they were of great solidity. Abbé Ferland himself, twenty years ago, saw a portion of those walls standing above ground. The ruins of the hospital and the convent were razed about fifty years ago, and in demolishing them several objects were discovered, some of which must have belonged to the good ladies, the _Hospitalières_ nuns.

For the benefit of those who might feel inclined to explore the remaining vestiges of M. Sillery's foundation, I shall furnish some details on the locality. About the centre of Sillery Cove can be seen a cape, not very high, but with its sides perpendicular. The position of surrounding objects point it out as the spot on which stood the fort intended to protect the village; there also, in a dry soil, stood the cemetery, from which several bodies were exhumed in the course of last summer (1854) At the foot of the cape, on your left, is the missionaries' house now converted into a residence for the clerks of Messrs. E. R. Dobell & Co. This building has been kept in repair, and is still in a good state of preservation. In a line with it, and nearest the St. Lawrence, can be discovered the foundation of the church. This edifice stood north-east and south-west.

Near the wall closest to the river ran a spring of water, perfectly clear, and, no doubt, used for the wants of the church and of the presbytery. Several other streams of excellent water run down the hill and intersect the grounds in all directions. No misconception can exist as to where the chapel stood, as there are still (in 1855) living several persons who saw the walls standing, and can point out the foundations which have since been identified and enclosed by stone pillars and chains. To the right of the small cape, and on a line with the chapel, stood the hospital, now deserted for more than two centuries. Over its foundation an elm has grown,--'tis now a handsome and large tree; six feet from the ground its circumference measures two fathoms (12 feet), which makes its diameter about three and a half. Heriot thus describes the locality in 1806:--

"From hence to Cap Rouge the scenery, on account of its beauty and variety, attracts the attention of the passenger. At Sillery, a league from Quebec, on the north shore, are the ruins of an establishment which was begun in 1637, intended as a religious institution for the conversion and instruction of natives of the country; it was at one time inhabited by twelve French families. The buildings are placed upon level ground, sheltered by steep banks, and close by the borders of the river; they now only consist of two old stone houses, fallen to decay, and of the remains of a small chapel (the chapel has of late been repaired and fitted up for a malt house, and some of the other buildings have been converted into a brewery). [192] In this vicinity the Algonquins once had a village; several of their tumuli, or burying places, are still discoverable in the woods, and hieroglyphics cut on the trees remain, in some situations, yet unaffected." [193]

On the 6th June, 1865, we determined to afford ourselves a long-promised treat, and go and survey, with Abbé Ferland's _Notes on Sillery_ open before us, and also the help of that eminently respected authority in every parish, the "oldest inhabitant," the traces of the Sillery settlement of 1637. Nor had we long to wait before obtaining ocular demonstration of the minute exactitude with which our old friend, the Abbé, had investigated and measured every stone, every crumbling remain of brick and mortar. The first and most noticeable relic pointed out was the veritable house of the missionaries, facing the St. Lawrence, on the north side of the road, on Sillery Cove; it was the property of the late Henry Le Mesurier, Esquire, of Beauvoir. Were it in the range of possible events that the good fathers could revisit the scene of their past apostolical labours and view their former earthly tenement, hard would be the task to identify it. The heavy three-feet-thick wall is there yet, as perfect, as massive, as defiant as ever; the pointed gable and steep roof, in spite of alterations, still stands--the true index of an old French structure in Canada. Our forefathers seemed as if they never could make the roof of a dwelling steep enough, doubtless to prevent the accumulation of snow. But here ends all analogy with the past; so jaunty, so cosy, so modern does the front and interior of Sillery "Manor House" look--thus styled for many years past. Paint, paper and furniture have made it quite a snug abode. Nor was it without a certain peculiar feeling of reverence we, for the first time, crossed that threshold, and entered beneath those fortress- like walls, where for years had resounded the orisons of the Jesuit Fathers, the men from whose ranks were largely recruited our heroic band of early martyrs--some of whose dust, unburied, but not unhonoured, has mingled for two centuries with its parent earth on the green banks of Lake Simcoe, on the borders of the Ohio, in the environs of Kingston, Montreal, Three Rivers, Quebec--a fruitful seed of christianity scattered bountifully through the length and breadth of our land; others, whose lifeless clay still rests in yon sunny hillock in the rear, to the west of the "Manor House"--the little cemetery described by Abbé Ferland. Between the "Manor House" and the river, about forty feet from the house, inclining towards the south, are the remains of the foundation walls of the Jesuit's church or chapel, dating back to 1640. On the 13th June, 1657, fire made dreadful havoc in the residence of the Jesuits (_Relations_, for 1657, p. 26); they stand north-east and south-west, and are at present flush with the greensward; a large portion of them were still visible about thirty-five years ago, as, attested by many living witnesses; they were converted into ballast for ships built at this spot, and into materials for repairing the main road by some Vandal who will remain nameless. From the Manor House you notice the little cape to the south-west mentioned in Abbé Ferland's _Notes_, though growing smaller and smaller every year from the quantities of soil and stone taken from it, also to repair the road. The large elm pointed out by the Abbé as having grown over the spot where the hospital stood is there yet, a majestic tree. The selection of a site for the little cemetery is most judicious, several little streams from the heights in the rear filter through the ground, producing a moisture calculated to prevent decomposition and explanatory of the singular appearance of the bodies disinterred there in 1855. Every visitor will be struck with the beauty, healthiness and shelter which this sequestered nook at Sillery presents for a settlement, and with its adaptability for the purposes for which it was chosen, being quite protected against our two prevailing winds, the north-east and south-west, with a warm southern exposure.