Chapter XII: Toronto

It is believed that the word Toronto is of Huron origin, and that it signified "Place of Meeting." This has been contested; in any case it should be spelled _To-ron-tah_. The word is also interpreted as "Oak Trees beside the Lake," a derivation rather divergent from the above version and we must leave this to the learned etymologists.

Glancing over maps of the middle of the eighteenth century designed after the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), we see the names of many forts and posts intended to keep up "the communications" between Canada and Louisiana, and overawe the English colonies then confined to their narrow strip of territory on the Atlantic coast. Conscious of the mistake that they had made in giving up Acadia, the French at this moment claimed that its "ancient limits" did not extend beyond the isthmus of Chignecto--in other words, included Nova Scotia. Accordingly they proceeded to construct the forts of Gaspereau and Beausejour on that neck of land, and also one on the St. John River, so that they might control the land and sea approaches to Cape Breton from the St. Lawrence, where Quebec, enthroned on her picturesque heights, and Montreal at the confluence of the Ottawa and the St. Lawrence, held the keys to Canada. The approaches from New England by the way of Lake Champlain and the Richelieu were defended by the fort of St. John, near the northern extremity of the lake, and by the more formidable works known as Fort Frederick or Crown Point--to give the better known English name--on a peninsula at the narrows towards the South. The latter was the most advanced post of the French until they built Fort Ticonderoga or Carillon on a high, rocky promontory at the head of Lake St. Sacrament. At the foot of this lake, associated with so many memorable episodes in American history, Sir William Johnson erected Fort William Henry, about fourteen miles from Fort Edward or Layman, at the great carrying place on the upper waters of the Hudson. Returning to the St. Lawrence and the Lakes, we find Fort Frontenac at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, where the old city of Kingston now stands.

Within the limits of the present city of Toronto, La Gallissoniere then built Fort Rouille[38] as an attempt to control the trade of the Indians of the North, who were finding their way to the English fort of Oswego which had been commenced with the consent of the Iroquois by Governor Burnet of New York, and was now a menace to the French dominion of Lake Ontario. At the other extremity lay Fort Niagara. When the French were establishing this chain of forts or posts through the West and down the Mississippi valley Fort Rouille was founded on a site even then commonly called "Fort Toronto." It does not seem ever to have been a dominant strategic point; the probabilities are there was no force stationed here worth mentioning and, possibly, it was a mere dependency of Fort Niagara. It was destroyed in 1756 to prevent its fall into the hands of the English.

Little is known about the region of Toronto prior to Revolutionary times save the above records. It was untrodden wilderness. But when the fort was erected here the district in a general sense appears to have been known as "Toronto." Under French dominion it was a royal trading post and in the course of time the name attached itself to the fort and village at the neighbouring bay, which have grown to be the beautiful Capital City of Ontario. But the Toronto of the river Don and the great bay is strictly of English origin, and had for its Romulus Lieutenant-General Simcoe (1752-1806), first governor of Upper Canada.

When John Graves Simcoe arrived in Canada in 1792, the site of the present city of Toronto was covered by the primeval forest, its only human tenants being two or three families of wandering savages who had happened to select the spot for the erection of their temporary wigwams. One hundred years later we find at that very spot a magnificent city having a population of 250,000 people, a prosperous and enterprising community, possessed of all the comforts and appliances of modern civilisation and refinement,--and, instead of the sombre, impenetrable wilderness, the most wealthy and populous city of Upper Canada, with streets and private dwellings, and public edifices that will compare favourably with those of many other cities which have had centuries for their development. For its rapid rise to its present eminence Toronto is almost exclusively indebted to its admirable commercial position, its advantages in that respect having been appreciated by the far-seeing sagacity of Governor Simcoe, when selecting the site for a capital.

In 1791, when the former province of Quebec was divided into the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, Upper Canada contained about ten thousand inhabitants, chiefly Loyalists, who, as noted elsewhere, when the United States threw off allegiance to Great Britain, sought new hope in the wilds of Canada; where, though deprived of many comforts, they had the satisfaction of feeling that they kept inviolate their loyalty to their sovereign and preserved their connection with the beloved mother country.

In 1792 General Simcoe was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada; and in the summer of that year arrived in the colony. In the first instance the Government was established at Niagara, and there the first Legislature of Upper Canada was convened on the 17th of September, 1792. It was seen, however, that from its position on the frontier, Niagara was not well adapted for being the seat of government, and one of the first subjects which occupied the attention of Governor Simcoe was the selection of another site for a capital. On this point he very soon came into collision with the views of the Governor-General, Lord Dorchester, who was in favour of making Kingston the capital on account of its proximity to Lower Canada which he regarded as a matter of the first importance from a standpoint of trade, and also because of its possibility of defence, as, in the event of an invasion, troops from Lower Canada could be more easily forwarded to Kingston than to a more westerly point. Governor Simcoe, however, had visited Toronto Harbour, and had traversed the route thence to Penetanguishene on the Georgian Bay. He perceived that that was the most advantageous route for the then existing North-west trade,--the vast development of which since his time he may have dimly foreseen--and that so soon as a road was opened up to Lake Simcoe (then _Lacaux Claics_) merchandise from New York for the North-west, would be sent by Oswego to Toronto, and then _via_ Lake Simcoe to Lake Huron, avoiding the circuitous passage of Lake Erie. Finally the Lieutenant-Governor's views prevailed, and the site of a town having been surveyed on the margin of Toronto Bay, his first step thereafter was to commence the construction of a road (Yonge Street) to Lake Simcoe. In recent years the idea which thus originated with the first governor has been completely carried out until to-day Toronto is, with Montreal, the chief railway centre and the second city of the Dominion. How long ere it will outrank its rival?

A drawing on bark by Mrs. Simcoe.]

The very next year after his assumption of the government of Upper Canada General Simcoe ordered the survey of Toronto Harbour, and entrusted the task to Colonel Bouchette, the Surveyor-General of Lower Canada, who gives us our first historical glimpse of Toronto a hundred years ago, or so, in the following passage:

It fell to my lot to make the first survey of York Harbour in
1793. Lieutenant-Governor, the late General Simcoe, who then
resided at Navy Hall, Niagara, having formed extensive plans for
the improvement of the colony, had resolved upon laying the
foundation of a Provincial capital. I was at that period in the
naval service of the lakes, and the survey of Toronto (York
Harbour), was entrusted by His Excellency to my performance. I
still distinctly recollect the untamed aspect which the country
exhibited when first I entered the beautiful basin which thus
became the scene of my early hydrographical operations. Dense
and trackless forests lined the margin of the lake, and
reflected their inverted images in its glassy surface. The
wandering savage had constructed his ephemeral habitation
beneath their luxuriant foliage--the group then consisting of
two families of Missassagas--and the Bay and neighbouring
marshes were the hitherto uninvaded haunts of the wild fowl;
indeed they were so abundant as in some measure to annoy us
during the night. In the spring following, the
Lieutenant-Governor removed to the site of the new capital,
attended by the regiment of Queen's Rangers and commenced at
once the realisation of his favourite project. His Excellency
inhabited, during the summer and through the winter, a canvas
house which he imported expressly for the occasion, but, frail
as was its substance, it was rendered exceedingly comfortable,
and soon became as distinguished for the social and urbane
hospitality of its venerated and gracious host, as for the
peculiarity of its structure.

Governor Simcoe gave the name of York to the capital he had selected, and the rivers on either side received the names of the Don and Humber. His own residence he built at the brow of the hill overlooking the valley of the Don, at the junction of what was a few generations later Saint James Cemetery with the property of F. Cayley, Esq., calling it "Castle Frank," the name which the property still retains.

While the gubernatorial residence was being erected Governor Simcoe returned to Niagara, where he opened the third session of the Upper Canada Parliament on June 20, 1794. In the fall of that year, orders were given for the construction of Parliament buildings at York on a site at the foot of what in 1857 was Parliament Street, adjoining the place where the "gaol stands." In 1795 the Duc de Rochefoucauld was in Upper Canada, and in his published _Travels_ alludes to a visit paid to York by some of his companions:

During our stay at Navy Hall, Messrs. Du Petit Thouars and
Guillemard, took the opportunity of the return of a gun-boat, to
pay a visit to York. Indolence, courtesy towards the Governor
(with whom the author was then residing at Navy Hall), and the
conviction that I would meet with few objects of interest in
that place, combined to dissuade me from this journey. My
friends informed me on their return, that this town, which the
Governor had fixed upon as the Capital of Upper Canada, has a
fine, extensive bay, detached from the lake by a tongue of land
of unequal breadth, being in some places a mile, in others only
six score yards broad; that the entrance of this bay, about a
mile in width, is obstructed in the middle by a shoal or
sand-bank, the narrow passages on each side of which may be
easily defended by works erected on the two points of land at
the entrance, on which two block-houses have already been
constructed; that this bay is two miles and a half long, and a
mile wide, and that the elevation of its banks greatly increases
its capability of defence by fortifications thrown up at
convenient points. There have not been more than a dozen houses
built hitherto in York, and these are situated in the inner
extremity of the bay, near the river Don. The inhabitants, it is
said, do not possess the fairest character. One of them is the
noted Batzy, the leader of the German families, whom Captain
Williamson accuses the English of decoying away from him, in
order to injure and obstruct the prosperity of his settlement.
The barracks which are occupied by the Governor's Regiment,
stand on the bay near the lake, about two miles from the town.
The Indians are for one hundred and fifty miles round the sole
neighbours of York.

Nothing shows better than this that we must remember that Old World measurements of growth and cultural life cannot be applied to the condition of a new continent where every foot of land had to be taken from the aborigines, a continent in its agricultural infancy, devastated by wars, changing ownership thrice within one hundred years. The Indians in the district one hundred and fifty miles around Toronto have been replaced to-day by a million of people as enterprising as they can be found on the surface of the globe. In lieu of the dozen huts described by our noble writer in 1795, you will find to-day a city of a quarter million inhabitants, steamships, railroads, telegraph, electric light--the "City of Churches."

Toronto, as noted, owes the progress it has made almost entirely to its advantageous commercial position, which was the chief circumstance that originally weighed with General Simcoe in selecting this as a site for the capital of Upper Canada. The city is built on a slope, rising with a very slight inclination from the bay, sufficient to secure its salubrity, and to admit of a complete system of sewerage; but not enough to give its architectural beauties the advantage they deserve to gratify the aesthetic taste which would be disposed to seek on the shores of Lake Ontario for a parallel to the grand old cities of Europe.

Governor Simcoe's amenities and hospitalities, his simplicity, his cares and troubles are all parts of the early history of the province; his administration in Canada has been generally commended, despite the displays of prejudice against the United States. His schemes for improving the province were "extremely wise and well arranged." But his stay was abruptly cut short. It seems to-day that England was fearful he might involve the mother-country in a new war with the young Republic and he was rather hastily recalled to England in 1796, although at the same time promoted a full lieutenant-general in the army.

In 1804 a census of the inhabitants of Toronto was taken, and it was found that they numbered 456. At that time the town was bounded by Berkeley Street on the east, Lot, now Queen Street on the north, and New, now Nelson Street on the west. In 1806, Toronto or York was visited by George Heriot, Esq., Deputy Postmaster-General of British North America, and from the terms in which he speaks of it in his _Travels through the Canadas_, it appears that it had then made considerable progress. He says:

Many houses display a considerable progress. The advancement of
this place to its present condition has been effected within the
lapse of six or seven years, and persons who have formerly
travelled in this part of the country, are impressed with
sentiments of wonder, on beholding a town which may be termed
handsome, reared as if by enchantment in the midst of a
wilderness.

The Parliament buildings, when Heriot visited Toronto, were two buildings of brick, at the eastern extremity of the town, which had been designed as wings to a centre, and which were occupied as chambers for the Upper and Lower House of Assembly.

In 1807 the inhabitants numbered 1058, and continued slowly to rise till 1813, when the American War brought calamities on to Toronto, from the disastrous effects of which it took more than a decade to recover.

In 1813 the campaigns of the war centred, as we have seen, around Lake Erie. The Navy had lately restored American confidence, and a second invasion of Canada was a principal feature in the programme. At the middle of April Dearborn and Chauncey matured a plan of operations. A joint land and naval expedition was proposed, to first capture York, and then to cross Lake Ontario and reduce Fort George. At the same time troops were to cross the Niagara, from Buffalo and Black Rock, capture Fort Erie and Chippewa, join the fleet and army at Fort George, and all proceed to attack Kingston. Everything being arranged, Dearborn embarked about 1700 men on Chauncey's fleet, at Sacketts Harbour on the 22d of April, and on the 25th the fleet, crowded with soldiers, sailed for York. After a boisterous voyage it appeared before the little town early in the morning of the 27th, when General Dearborn, suffering from ill health, placed the land forces under charge of General Pike, and resolved to remain on board the Commodore's flagship during the attack.

The little village of York, numbering somewhat more than one thousand inhabitants at the time, was then chiefly at the bottom of the bay near a marshy flat, through which the Don, coming down from the beautiful fertile valleys, flowed sluggishly into Lake Ontario, and, because of the softness of the earth there, it was often called "Muddy Little York." It gradually grew to the westward, and, while deserting the Don, it wooed the Humber, once a famous salmon stream, that flows into a broad bay two or three miles west of Toronto. In that direction stood the remains of old Fort Toronto, erected by the French. On the shore eastward of it, between the present new barracks and the city, were two batteries, the most easterly one being in the form of a crescent. A little farther east, on the borders of a deep ravine and small stream, was a picketed block-house, some intrenchments with cannon, and a garrison of about eight hundred men under Major-General Sheaffe. On "Gibraltar Point," the extreme western arm of the peninsula, that embraced the harbour with its protecting arm, was a small blockhouse; another stood on the high east bank of the Don, just beyond a bridge at the eastern termination of King and Queen streets. These defences had been strangely neglected. Some of the cannon were without trunnions, others, destined for the war-vessel then on the stocks, were in frozen mud and half covered with snow. Fortunately for the garrison, the _Duke of Gloucester_ was then in port, undergoing some repairs, and her guns furnished some armament for the batteries. These, however, only amounted to a few six-pounders. The whole country around, excepting a few spots on the lake shore, was covered with a dense forest.

On the day when the expedition sailed from Sacketts Harbour General Pike issued minute instructions concerning the manner of landing and attack.

It is expected [he said] that every corps will be mindful of the
honour of the American, and the disgraces which have recently
tarnished our arms, and endeavour, by a cool and determined
discharge of their duty, to support the one and wipe off the
other. [He continued:] The unoffending citizens of Canada are
many of them our own countrymen, and the poor Canadians have
been forced into the war. Their property, therefore, must be
held sacred; and any soldier who shall so far neglect the honour
of his profession as to be guilty of plundering the inhabitants,
shall, if convicted, be punished with death. But the commanding
general assures the troops that, should they capture a large
quantity of public stores, he will use his best endeavours to
procure them a reward from his government.

A drawing on bark by Mrs. Simcoe.]

It was intended to land at a clearing near old Fort Toronto. An easterly wind, blowing with violence, drove the small boats in which the troops left the fleet full half a mile farther westward, and beyond an effectual covering by the guns of the navy. Major Forsyth and his riflemen, in two bateaux led the van, and when within rifle shot of the shore they were assailed by a deadly volley of bullets by a company of Glengary Fencibles and a party of Indians under Major Givens, who were concealed in the woods that fringe the shore. "Rest on your oars! Prime!" said Forsyth in a low tone. Pike, standing on the deck of the _Madison_, saw this halting, and impatiently exclaimed, with an expletive: "I cannot stay here any longer! Come," he said, addressing his staff, "jump into the boat." He was instantly obeyed, and very soon they and their gallant commander were in the midst of a fight, for Forsyth's men had opened fire, and the enemy at the shore were returning it briskly. The vanguard soon landed, and were immediately followed, in support, by Major King and a battalion of infantry. Pike and the main body soon followed, and the whole column, consisting of the Sixth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Twenty-First Regiments of Infantry, and detachments of light and heavy artillery, with Major Forsyth's riflemen and Lieutenant McClure's volunteers as flankers, pressed forward into the woods.

The British skirmishes meanwhile had been re-enforced by two companies of the Eighth or King's Regiment of Regulars, two hundred strong, a company of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, a large body of militia, and some Indians. They took position in the woods, and were soon encountered by the advancing Americans, whose artillery it was difficult to move. Perceiving this, the British, led by General Sheaffe in person, attacked the American flank with a six-pounder and howitzer. A very sharp conflict ensued, and both parties suffered much. Captain McNeil, of the King's Regiment, was killed. The British were overpowered, and fell back, when General Pike, at the head of the American column, ordered his bugler to sound, and at the same time dashed gallantly forward. That bugle blast thrilled like electric fire along the nerves of the Indians. They gave one horrid yell, then fled like frightened deer to cover, deep into the forest. That bugle blast was heard in the fleet, in the face of the wind and high above the voices of the gale, and evoked long and loud responsive cheers. At the same time Chauncey was sending to the shore, under the direction of Commander Elliott, something more effective than huzzas for he was hurling deadly grape-shot upon the foe, which added to the consternation of the savages, and gave fleetness to their feet. They also hastened the retreat of Sheaffe's white troops to their defences in the direction of the village, while the drum and fife of the pursuers were briskly playing _Yankee Doodle_.

The Americans now pressed forward rapidly along the lake shore in platoons by sections. They were not allowed to load their muskets, and were compelled to rely upon the bayonet. Because of many ravines and little streams the artillery was moved with difficulty, for the enemy had destroyed the bridges. By great exertions a field-piece and a howitzer, under Lieutenant Fanning, of the Third Artillery, was moved steadily with the column. As that column emerged from thick woods, flanked by McClure's volunteers, divided equally as light troops under Colonel Ripley, it was confronted by twenty-four pounders on the Western Battery. Upon this battery the guns of some of Chauncey's vessels which had beat up against the wind in range of the enemy's works were pouring heavy shot. Captain Walworth was ordered to storm it with his grenadiers, of the Sixteenth. They immediately trailed their arms, quickened their pace, and were about to charge, when the wooden magazine of the battery, that had been carelessly left open, blew up, killing some of the men, and seriously damaging the defences. The dismayed enemy spiked their cannon, and fled to the next, or Half-Moon, Battery. Walworth pressed forward; when that, too, was abandoned and he found nothing within but spiked cannon. Sheaffe and his little army, deserted by the Indians, fled to the garrison near the Governor's house, and there opened a fire of round and grape-shot upon the Americans. Pike ordered his troops to halt, and lie flat upon the grass, while Major Eustis, with his artillery-battery moved to the front, and soon silenced the great guns of the enemy.

The firing from the garrison ceased, and the Americans expected
every moment to see a white flag displayed from the block-house
in token of surrender. Lieutenant Riddle, whose corps had
brought up the prisoners taken in the woods, was sent forward
with a small party to reconnoitre. General Pike, who had just
assisted with his own hands in removing a wounded soldier to a
comfortable place, was sitting upon a stump conversing with a
huge British sergeant who had been taken prisoner, his staff
standing around him. At that moment was felt a sudden tremor of
the ground, followed by a tremendous explosion near the British
garrison. The enemy, despairing of holding the place, had blown
up their powder magazine, situated upon the edge of the water at
the mouth of a ravine, near where the buildings of the Great
Western Railway now stand. The effect was terrible. Fragments of
timber and huge stone of which the magazine walls were built
were scattered in every direction over a space of several
hundred yards. When the smoke floated away the scene was
appalling. Fifty-two Americans lay dead, and one hundred and
eighty others were wounded. So badly had the affair been managed
that forty of the British also lost their lives by the
explosion. General Pike, two of his aids, and the British
sergeant were mortally hurt, while Riddle and his party were
unhurt, the missiles passing entirely over them. The terrified
Americans scattered in dismay, but they were soon rallied by
Brigade-Major Hunt and Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell. The column
was re-formed and the general command was assumed by the gallant
Pennsylvanian colonel, Cromwell Pearce, of the Sixteenth, the
senior officer. After giving three cheers, the troops pressed
forward toward the village, and were met by the civil
authorities and militia officers with propositions of a
capitulation in response to a peremptory demand for surrender
made by Colonel Pearce. An arrangement was concluded for an
absolute surrender, when, taking advantage of the confusion that
succeeded the explosion, and the time intentionally consumed in
the capitulation, General Sheaffe and a large portion of his
regulars, after destroying the vessels on the stocks, and some
storehouses and their contents, stole across the Don, and fled
along Dundas Street toward Kingston. When several miles from
York they met a portion of the King's Regiment on their way to
Fort George. These turned back, covered Sheaffe's retreat, and
all reached Kingston in safety. Sheaffe (who was the military
successor of Brock) was severely censured for the loss of York.
He was soon afterward superseded in command in Upper Canada by
Major-General De Rottenburg and retired to Montreal to take
command of the troops there.

On hearing of the death of General Pike, General Dearborn went on shore, and assumed command after the capitulation. At sunset the work was finished; both Chauncey and Dearborn wrote brief despatches to the government at Washington; the former saying: "We are in full possession of the place," and the latter: "I have the satisfaction to inform you that the American flag is flying upon the fort at York." The post, with about two hundred and ninety prisoners besides the militia, the war vessel _Duke of Gloucester_, and a large quantity of naval and military stores, passed into the possession of the Americans. Such of the latter as could not be carried away by the squadron were destroyed. Before the victors left, the public buildings were fired by some unknown hand, and consumed.

Four days after the capitulation, the troops were re-embarked, preparatory to a descent upon Fort George. The post and village of York, possessing little value to the Americans, were abandoned. The British repossessed themselves of the spot, built another block-house, and on the site of the garrison constructed a regular fortification.

The loss of the Americans in the capture of York was sixty-six killed and two hundred and three wounded on land, and seventeen killed and wounded on the vessels. The British lost, besides the prisoners, sixty killed and eighty-nine wounded. General Pike was crushed beneath a heavy mass of stones that struck him in the back. He was carried immediately after discovery to the water's edge, placed in a boat, and conveyed first on board the _Pert_, and then to the Commodore's flagship. Just as the surgeons and attendants, with the wounded general, reached the little boat, the huzzas of the troops fell upon his benumbed ears. "What does it mean?" he feebly asked. "Victory," said a sergeant in attendance. "The British union-jack is coming down from the blockhouse, and the Stars and Stripes are going up." The dying hero's face was illuminated by a smile of great joy. His spirit lingered several hours, and then departed. Just before his breath ceased the captured British flag was brought to him. He made a sign for them to place it under his head, and thus he expired. His body was taken to Sacketts Harbour, and with that of his pupil and aid, Captain Nicholson, was buried with military honours within Fort Tompkins there.

From the original in the British Museum.]

It was not till 1821 that the town recovered from these disasters, and then the population only amounted to 1559. In 1830 it was 2860; but in 1834, a strong tide of emigration into Canada having set in, the population increased to 9254. In that year the town was incorporated as a city, and Mr. William Lyon Mackenzie was elected the first mayor of Toronto, April 3, 1834. In 1838 the inhabitants numbered 12,571; in 1848, 15,336; in 1861, they had increased to 44,821; in 1871, to 56,039; in 1881, 86,415; in 1891, 181,220; and finally, in 1903, to 266,989.

In 1821, E. A. Talbot, the author of some works of travel[39] visited the town. He states that the public edifices at that time were a Protestant Episcopal Church ("a wooden building with a wooden belfry"), a Roman Catholic Chapel (a brick building "not then completed, but intended to be very magnificent"--the present St. Paul's Church in Power Street), a Presbyterian Meeting House (a brick building, occupying the site of what is now Knox's Church), a Methodist Meeting House, situated in a field, nearly on the present site of the _Globe_ office, the Hospital (the brick building on King Street now known as the Old Hospital, and occupied as Government offices), which Talbot describes as the most important building of the province, "bearing a very fine exterior," the Parliament House (a brick building erected in 1820 on the former site, and destroyed by fire in 1824), and the residence of the Lieutenant-Governor, a wooden building, "inferior to several private houses of the town, particularly that of Rev. Dr. Strachan," says Talbot. The streets, he adds, are regularly laid out, but "only one of them is in a finished state, and in wet weather those of them which are unfinished, are if possible more muddy than the streets of Kingston."

How different to-day, when Toronto has been called the "City of Churches," because of the large number of fine churches that have been erected in it! The distinctive feature of church architecture in Toronto consists in the fact that all denominations have built a considerable number of fine churches instead of concentrating their efforts on the erection of a few of greater magnificence. The large churches are not confined to the central portion but are found widely distributed throughout. Toronto to-day is the see of both Anglican and Roman Catholic archbishops. The city has suffered from destructive conflagrations, notably in 1890, and in April, 1904, when more than one hundred buildings in the wholesale business section were burned down, some five thousand persons were thrown out of work, and about eleven millions' worth of property was destroyed.

The year 1866 is a memorable one in the history of Toronto as well as all Canada as the year of the Fenian raids. The Toronto regiments of volunteers were promptly sent to drive the Fenians out of the Niagara peninsula. The "Queen's Own" met the enemy at Ridgeway, and sustained a loss of seven killed and twenty-three wounded. The beautiful monument erected to the memory of those who fell at Ridgeway is decorated each year on June 2d by their comrades and by the school children of the city. Another monument in Queen's Park commemorates the loyalty and bravery of Toronto volunteers. It records the gallantry of those who were killed during the North-west rebellion of 1885.

Toronto is a notable educational centre. The university is one of the best equipped in America. The first step towards its establishment was taken as early as 1797, but the university was not founded until 1827, chartered and endowed somewhat later, and opened for students in 1843. Until then it had rather a sectarian character, but nowadays it embraces, besides the four principal faculties, the following institutions: Ontario Agricultural College, Royal College of Dental Surgeons, the College of Pharmacy, the Toronto College of Music, the School of Practical Science, and the Ontario Veterinary College. The students in 1905-06 numbered 2547. The University buildings, it is said, are the best specimen of Norman architecture in America. The most beautiful other public buildings of Toronto are: the new Parliament buildings, the new City Hall, Osgood Hall, the Seat of the Provincial Courts and Law School, Trinity University, McMaster University, the Normal School, Upper Canada College, and the Provincial Asylum.

Toronto is pre-eminently a city of homes. It claims to have a larger proportion of good homes and a much smaller proportion of saloons than any city of its size in America. One of the gratifying features of Toronto that distinguishes it from most large cities is the fact that there is no part of the city that can be fairly regarded as a "slum" district.

The city covers a very large area so that there is no overcrowding. Working men have no difficulty in obtaining homes with separate gardens, and it is a common practice to use these gardens in growing both flowers and vegetables.

The Park System is extensive and beautiful, possessing about 1350 acres, the chief being Queen's Park, adjoining the university, and the extensive High Park on the west of the city. But the most popular is probably Island Park, on Hiawatha Island, which lies immediately in front of the city in the form of a crescent about three miles in length.

The following great Canadians were born in Toronto: Professor Egerton Ryerson; Sir John MacDonald; Sir Daniel Wilson; Reverend Wm. Morley Puncheon; Hon. George Brown; Sir Oliver Mowat; but the most widely known Toronto citizen is probably Goldwin Smith, the great historian and economist. Toronto has ever shown itself fervently British in sentiment. Its later history has been purely civic without other interest than that attaching to prosperous growth. A pleasant society and an attractive situation make it a favourite place of residence.

In the first quarter of the nineteenth century, there was a certain Mr. Hetherington in Toronto, one of the clerks of St. James. Now the music of those primitive times seems to have been managed altogether after the old country village choirs. Mr. Hetherington was wont, after giving out the Psalm, to play the air on a bassoon; and then to accompany with fantasias on the same instrument, when any vocalist could be found to take the singing in hand. By-and-by the first symptoms of progress are apparent in the addition of a bass-viol and clarinet to help Mr. Hetherington's bassoon--"the harbinger and foreshadow," as Dr. Scadding says, "of the magnificent organ presented in after-times to the congregation of the 'Second Temple of St. James' by Mr. Dunn, but destroyed by fire, together with the whole church, in 1839, after only two years of existence."

Incidents of a different character no less strongly mark the changes which a period of only ninety years has witnessed. In 1811, namely, we find William Jarvis, Esq., His Excellency's Secretary, lodging a complaint in open court against a negro boy and girl, his slaves. The Parliament at Newark had, indeed, enacted in 1793--in those patriarchal days already described, when they could settle the affairs of the young province under the shade of an umbrageous tree--that no more slaves should be introduced into Upper Canada, and that all slave children born after the 9th of July of that year should be free on attaining the age of twenty-five.

But even by this creditable enactment slavery had a lease of life of fully a quarter of a century longer, and the _Gazette Public Advertiser_, and other journals, continue for years thereafter to exhibit such announcements as this of the Hon. Peter Russell, President of the Legislative Council, of date, February 19, 1806: "To be sold: a black woman, named Peggy, aged forty years, and a black boy, her son, named Jupiter, aged about fifteen years." The advertisement goes on to describe the virtues of Peggy and Jupiter. Peggy is a tolerable cook and washerwoman, perfectly understands making soap and candles, and may be had for one hundred and fifty dollars, payable in three years, with interest, from the day of sale. Jupiter, having various acquirements besides his specialty as a good house servant, is offered for two hundred dollars, but a fourth less will be taken for ready money. So recently as 1871, John Baker, who had been brought to Canada as the slave of Solicitor-General Gray, died at Cornwall, Ontario, in extreme old age. But before that the very memory of slavery had died out in Canada; and it long formed the refuge which the fugitive slave made for, with no other guide than the pole-star of our northern sky.

The history of Toronto, as already noted, is necessarily to a great extent that of the province, and of the whole region of Canada.

Upper Canada [says Dr. Scadding], in miniature, and in the space
of a century, curiously passed through conditions and processes,
physical and social, which old countries on a large scale, and
in the course of long ages passed through. Upper Canada had its
primeval and barbaric, but heroic age, its mediaeval and high
prerogative era; and then, after a revolutionary period of a few
weeks, its modern, defeudalised, democratic era.

[Footnote 38: Named in honour of a French Minister of Colonies. The _Rouilles_ are a celebrated family, later on styled Rouille-de-Marboeuf. The above-named Rouille is highly praised by St. Simon as a statesman of ability and integrity.]

[Footnote 39: _Five Years' Residence in the Canadas._]

Index

A

Abbott, Francis, the "Hermit of Niagara," 40

Abercrombie, Sir Ralph, Brock under, 232

Allen, Ethan, mentioned, 222

Allen, Sadie, shoots the Rapids, 139

"American Blondin," the, see Calverly

_American Canals, Great_, see Hulbert

American Civic Association mentioned, 119

Amherst, Sir Jeffrey, campaign of 1759, 209

Anderson, M. B., on first Niagara Commission, 80

"Angevine place," building-site of _Griffon_, 181

B

Bakewell's estimate of Niagara's age, 65

Balleni, tight-rope artist, 130

Barton, J. L., reminiscences of early Buffalo, 7

Bath Island, 76

Biddle Stairs, 32

Bird Island, 30, 76

Black Rock, origin of name, 8

Blondin, career of, 123-129;
W. D. Howells's description of, 127-128

Blossom, I. A., agent of Holland Land Co., 7

Bourinot, Dr., quoted, 159-160, 288-291

Braddock, plans to capture Ft. Niagara, 206-207

Brock, Gen. Isaac, sketch of life, 231-238;
replies to Hull's Proclamation, 244-246;
captures Hull, 246-253;
relations with the Indians, 252-253;
death, 256;
eulogies, 257-262;
monuments to, 48, 259-262

Brodie, "Steve," goes over the Falls, 137

Browne, G. W., on St. Lawrence, 4, 161;
on De Nonville at Niagara, 187-189

Brule on Niagara frontier, 165

Buckley, A. B., _Fairyland of Science_, cited, 168

Buffalo, N. Y., growth of, 4-8

Buffalo Historical Society mentioned, 6

Burnt Ship Bay, 10, 212

Burton Act for preservation of Niagara, 116-120

C

Calverly, C. M., the "American Blondin," 132

Campbell, W. G., Niagara crank, 149

_Canada_ (_Story of the Nations_), see Bourinot

Canadian Niagara Falls Power Co., 104, 112, 117

_Canals, Great American_, see Hulbert

Cantilever bridge, 46

_Caroline_, the, incident, 291

_Cassier's Magazine_ quoted, 121

Cataract House, the, 75

"Cave of the Winds," the, 28, 31-33

Cayuga Creek mentioned, 10

Celoron at Niagara, 203

_Century Magazine_ quoted, 29, 42-44

Champlain on Niagara frontier, 158-163

Chippewa Creek, 46; battle of, 279 _seq._

Chrystie, Col., in War of 1812, 264

Church's "Niagara" mentioned, 14

Clark, George Rogers, compared with Brock, 249

Clark, Dr. John M., on "destruction of Niagara," 117

Colcourt, Henry, Blondin's assistant, 125

Colour of Niagara water explained by Mrs. Van Rensselaer, 42-44

Commissioners of N. Y. State Reservation, first report of, 82 _seq._

Crystal Palace, Blondin at, 128

Cutter, O. W., Niagara committeeman, 89

D

Dallion, Father, at Niagara, 166

"Darting Lines of Spray" explained, 45

Day, D. A., report, 17

Dearborn, Gen., in War of 1812, 274 _seq._

De Leon, "Prof.," Niagara crank, 131

De Nonville, Gov., on Niagara frontier, 186-194

"Destruction of Niagara" discussed, 110-120

De Troyes at Fort Niagara, 190-194

"Devil's Hole," 49;
massacre, 214-215

Dittrick, W., Niagara crank, 148

Dixon, S. J., tight-rope artist, 132

Dogs go over Falls, 151-152

Dorsheimer, William, on first Niagara Commission, 80;
presents the park to New York State, 92

Dufferin Islands, 46

E

Electrical Development Co., 117

Ellicott, Andrew, estimates Niagara's age, 63

Erie Canal, importance to Niagara frontier, 6

Evershed, Thomas, devises wheel-pits, 101

F

Farini, Signor, tight-rope artist, 129

Flack, R. W., killed in race in Niagara River, 148

_Fool-Killer_, see Nissen

Forts: Chippewa, 46;
Drummond, 48;
du Portage, 15;
Erie, 8;
battle of, 285 _seq._;
Frontenac, 17, 170;
George, 50, 274-276;
Niagara, the first, 189-194;
building, 197-202;
during French War and Revolution, 204-229;
Sir William Johnson captures, 278;
Rouille, 293;
Schlosser, 15

Fuller, Margaret, describes Niagara by night, 12;
on Goat Island flora, 18;
quoted, 28

G

Galinee on Niagara frontier, 166

Geology of Niagara, 52 _seq._

Goat Island, 16-19, 25, 29, 40, 74

_Golden Book of Niagara_, names in the, 79

Gorge of Niagara, its history, 63 _seq._

Graham, C. D., performs at Niagara, 137

Gravelet, see Blondin

Gray, Dr. Asa, on Goat Island flora, 16

Great Lakes, drainage, 3

Green, A. H., on first Niagara Commission, 80

Green Island, 30

_Griffon_, the, built at La Salle, N. Y., 180-186. See Remington

Gull Island, 40

H

Hall, Capt. Basil, experiment at Niagara, 34

Hall, Prof. James, survey of Falls, 65

Hardy, J. E., tight-rope artist, 132

Hazlett, George, Niagara crank, 139

"Heart of Niagara," 38, 45

Hennepin, Father, Narrative, quoted, 168, 173-184

Hennepin's View, 21

Heriot, George, quoted, 300

"Hermit of Niagara," see Abbott

"Hermit's Cascade," 40

Hill, Gov. D. B., signs Niagara Reservation Bill, 81

_Historic Highways of America_, cited, 206

_Historic Towns of the Middle West_, quoted, 5

Holland Land Co., mentioned, 7

Hooker, Sir J., on Goat Island, 16

Houghton, George, "The Upper Rapids," quoted, 13

_How Niagara was Made Free_, see Welch

Howells, W. D., quoted, 28, 29, 72-73, 74, 127-128

Hulbert, A. B., _The Ohio River_, cited, 3, 4;
_Great American Canals_, cited, 6;
_Historic Highways_, cited, 206

Hull, General, surrenders to Brock, 243, 277-279

Hunt, William M., painting of Niagara, 14

Hunter, Colin, view of Niagara rapids, 11

I

Ice Age, Niagara in the, 58-59

Ice Bridge, 39

Inspiration Point, 44

International Railway Co., 117

Iris Island, see Goat Island

Iroquois, dominate Niagara frontier, 153 _seq._;
Hennepin's embassy to, 177-180

J

Jay's treaty, 225-226

Jenkins, I. J., tight-rope artist, 131

Johnson, Sir William, captures Fort Niagara, 211-213;
treaty at Fort Niagara, 215-216

Joncaire, Chabert, erects "Magazine Royale," 197-200

K

Kendall, W. I., swims Niagara rapids, 136

King, Alphonse, performs at Niagara, 136-7

L

_La Belle Famille_, see Youngstown, N. Y.

La Salle, on Niagara frontier, 170-186

La Salle N. Y., the _Griffon_ built at, 183

Lewiston Heights, 50, 264-265

_Life and Correspondence of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, K. B._, see
Tupper

_Life and Times of General Brock_, see Read

Luna Island, 31

Lundy's Lane, 46;
battle of, 282

Lyell, Sir Charles, estimates Niagara's age, 65

M

Mackenzie, William Lyon, Bourinot describes, 288

"Magazine Royale," Joncaire builds, 197-200

Mahany, R. B., in _Historic Towns of the Middle States_, 5

_Maid of the Mist_, 44;
voyage through lower rapids, 144-146

Manchester, see Niagara Falls, N. Y.

Mars, Tesla's project to signal, 120

Marshall, O. H., mentioned, 157, 187, 194-195, 219

Matheson, James, advocates reclamation of Niagara, 77

_Michigan_, brig, sent over the Falls, 133

Milet, Father, at Fort Niagara, 193

Mohawk River in the Ice Age, 60

Montresor, Capt., blockhouse, 15

Morgan, William, mentioned, 202

N

_Nation, The_, on the "desecration of Niagara," 78

Neuter Nation first inhabit Niagara frontier, 156 _seq._

Newark, see Niagara-on-the-Lake

"New Jerusalem," Major Noah's, 9

New York State Reservation, history of, 77-96

_New York Times_, on opening of New York Reservation, 94-95

_Niagara Book, The_, cited, 28

Niagara Falls, N. Y., described, 96-98

Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Co., 102, 104, 110,
111-112, 118-119

Niagara Falls Power Co., 101, 104, 111-112, 118-119

Niagara, Lockport, and Ontario Power Co., 114-115

Niagara-on-the-Lake, 50, 227-230

Niagara Reservation Act, 79-82, 84

Niagara River, historic importance, 2;
drainage area, 2-4;
description of the upper, 8-22;
upper rapids of, 10-15;
islands of, 12-22;
historic sites of upper, 14-16;
Falls of, 20 _seq._;
bridges over, 21 _seq._;
music of, 24-27;
Howells on repose of, 28;
air pressure at Falls of, 34-37;
when dry, 38;
in winter, 39;
changes in, 41-42;
Mrs. Van Rensselaer on colour of, 42-44;
view of, from Queen Victoria Park, 44;
a tour around, 20-51;
the lower, described, 46-51;
the geology of, 52-71;
recession of Falls of, 63-71;
George Frederick Wright on age of, 66-70;
during era of private ownership, 72-77;
struggle for passage of "Reservation Act," 77-82;
_Golden Book of_, names in, 79;
as producer of power, 99-122;
volume of, 99;
tunnel beneath, 106;
manufacturing companies, use of, 111-113, 117;
use of water of, discussed, 111-122;
Burton Act concerning, Taft on, 117-120;
Blondin, career on, 123-129;
performances of cranks on, 129-152 (see Farini, Dixon, Webb, Graham,
etc.),
_Maid of the Mist_ sails lower, 144-146;
controlled by Iroquois, 153-156;
Neuter Nation inhabit banks of, 156-157;
French occupation of, 158-213;
Cartier hears of, 165;
described by Galinee, 166-167;
Hennepin describes, 167 _seq._;
reached by La Salle, 173-186;
the _Griffon_ built on, 181 _seq._;
first fort built on, 189;
sufferings of first French troops on, 191-194;
name of, discussed by Marshall, 194-195;
Joncaire on, 197-198;
in Old French War, 200 _seq._;
French lose, 209-212;
in Revolutionary War, 217-226;
fixed as international boundary line, 223-226;
Loyalists settle upon, 227 _seq._;
in the War of 1812, 263 _seq._

Nissen, Peter, exploits at Niagara, 149-151

Noah, Maj. N. N., "New Jerusalem," 9

O

Official opening of New York Reservation, 85-95

_Ohio River, The_, see Hulbert

"Old Indian Ladder," 46

Old Stone Chimney mentioned, 15

Olmsted, F. A., on Goat Island flora, 16-18;
mentioned, 77-78, 119

Ontario Power Co., 104, 108, 112, 117

Ottawa River, in Ice Age, 63

P

Papineau in Patriot War, 290

Parkman's works quoted, 171, _seq._

Patch, Sam, jumps at Niagara, 133

Patriot War, Bourinot on the, 288-291

Peere, Stephen, tight-rope artist, 131

Percy, C. A., goes through rapids, 146-149

Perry, Lieut. O. H., captures Fort George, 274-276

Pike at the capture of York, 302 _seq._

Pittsburg Reduction and Mining Co., 118

Platt, John J., mentioned, 80

Portage, old Niagara, 15, 18

Porter's Bluff, 33

Porter, Judge, 37, 38, 96

Porter, Hon. Peter A., _Guide Book_, 11;
_Old Fort Niagara_, 11, 197, 200, 207-209, 213;
_Goat Island_, 11, 19;
on proposed attack on Fort Niagara in 1755, 207-209;
on commercial importance of Fort Niagara, 213-214

Potts, William, Niagara crank, 139

Pouchot, Gen., surrenders Fort Niagara, 209-213

_Poughkeepsie Eagle_ quoted, 80

Power development at Niagara, 99-122

Prideaux, Gen. John, captures Fort Niagara, 209 _seq._

Prospect Point, 20, 21

Q

"Quebec Act," effect of, 217-218

Queen Victoria Park, 44, 108

Queen's Royal Hotel, 51

Queenston, 50

Queenston Heights, 48;
battle on, 263 _seq._

R

Rapids of Niagara, 11-15, 22, 45, 46, 49-50;
Hunter's painting of, 11, 14

Read, D. B., _The Life and Times of General Brock_, cited, 232

Red Jacket, anecdote of, 22

Reed, Andrew, suggests reclamation of Niagara, 77

Remington, C. K., on the building-site of the _Griffon_, 183

_Road to Frontenac, The_, mentioned, 162

Robb, J. H., on first Niagara Commission, 80

Robinson, Joel, sails the _Maid of the Mist_ through lower rapids,
144-146

Rogers, Sherman S., on first Niagara Commission, 80

S

St. Davids, Ont., in the history of geologic Niagara, 63

St. Lawrence drainage, 3

St. Lawrence River, George Waldo Browne on, 4

Schlosser, Capt., 15, 213;
see Fort Schlosser

Scott, Gen. Winfield, in War of 1812, 267 _seq._

_Scribner's Monthly_ quoted, 25

Senecas dominate Niagara frontier, 5

Severance, F. H., _Old Trails of the Niagara Frontier_, 6, 219-222

Sheaffe, Gen., mentioned, 268 _seq._

Ship Island, 30

"Shipyard of the _Griffon_," the, see Remington

Shirley, Gov., plans Niagara attack, 207

"Shoreless Sea," the, 45

Silliman, Prof., Basil Hall writes, 34-35

Simcoe, Gov., John Graves, mentioned, 229, 294 _seq._

Smyth, Gen., in War of 1812, 271 _seq._

Spelterini, Signorina, tight-rope artist, 130

Spencer, J. W., estimates Niagara's age, 66

Spouting Rock, 41

Steadman Bluff, 30

Steadman, John, first owner of Goat Island, 18

Steel arch bridge, built by Roebling, 46

_Story of Canada, The_, by Bourinot, quoted, 288-291

Sullivan's campaign of 1779, 223

T

Table Rock, 38, 45

Taft, Sec'y William H., on the "destruction of Niagara," 117-120

Talbot, E. A., description of early Toronto, 308

Taylor, Mrs. A. E., barrel-fiend, 141-143

Tempest Point, 104

Terrapin Rocks, 33, 37-38

Terrapin Tower, 33, 37

Tesla, Nikola, on Niagara electrical power, 120

Thayer, Eugene, on the music of Niagara, 25-26

Thompson, Sir William, prophesies era of electricity, 77

Three Sister Island, 40

Tonawanda, N. Y., mentioned, 10

Toronto, Ont., 51;
history of, 292-313

Toronto and Niagara Power Co., 104, 105, 112, 121

Tupper, Ferdinand Brock, _The Life and Correspondence of Major-General
Sir Isaac Brock, K. B._, cited, 232

Tyndall, Prof., on Terrapin Rocks, 33

U

United Empire Loyalists, 228

Upper Canada, and Lower, divided, 295

V

Van Rensselaer, Mrs. Schuyler, on Niagara, quoted, 24, 27, 42-44

Van Rensselaer, Col. Solomon, 264-266

Van Rensselaer, Gen. Stephen, 263

Victoria Falls compared with Niagara Falls, 13

W

Wagenfuhrer, Martha E., barrel-crank at Niagara, 140

War of 1812, 263-291

Webb, Capt. Matthew, drowned at Niagara, 134-135

Welch, Thomas V., labours to enfranchise Niagara, 79;
_How Niagara was Made Free_, cited, 79-82;
mentioned, 81, 89

Whirlpool, the, 47, 50

Whitney, Gen. P., 40

Willard, Maud, Niagara crank, killed, 140

Woodward, Prof., surveys Niagara Falls, 65

Wool, Capt., hero of Queenston Heights, 265 _seq._

Wright, Dr. Geo. Frederick, makes new estimate of Niagara's age, 66-70

Y

York, Ont., Americans capture, 300-306

York Harbour, early description, 296-297

Youngstown, N. Y., 50;
skirmish at, 211

=Transcriber's Notes:=
original hyphenation, spelling and grammar have been preserved as in
the original
various "De Nonville" changed to "Denonville" [Ed. for consistency]
Page xii, "Fort Missisagga" changed to "Fort Mississauga"
Page 2, "Lake Superior. 381 miles" changed to "Lake Superior, 381 miles"
Page 3, "length. the Niagara" changed to "length, the Niagara"
Page 50, "Fort Mississagua" changed to "Fort Mississauga"
Page 82, "Albany, N Y" changed to "Albany, N. Y."
Page 88, "with the nortnerly" changed to "with the northerly"
Page 95, "made to day." changed to "made to-day."
Pages 124,126,127 "tight rope" changed to "tight-rope" [Ed. for
consistency]
Page 169, "Raddison" changed to "Radisson"
Page 179, "Belief to the fame." changed to "Belief to the same."
Page 187, "Writings, 123-186." changed to "Writings, pp. 123-186."
Page 210, "Mississaga" changed to "Mississauga"
Page 262, "this Monuument" changed to "this Monument"
Page 268, 269, "Scheaffe" changed to "Sheaffe"
Page 278 plate, "Fort Missisagua" changed to "Fort Mississauga"
Page 281, "Mississaga" changed to "Mississauga"
Page 317, "Magazine Royale" changed to "Magazine Royale,"
Page 317, "MagazineRoyale," changed to "Magazine Royale,"
Page 317, "see Niagara-on-the Lake" changed to "see Niagara-on-the-Lake"

End of Project Gutenberg's The Niagara River, by Archer Butler Hulbert

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