Chapter III: Part 3

The farm-houses are generally built of stone, but sometimes of timber, and have three or four rooms. The windows are seldom of glass, but most frequently of paper. They have iron stoves in one of the rooms, and chimnies in the rest. The roofs are covered with boards. The crevices and chinks are filled up with clay. The other buildings are covered with straw.

There are several Crosses put up with the road side, which is parallel to the shores of the river. These crosses are very common in Canada, and are put up to excite devotion in the travellers. They are made of wood, five or six yards high, and proportionally broad. In that side which looks towards the road is a square hole, in which they place an image of our Saviour, the cross, or of the holy Virgin, with the child in her arms; and before that they put a piece of glass, to prevent its being spoiled by the weather. Those crosses which are not far from churches, are very much adorned, and they put up about them all the instruments which they think the Jews employed in crucifying our Saviour, such as a hammer, tongs, nails, a flask of vinegar, and perhaps many more than were really made use of. A figure of the cock, which crowed when St. Peter denied our Lord, is commonly put at the top of the cross.

The country on both sides was very delightful to-day, and the fine state of its cultivation, added greatly to the beauty of the scene. It could really be called a village, beginning at Montreal, and ending at Quebec, which is a distance of more than one hundred and eighty miles; for the farm-houses are never above five arpens, and sometimes but three, asunder, a few places excepted. The prospect is exceedingly beautiful, when the river goes on for some miles together in a strait line, because it then shortens the distances between the houses, and makes them form exactly one continued village.

All the women in the country, without exception, wear caps of some kind or other. Their jackets are short, and so are their petticoats, which scarce reach down to the middle of their legs; and they have a silver cross hanging down on the breast. In general they are very laborious; however, I saw some, who, like the English women in the colonies, did nothing but prattle all the day. When they have any thing to do within doors, they (especially the girls) commonly sing songs, in which the words Amour and Cœur are very frequent. In the country it is usual, that when the husband receives a visit from persons of rank, and dines with them, his wife stands behind and serves him; but in the towns, the ladies are more distinguished, and would willingly assume an equal, if not a superior, power to their husbands. When they go out of doors they wear long cloaks, which cover all their other clothes, and are either grey, brown, or blue. The men sometimes make use of them, when they are obliged to go into the rain. The women have the advantage of being in a deshabille under these cloaks, without any body’s perceiving it.

We sometimes saw wind-mills near the farms. They were generally built of stone, with a roof of boards, which, together with its flyers, could be turned to the wind occasionally.

The breadth of the river was not always equal to-day; in the narrowest place, it was about a quarter of an English mile broad; in other parts it was near two English miles. The shore was sometimes high and steep, and sometimes low, or sloping.

At three o’clock this afternoon we passed by the river, which falls into the river St. Lawrence, and comes from lake Champlain, in the middle of which latter is a large island. The yachts which go between Montreal and Quebec, go on the south-east side of this island, because it is deeper there; but the boats prefer the north-west side, because it is nearer, and yet deep enough for them. Besides this island there are several more hereabouts, which are all inhabited. Somewhat further, the country on both sides the river is uninhabited, till we come to the Lac St. Pierre; because it is so low, as to be quite overflowed at certain times of the year. To make up for this deficiency, the country, I am told, is as thickly inhabited further from the river, as we found it along the banks of the river.

Lac St. Pierre is a part of the river St. Lawrence, which is so broad that we could hardly see any thing but sky and water before us, and I was every where told, that it is seven French miles long, and three broad. From the middle of this lake as it is called, you see a large high country in the west, which appears above the woods. In the lake are many places covered with a kind of rush, or Scirpus palustris, Linn. There are no houses in sight on either side of the lake, because the land is rather too low there; and in spring the water rises so high, that they may go with boats between the trees. However, at some distance from the shores, where the ground is higher, the farms are close together. We saw no islands in the lake this afternoon, but the next day we met with some.

Late in the evening we left lake St. Pierre, and rowed up a little river called Riviere de Loup, in order to come to a house where we might pass the night. Having rowed about an English mile, we found the country inhabited on both sides of the river. Its shores are high; but the country in general is flat. We passed the night in a farm-house. The territory of Montreal extends to this place; but here begins the jurisdiction of the governor of Trois Rivieres, to which place they reckon eight French miles from hence.

August the 3d. At five o’clock in the morning we set out again, and first rowed down the little river till we came into the lake St. Pierre, which we went downwards. After we had gone a good way, we perceived a high chain of mountains in the north-west, which were very much elevated above the low, flat country. The north-west shore of lake St. Pierre was now in general very closely inhabited; but on the south-east side we saw no houses, and only a country covered with woods, which is sometimes said to be under water, but behind which there are, as I am told, a great number of farms. Towards the end of the lake, the river went into its proper bounds again, being not above a mile and a half broad, and afterwards it grows still narrower. From the end of Lake St. Pierre to Trois Rivieres, they reckon three French miles, and about eleven o’clock in the morning we arrived at the latter place, where we attended divine service.

Trois Rivieres, is a little market town, which had the appearance of a large village; it is however reckoned among the three great towns of Canada, which are Quebec, Montreal, and Trois Rivieres. It is said to ly in the middle between the two first, and thirty French miles distant from each. The town is built on the north side of the river St. Lawrence, on a flat, elevated sand, and its situation is very pleasant. On one side the river passes by, which is here an English mile and a half broad. On the other side, are fine corn-fields, though the soil is very much mixed with sand. In the town are two churches of stone, a nunnery, and a house for the friars of the order of St. Francis. This town is likewise the seat of the third governor in Canada, whose house is likewise of stone. Most of the other houses are of timber a single story high, tolerably well built, and stand very much asunder; and the streets are crooked. The shore here consists of sand, and the rising grounds along it are pretty high. When the wind is very violent here, it raises the sand, and blows it about the streets, making it very troublesome to walk in them. The nuns, which are about twenty-two in number, are reckoned very ingenious in all kinds of needle-work. This town formerly flourished more than any other in Canada, for the Indians brought their goods to it from all sides; but since that time they go to Montreal and Quebec, and to the English, on account of their wars with the Iroquese, or Five Nations, and for several other reasons, so that this town is at present very much reduced by it. Its present inhabitants live chiefly by agriculture, though the neighbouring iron-works may serve in some measure to support them. About an English mile below the town, a great river falls into the river St. Lawrence, but first divides into three branches, so that it appears as if three rivers disembogued themselves there. This has given occasion to call the river and this town, Trois Rivieres (the Three Rivers).

The tide goes about a French mile above Trois Rivieres, though it is so trifling as to be hardly observable. But about the equinoxes, and at the new moons and full moons in spring and autumn, the difference between the highest and lowest water is two feet. Accordingly the tide in this river goes very far up, for from the above mentioned place to the sea they reckon about a hundred and fifty French miles.

Whilst my company were resting, I went on horseback to view the iron-work. The country which I passed through was pretty high, sandy, and generally flat. I saw neither stones nor mountains here.

The iron-work, which is the only one in this country, lies three miles to the west of Trois Rivieres. Here are two great forges, besides two lesser ones to each of the great ones, and under the same roof with them. The bellows were made of wood, and every thing else, as it is in Swedish forges. The melting ovens stand close to the forges, and are the same as ours. The ore is got two French miles and a half from the iron works, and is carried thither on sledges. It is a kind of moor ore [25], which lies in veins, within six inches or a foot from the surface of the ground. Each vein is from six to eighteen inches deep, and below it is a white sand. The veins are surrounded with this sand on both sides, and covered at the top with a thin mould. The ore is pretty rich and lies in loose lumps in the veins, of the size of two fists, though there are a few which are near eighteen inches thick. These lumps are full of holes, which are filled with ockre. The ore is so soft that it may be crushed betwixt the fingers. They make use of a grey lime-stone, which is broke in the neighbourhood, for promoting the fusibility of the ore; to that purpose they likewise employ a clay marle, which is found near this place. Charcoals are to be had in great abundance here, because all the country round this place is covered with woods, which have never been stirred. The charcoals from ever-green trees, that is, from the fir kind, are best for the forge, but those of deciduous trees are best for the smelting oven. The iron which is here made, was to me described as soft, pliable, and tough, and is said to have the quality of not being attacked by rust so easily as other iron; and in this point there appears a great difference between the Spanish iron and this in ship-building. This iron-work was first founded in 1737, by private persons, who afterwards ceded it to the king; they cast cannon and mortars here, of different sizes, iron stoves which are in use all over Canada, kettles, &c. not to mention the bars which are made here. They have likewise tried to make steel here, but cannot bring it to any great perfection, because they are unacquainted with the best manner of preparing it. Here are many officers and overseers, who have very good houses, built on purpose for them. It is agreed on all hands, that the revenues of the iron-work do not pay the expences which the king must every year be at in maintaining it. They lay the fault on the bad state of population, and say that the few inhabitants in the country have enough to do with agriculture, and that it therefore costs great trouble and large sums, to get a sufficient number of workmen. But however plausible this may appear, yet it is surprizing that the king should be a loser in carrying on this work; for the ore is easily broken, very near the iron-work, and very fusible. The iron is good, and can be very conveniently dispersed over the country. This is moreover the only iron-work in the country, from which every body must supply himself with iron tools, and what other iron he wants. But the officers and servants belonging to the iron-work, appear to be in very affluent circumstances. A river runs down from the iron-work, into the river St. Lawrence, by which all the iron can be sent in boats throughout the country at a low rate. In the evening I returned again to Trois Rivieres.

August the 4th. At the dawn of day we left this place and went on towards Quebec. We found the land on the north side of the river somewhat elevated, sandy, and closely inhabited along the water side. The south-east shore, we were told, is equally well inhabited; but the woods along that shore prevented our seeing the houses, which are built further up in the country, the land close to the river being so low as to be subject to annual inundations. Near Trois Rivieres, the river grows somewhat narrow; but it enlarges again, as soon as you come a little below that place, and has the breadth of above two English miles.

As we went on, we saw several churches of stone, and often very well built ones. The shores of the river are closely inhabited for about three quarters of an English mile up the country; but beyond that the woods and the wilderness encrease. All the rivulets falling into the river St. Lawrence are likewise well inhabited on both sides. I observed throughout Canada, that the cultivated lands ly only along the river St. Lawrence, and the other rivers in the country, the environs of towns excepted, round which the country is all cultivated and inhabited within the distance of twelve or eighteen English miles. The great islands in the river are likewise inhabited.

The shores of the river now became higher, more oblique and steep, however they consisted chiefly of earth. Now and then some rivers or great brooks fall into the river St. Lawrence, among which one of the most considerable is the Riviere Puante, which unites on the south-east side with the St. Lawrence, about two French miles below Trois Rivieres, and has on its banks, a little way from its mouth, a town called Becancourt which is wholly inhabited by Abenakee Indians, who have been converted to the Roman catholic religion, and have Jesuits among them. At a great distance, on the north-west side of the river, we saw a chain of very high mountains, running from north to south, elevated above the rest of the country, which is quite flat here without any remarkable hills.

Here were several lime-kilns along the river; and the lime-stone employed in them is broke in the neighbouring high grounds. It is compact and grey, and the lime it yields is pretty white.

The fields here are generally sown with wheat, oats, maize, and pease. Gourds and water-melons are planted in abundance near the farms.

A Humming bird (Trochilus Colubris) flew among the bushes, in a place where we landed to-day. The French call it Oiseau mouche, and say it is pretty common in Canada; and I have seen it since several times at Quebec.

About five o’clock in the afternoon we were obliged to take our night’s lodgings on shore, the wind blowing very strong against us, and being attended with rain. I found that the nearer we came to Quebec, the more open and free from woods was the country. The place where we passed the night, is distant from Quebec twelve French miles.

They have a very peculiar method of catching fish near the shore here. They place hedges along the shore, made of twisted oziers, so close that no fish can get through them, and from one foot to a yard high, according to the different depth of the water. For this purpose they choose such places where the water runs off during the ebb, and leaves the hedges quite dry. Within this inclosure they place several weels, or fish-traps, in the form of cylinders, but broader below. They are placed upright, and are about a yard high, and two feet and a half wide: on one side near the bottom is an entrance for the fishes, made of twigs, and sometimes of yarn made into a net. Opposite to this entrance, on the other side of the weel, looking towards the lower part of the river, is another entrance, like the first, and leading to a box of boards about four foot long, two deep, and two broad. Near each of the weels is a hedge, leading obliquely to the long hedge, and making an acute angle with it. This latter hedge is made in order to lead the fish into the trap, and it is placed on that end of the long hedge which looks towards the upper part of the river; now when the tide comes up the river, the fish, and chiefly the eels, go up with it along the river side; when the water begins to ebb, the fish likewise go down the river, and meeting with the hedges, they swim along them, till they come through the weels into the boxes of boards, at the top of which there is a hole with a cover, through which the fish could be taken out. This apparatus is chiefly made on account of the eels. In some places hereabouts they place nets instead of the hedges of twigs.

The shores of the river now consisted no more of pure earth; but of a species of slate. They are very steep and nearly perpendicular here, and the slates of which they consist are black, with a brown cast; and divisible into thin shivers, no thicker than the back of a knife. These slates moulder as soon as they are exposed to the open air, and the shore is covered with grains of small sand, which are nothing but particles of such mouldered slates. Some of the strata run horizontal, others obliquely, dipping to the south and rising to the north, and sometimes the contrary way. Sometimes they form bendings like large semicircles: sometimes a perpendicular line cuts off the strata, to the depth of two feet; and the slates on both sides of the line from a perpendicular and smooth wall. In some places hereabouts, they find amongst the slates, a stratum about four inches thick of a grey, compact, but pretty soft limestone, of which the Indians for many centuries have made, and the French at present still make, tobacco-pipes [26].

August the 5th. This morning, we continued our journey by rowing, the contrary wind hindering us from sailing. The appearance of the shores, was the same as yesterday; they were high, pretty steep, and quite perpendicular; and consisted of the black slate before described. The country at the top was a plain without eminences, and closely inhabited along the river, for about the space of an English mile and a half in-land. Here are no islands in this part of the river, but several stony places, perceptible at low water only, which have several times proved fatal to travellers. The breadth of the river varies; in some parts it was a little more than three quarters of a mile, in others half a mile, and in some above two miles. The inhabitants made use of the same method of catching eels along the shores here, as that which I have just before mentioned. In many places they make use of nets made of osiers instead of the hedge.

Bugs (Cimex lectularius) abound in Canada; and I met with them in every place where I lodged, both in the towns and country, and the people know of no other remedy for them than patience.

The Crickets (Gryllus domesticus) are also abundant in Canada, especially in the country, where these disagreeable guests lodge in the chimnies; nor are they uncommon in the towns. They stay here both summer and winter, and frequently cut clothes in pieces for pastime.

The Cockroaches (Blatta orientalis) have never been found in the houses here.

The shores of the river grow more sloping as you come nearer to Quebec. To the northward appears a high ridge of mountains. About two French miles and a half from Quebec, the river becomes very narrow, the shores being within the reach of a musket shot from each other. The country on both sides was sloping, hilly, covered with trees, and had many small rocks; the shore was stony. About four o’clock in the afternoon we happily arrived at Quebec. The city does not appear till one is close to it, the prospect being intercepted by a high mountain on the south side. However, a part of the fortifications appears at a good distance, being situate on the same mountain. As soon as the soldiers, who were with us, saw Quebec, they called out, that all those who had never been there before, should be ducked, if they did not pay something to release themselves. This custom even the governor-general of Canada is obliged to submit to, on his first journey to Montreal. We did not care when we came in sight of this town to be exempted from this old custom, which is very advantageous to the rowers, as it enables them to spend a merry evening on their arrival at Quebec, after their troublesome labour.

Immediately after my arrival, the officer who had accompanied me from Montreal, led me to the palace of the then vice-govenor-general of Canada, the marquis la Galissonniere, a nobleman of uncommon qualities, who behaved towards me with extraordinary goodness, during the time he staid in this country. He had already ordered some apartments to be got ready for me, and took care to provide me with every thing I wanted; besides honouring me so far to invite me to his table, almost every day I was in town.

August the 6th. Quebec, the chief city in Canada, lies on the western shore of the river St. Lawrence, close to the water’s edge, on a neck of land, bounded by that river on the east side, and by the river St. Charles on the north side; the mountain, on which the town is built, rises still higher on the south side, and behind it begin great pastures; and the same mountain likewise extends a good way westward. The city is distinguished into the lower and the upper [27]. The lower lies on the river, eastward of the upper. The neck of land, I mentioned before, was formed by the dirt and filth, which had from time to time been accumulated there, and by a rock which lay that way, not by any gradual diminution of the water. The upper city lies above the other, on a high hill, and takes up five or six times the space of the lower, though it is not quite so populous. The mountain, on which the upper city is situated, reaches above the houses of the lower city. Notwithstanding the latter are three or four stories high, and the view, from the palace, of the lower city (part of which is immediately under it) is enough to cause a swimming of the head. There is only one easy way of getting to the upper city, and there part of the mountain has been blown up. This road is very steep, notwithstanding it is made winding and serpentine. However, they go up and down it in carriages, and with waggons. All the other roads up the mountain are so steep, that it is very difficult to climb to the top by them. Most of the merchants live in the lower city, where the houses are built very close together. The streets in it are narrow, very rugged, and almost always wet. There is likewise a church, and a small market-place. The upper city is inhabited by people of quality, by several persons belonging to the different offices, by tradesmen, and others. In this part are the chief buildings of the town, among which the following are worthy particular notice.

I. The Palace is situated on the west or steepest side of the mountain, just above the lower city. It is not properly a palace, but a large building of stone, two stories high, extending north and south. On the west side of it is a court-yard, surrounded partly with a wall, and partly with houses. On the east side, or towards the river, is a gallery as long as the whole building, and about two fathom broad, paved with smooth flags, and included on the outsides by iron rails, from whence the city and the river exhibit a charming prospect. This gallery serves as a very agreeable walk after dinner, and those who come to speak with the governor-general wait here till he is at leisure. The palace is the lodging of the governor-general of Canada, and a number of soldiers mount the guard before it, both at the gate and in the court-yard; and when the governor, or the bishop, comes in or goes out, they must all appear in arms, and beat the drum. The governor-general has his own chapel where he hears prayers; however, he often goes to mass at the church of the Recollets [28], which is very near the palace.

II. The Churches in this town are seven or eight in number, and all built of stone.

1. The Cathedral church is on the right hand, coming from the lower to the upper city, somewhat beyond the bishop’s house. The people were at present employed in ornamenting it. On its west side is a round steeple, with two divisions, in the lower of which are some bells. The pulpit, and some other parts within the church, are gilt. The seats are very fine.

2. The Jesuits church is built in the form of a cross, and has a round steeple. This is the only church that has a clock, and I shall mention it more particularly below.

3. The Recollets church is opposite the gate of the palace, on the west side, looks well, and has a pretty high pointed steeple, with a division below for the bells.

4. The church of the Ursulines has a round spire.

5. The church of the hospital.

6. The bishop’s chapel.

7. The church in the lower city was built in 1690, after the town had been delivered from the English, and is called Notre Dame de la Victoire. It has a small steeple in the middle of the roof, square at the bottom, and round at the top.

8. The little chapel of the governor-general, may likewise be ranked amongst these churches.

III. The bishop’s house is the first, on the right hand, coming from the lower to the upper town. It is a fine large building, surrounded by an extensive court-yard and kitchen-garden on one side, and by a wall on the other.

IV. The college of the Jesuits, which I will describe more particularly. It has a much more noble appearance, in regard to its size and architecture, than the palace itself, and would be proper for a palace if it had a more advantageous situation. It is about four times as large as the palace, and is the finest building in town. It stands on the north side of a market, on the south side of which is the cathedral.

V. The house of the Recollets lies to the west, near the palace and directly over against it, and consists of a spacious building, with a large orchard, and kitchen-garden. The house is two stories high. In each story is a narrow gallery with rooms and halls on one, or both sides.

VI. The Hôtel de Dieu, where the sick are taken care of, shall be described in the sequel. The nuns, that serve the sick, are of the Augustine order.

VII. The house of the clergy [29] is a large building, on the north-east side of the cathedral. Here is on one side a spacious court, and on the other, towards the river, a great orchard, and kitchen-garden. Of all the buildings in the town none has so fine a prospect as that in the garden belonging to this house, which lies on the high shore, and looks a good way down the river. The Jesuits on the other hand have the worst, and hardly any prospect at all from their college; nor have the Recollets any fine views from their house. In this building all the clergy of Quebec lodge with their superior. They have large pieces of land in several parts of Canada, presented to them by the government, from which they derive a very plentiful income.

VIII. The convent of the Ursuline nuns shall be mentioned in the sequel.

These are all the chief public buildings in the town, but to the north-west, just before the town, is

IX. The house of the intendant, a public building, whose size makes it fit for a palace. It is covered with tin, and stands in a second lower town, situated southward upon the river St. Charles. It has a large and fine garden on its north side. In this house all the deliberations concerning this province, are held; and the gentlemen who have the management of the police and the civil power meet here, and the intendant generally presides. In affairs of great consequence the governor-general is likewise here. On one side of this house is the store-house of the crown, and on the other the prison.

Most of the houses in Quebec are built of stone, and in the upper city they are generally but one story high, the public buildings excepted. I saw a few wooden houses in the town, but they must not be rebuilt when decayed. The houses and churches in the city are not built of bricks, but the black lime-slates of which the mountain consists, whereon Quebec stands. When these lime-slates are broke at a good depth in the mountain, they look very compact at first, and appear to have no shivers, or lamellæ, at all; but after being exposed a while to the air, they separate into thin leaves. These slates are soft, and easily cut; and the city-walls, together with the garden-walls, consist chiefly of them. The roofs of the public buildings are covered with common slates, which are brought from France, because there are none in Canada.

The slated roofs have for some years withstood the changes of air and weather, without suffering any damage. The private houses have roofs of boards, which are laid parallel to the spars, and sometimes to the eaves, or sometimes obliquely. The corners of houses are made of a grey small grained lime-stone, which has a strong smell, like the stink-stone [30], and the windows are generally enchased with it. This lime-stone is more useful in those places than the lime-slates, which always shiver in the air. The outsides of the houses are generally white-washed. The windows are placed on the inner side of the walls; for they have sometimes double windows in winter. The middle roof has two, or at most three spars, covered with boards only. The rooms are warmed in winter by small iron stoves, which are removed in summer. The floors are very dirty in every house, and have all the appearance of being cleaned but once every year.

The Powder magazine stands on the summit of the mountain, on which the city is built, and southward of the palace.

The streets in the upper city have a sufficient breadth, but are very rugged, on account of the rock on which it lies; and this renders them very disagreeable and troublesome, both to foot-passengers and carriages. The black lime-slates basset out and project every where into sharp angles, which cut the shoes in pieces. The streets cross each other at all angles, and are very crooked.

The many great orchards and kitchen-gardens, near the house of the Jesuits, and other public and private buildings, make the town appear very large, though the number of houses it contains is not very considerable. Its extent from south to north is said to be about six hundred toises, and from the shore of the river along the lower town, to the western wall between three hundred and fifty, and four hundred toises. It must be here observed, that this space is not yet wholly inhabited; for on the west and south side, along the town walls, are large pieces of land without any buildings on them, and destined to be built upon in future times, when the number of inhabitants will be encreased in Quebec.

The bishop, whose see is in the city, is the only bishop in Canada. His diocese extends to Louisiana, on the Mexican gulf southward, and to the south-seas westward.

No bishop, the pope excepted, ever had a more extensive diocese. But his spiritual flock is very inconsiderable at some distance from Quebec, and his sheep are often many hundred miles distant from each other.

Quebec is the only sea-port and trading town in all Canada, and from thence all the produce of the country is exported. The port is below the town in the river, which is there about a quarter of a French mile broad, twenty-five fathoms deep, and its ground is very good for anchoring. The ships are secured from all storms in this port; however, the north-east wind is the worst, because it can act more powerfully. When I arrived here, I reckoned thirteen great and small vessels, and they expected more to come in. But it is to be remarked, that no other ships than French ones can come into the port, though they may come from any place in France, and likewise from the French possessions in the West-Indies. All the foreign goods, which are found in Montreal, and other parts of Canada, must be taken from hence. The French merchants from Montreal on their side, after making a six months stay among several Indian nations, in order to purchase skins of beasts and furrs, return about the end of August, and go down to Quebec in September or October, in order to sell their goods there. The privilege of selling the imported goods, it is said, has vastly enriched the merchants of Quebec; but this is contradicted by others, who allow that there are a few in affluent circumstances, but that the generality possess no more than is absolutely necessary for their bare subsistence, and that several are very much in debt, which they say is owing to their luxury and vanity. The merchants dress very finely, and are extravagant in their repasts; and their ladies are every day in full dress, and as much adorned as if they were to go to court.

The town is surrounded on almost all sides by a high wall, and especially towards the land. It was not quite completed when I was there, and they were very busy in finishing it. It is built of the above mentioned black lime-slate, and of a dark-grey sand-stone. For the corners of the gates they have employed a grey lime-stone. They have not made any walls towards the water side, but nature seems to have worked for them, by placing a rock there which it is impossible to ascend. All the rising land thereabouts is likewise so well planted with cannon, that it seems impossible for an enemy’s ships or boats to come to the town without running into imminent danger of being sunk. On the land side the town is likewise guarded by high mountains so that nature and art have combined to fortify it.

Quebec was founded by its former governor, Samuel de Champlain, in the year 1608. We are informed by history, that its rise was very slow. In 1629 towards the end of July it was taken by two Englishmen Lewis and Thomas Kerk, by capitulation, and surrendered to them by the above mentioned de Champlain. At that time, Canada and Quebec were wholly destitute of provisions, so that they looked upon the English more as their deliverers, than their enemies. The abovementioned Kerks, were the brothers of the English admiral David Kerk, who lay with his fleet somewhat lower in the river. In the year 1632, the French got the town of Quebec, and all Canada returned to them by the peace. It is remarkable, that the French were doubtful whether they should reclaim Canada from the English or leave it to them. The greater part were of opinion that to keep it would be of no advantage to France, because the country was cold; and the expences far exceeded its produce; and because France could not people so extensive a country without weakening herself, as Spain had done before. That it was better to keep the people in France, and employ them in all sorts of manufactures, which would oblige the other European powers who have colonies in America to bring their raw goods to French ports, and take French manufactures in return. Those on the other hand who had more extensive views knew that the climate was not so rough as it had been represented. They likewise believed that that which caused the expences was a fault of the company, because they did not manage the country well. They would not have many people sent over at once, but little by little, so that France might not feel it. They hoped that this colony would in future times make France powerful, for its inhabitants would become more and more acquainted with the herring, whale, and cod fisheries, and likewise with the taking of seals; and that by this means Canada would become a school for training up seamen. They further mentioned the several forts of furrs, the conversion of the Indians, the ship-building, and the various uses of the extensive woods. And lastly that it would be a considerable advantage to France, even though they should reap no other benefit, to hinder by this means the progress of the English in America, and of their encreasing power, which would otherwise become insupportable to France; not to mention several other reasons. Time has shewn that these reasons were the result of mature judgment, and that they laid the foundation to the rise of France. It were to be wished that we had been of the same opinion in Sweden, at a time when we were actually in possession of New Sweden, the finest and best province in all North America, or when we were yet in a condition to get the possession of it. Wisdom and foresight does not only look upon the present times, but even extends its views to futurity.

In the year 1663 at the beginning of February, the great earthquake was felt in Quebec and a great part of Canada, and there are still some vestiges of its effects at that time; however, no lives were lost.

On the 16th of October 1690, Quebec was besieged by the English general William Phips, who was obliged to retire a few days after with great loss. The English have tried several times to repair their losses, but the river St. Lawrence has always been a very good defence for this country. An enemy, and one that is not acquainted with this river, cannot go upwards in it, without being ruined; for in the neighbourhood of Quebec, it abounds with hidden rocks, and has strong currents in some places, which oblige the ships to make many windings.

The name of Quebec it is said is derived from a Norman word, on account of its situation on a neck or point of land. For when one comes up in the river by l’Isle d’Orleans, that part of the river St. Lawrence does not come in sight, which lies above the town, and it appears as if the river St. Charles which lies just before, was a continuation of the St. Lawrence. But on advancing further the true course of the river comes within sight, and has at first a great similarity to the mouth of a river or a great bay. This has given occasion to a sailor, who saw it unexpectedly, to cry out in his provincial dialect Que bec [31], that is, what a point of land! and from hence it is thought the city obtained its name. Others derive it from the Algonkin word Quebego or Quebec signifying that which grows narrow, because the river becomes narrower as it comes nearer to the town.

The river St. Lawrence, is exactly a quarter of a French mile, or three quarters of an English mile broad at Quebec. The salt water never comes up to the town in it, and therefore the inhabitants can make use of the water in the river for their kitchens, &c. All accounts agree that notwithstanding the breadth of this river, and the violence of its course, especially during ebb, it is covered with ice during the whole winter, which is strong enough for walking, and a carriage may go over it. It is said to happen frequently that, when the river has been open in May, there are such cold nights in this month, that it freezes again, and will bear walking over. This is a clear proof of the intenseness of the frost here, especially when one considers that which I shall mention immediately after, about the ebbing and flowing of the tide in this river. The greatest breadth of the river at its mouth, is computed to be twenty-six French miles or seventy-eight English miles, though the boundary between the sea, and the river cannot well be ascertained as the latter gradually looses itself in, and unites with the former. The greatest part of the water contained in the numerous lakes of Canada, four or five of which are like large seas, is forced to disembogue into the sea by means of this river alone. The navigation up this river from the sea is rendered very dangerous by the strength of the current, and by the number of sand-banks, which often arise in places where they never were before. The English have experienced this formation of new sands once or twice, when they intend to conquer Canada. Hence the French have good reasons to look upon the river as a barrier to Canada [32].

The tide goes far beyond Quebec in the river St. Lawrence, as I have mentioned above. The difference between high and low water is generally between fifteen and sixteen feet, French measure; but with the new and full moon, and when the wind is likewise favourable, the difference is seventeen or eighteen feet, which is indeed very considerable.

August the 7th. Ginseng is the current French name in Canada, of a plant, the root of which, has a very great value in China [33]. It has been growing since times immemorial in the Chinese Tartary and in Corea, where it is annually collected and brought to China. Father Du Halde says, it is the most precious, and the most useful of all the plants in eastern Tartary, and attracts, every year, a number of people into the deserts of that country. The Mantechoux-Tartars call it Orhota, that is the most noble, or the queen of plants [34]. The Tartars and Chinese praise it very much, and ascribe to it the power of curing several dangerous diseases, and that of restoring to the body new strength, and supplying the loss caused by the exertion of the mental, and corporeal faculties. An ounce of Ginseng bears the surprizing price of seven or eight ounces of silver at Peking. When the French botanists in Canada first saw a figure of it, they remembered to have seen a similar plant in this country. They were confirmed in their conjecture by considering that several settlements in Canada, ly under the same latitude with those parts of the Chinese Tartary, and China, where the true Ginseng grows wild. They succeeded in their attempt, and found the same Ginseng wild and abundant in several parts of North-America, both in French and English plantations, in plain parts of the woods. It is fond of shade, and of a deep rich mould, and of land which is neither wet nor high. It is not every where very common, for sometimes one may search the woods for the space of several miles without finding a single plant of it; but in those spots where it grows it is always found in great abundance. It flowers in May and June, and its berries are ripe at the end of August. It bears transplanting very well, and will soon thrive in its new ground. Some people here, who have gathered the berries, and put them into their kitchen gardens, told me that they lay one or two years in the ground without coming up. The Iroquese, or Five (Six) Nations, call the Ginseng roots Garangtoging, which it is said signifies a child, the roots bearing a faint resemblance to it: but others are of opinion that they mean the thigh and leg by it, and the roots look pretty like it. The French use this root for curing the asthma, as a stomachic, and to promote fertility in woman. The trade which is carried on with it here is very brisk; for they gather great quantities of it, and send them to France, from whence they are brought to China, and sold there to great advantage [35]. It is said the merchants in France met with amazing success in this trade at the first outset, but by continuing to send the Ginseng over to China, its price is fallen considerably there, and consequently in France and Canada; however, they still find their account in it. In the summer of 1748, a pound of Ginseng was sold for six Francs, or Livres, at Quebec; but its common price here is one hundred Sols, or five Livres. During my stay in Canada, all the merchants at Quebec and Montreal, received orders from their correspondents in France to send over a quantity of Ginseng, there being an uncommon demand for it this summer. The roots were accordingly collected in Canada with all possible diligence; the Indians especially travelled about the country in order to collect as much as they could together, and to sell it to the merchants at Montreal. The Indians in the neighbourhood of this town were likewise so much taken up with this business, that the French farmers were not able during that time to hire a single Indian, as they commonly do, to help them in the harvest. Many people feared lest by continuing for several successive years, to collect these plants without leaving one or two in each place to propagate their species, there would soon be very few of them left; which I think is very likely to happen, for by all accounts they formerly grew in abundance round Montreal, but at present there is not a single plant of it to be found, so effectually have they been rooted out. This obliged the Indians this summer to go far within the English boundaries to collect these roots. After the Indians have sold the fresh roots to the merchants, the latter must take a great deal of pains with them. They are spread on the floor to dry, which commonly requires two months and upwards, according as the season is wet or dry. During that time they must be turned once or twice every day, lest they should putrify or moulder. Ginseng has never been found far north of Montreal. The superior of the clergy, here and several other people, assured me that the Chinese value the Canada Ginseng as much as the Tartarian [36]; and that no one ever had been entirely acquainted with the Chinese method of preparing it. However it is thought that amongst other preparations they dip the roots in a decoction of the leaves of Ginseng. The roots prepared by the Chinese are almost transparent, and look like horn in the inside; and the roots which are fit for use, must be heavy and compact in the inside.

The plant which throughout Canada bears the name of Herba capillaris is likewise one of those with which a great trade is carried on in Canada. The English in their plantations call it Maiden-hair; it grows in all their North-American colonies, which I travelled through, and likewise in the southern parts of Canada; but I never found it near Quebec. It grows in the woods in shady places and in a good soil [37]. Several people in Albany and Canada, assured me that its leaves were very much used instead of tea, in consumptions, coughs, and all kinds of pectoral diseases. This they have learnt from the Indians, who have made use of this plant for these purposes since times immemorial. This American maiden-hair is reckoned preferable in surgery to that which we have in Europe [38]; and therefore they send a great quantity of it to France, every year. The price is different, and regulated according to the goodness of the plant, the care in preparing it, and the quantity which is to be got. For if it be brought to Quebec in great abundance, the price falls; and on the contrary it rises, when the quantity gathered is but small. Commonly the price at Quebec is between five and fifteen sols a pound. The Indians went into the woods about this time, and travelled far above Montreal in quest of this plant.

The Kitchen herbs, succeed very well here. The white cabbage is very fine, but sometimes suffers greatly from worms. Onions (Allium cepa) are very much in use here, together with other species of leeks. They likewise plant several species of gourds, melons, sallads, wild succory or wild endive (Cichorium Intybus), several kinds of pease, beans, French beans, carrots, and cucumbers. They have plenty of red beets, horseradishes and common raddishes, thyme, and marjoram. Turneps are sown in abundance, and used chiefly in winter. Parsneps are sometimes eaten, though not very common. Few people took notice of potatoes; and neither the common (Solanum tuberosum) nor the Bermuda ones (Convolvulus Batatas) were planted in Canada. When the French here are asked why they do not plant potatoes, they answer that they cannot find any relish in them, and they laugh at the English who are so fond of them. Throughout all North-America the root cabbage [39] (Brassica gongylodes, Linn.) is unknown to the Swedes, English, Dutch, Irish, Germans, and French. Those who have been employed in sowing and planting kitchen herbs in Canada, and have had some experience in gardening, told me that they were obliged to send for fresh seeds from France every year, because they commonly loose their strength here in the third generation, and do not produce such plants as would equal the original ones in taste and goodness.