The Stewarts in St. Anicet & Dundee, Huntingdon, Quebec, Canada

Not from Little Dullater, nor from Duart

For many years, this family was incorrectly accounted for as being from Little Dullater in Port of Menteith parish in historic Perthshire, Scotland, and descending from a family who had previously lived in Duart in Glenfinglas, Callander, Perthshire, Scotland. Based on incomplete information at the time, we previously believed that James D. Stewart, son of Duncan Stewart (shown below), who was born in Dullater, came alone as an adult to Canada and that he was the founding immigrant member of this family. However, we now know that James actually came to Canada as a young boy with his parents and siblings. While James may have been born in Dullater, soon after he was born his parents moved to Kirkline on the Blair Drummond Moss where they lived for the next decade until they emigrated. They would have lived in Dullater for only about a year. This previously led us to incorrectly connect this family to a different Dullater family who were descended from the Stewarts in Duart, Glenfinglas, Callander, Perthshire, Scotland. The discovery of James D Stewart’s siblings’ and parents’ records in Quebec, has allowed us to correctly account for this family below. Historical conclusions are always subject to change as new information comes to light.

The History of the County of Huntingdon and of The Seigniories of Chateaugay and Beauharnois From Their First Settlement To The Year 1838 (Sellar, Robert Sellar, Originally published by The Canadian Gleaner, Huntingdon, Quebec, Canada, 1888).

[p. 167] CHAPTER IX – DUNDEE
FROM 1760 the western extremity of the county of Huntingdon was regarded by the government as an Indian reserve. The Indians clustered at the point, named St Regis, and did not occupy the country east of Salmon river, but when the townships came to be laid out, it was deemed desirable that sufficient territory should be kept for them to supply their prospective needs, and Chewett, the surveyor, left a length of ten miles of territory before running the line for Godmanchester. Bouchette, who visited St Regis at the close of the war, says about 50 dirty hovels, with enclosures attached, wherein potatoes and corn were raised, composed the village, and that its inhabitants were indolent and shiftless. A large church, 100 x 40 feet, had been erected in 1795 and there was a resident priest, who, however, made no effort to improve the temporal condition of his flock, and in 1820 the government agent reported that not half of the inhabitants derived any part of their living from tillage, they depending upon hunting and fishing alone, eking out a livelihood with the pensions, or presents, allowed by government, which, for a number of years after the close of the war, were much larger than they are now. As the Indians were making no use of their land and there being no prospect of their doing so, it was deemed better that they should be permitted to lease it to settlers, as had been done 50 years before with the lands they had held in Glengarry and Stormont. Repeated efforts had been made by the government to elevate the Indians, with no success. The agent, Chesley, told a parliamentary committee in 1846 that during his connection of 32 years with the tribe ” several attempts had been made to establish schools at St Regis but they have been invariably opposed

[p. 168] and put down by the priests.” A philanthropic soldier, Major Penderleith Christie, took 6 Indian boys and placed them in the school, erected at Chateaugay, in 1829 at his own expense. On hearing of it the governor, Lord Sydenham, doubled the number and paid the expense out of the public funds, but from the inefficiency of the teacher the experiment was not successful. Not discouraged, on Major Christie’s finding the right man for such work in the Rev. E. Williams, a Caughnawaga Indian who had become a Protestant and been educated for the Episcopal ministry in Connecticut, he opened a school at St Regis, the attendance at which rose from 17 to 40 in two months, when the priest interfered, and commanded the parents to withdraw their children from the school under the pain of his displeasure and the anathema of the church. All save 7 left, and with these Mr Williams persevered until the arrival of Earl Gosford as governor, who, at the request of the Catholic bishop of Montreal, withdrew the salary of $96 which the government had allowed and, what was more fatal, the permission of the government to live on the Indian Reserve. The school was closed but not without fruit, for there are a few Protestant families belonging to the tribe, now resident on Cornwall island, who are by far the most comfortable and intelligent, and whose origin is to be traced to the forgotten labors of Mr Williams. The trite remark, of the Indians being a decaying race, is not sustained by records of this reserve. In 1820 its inhabitants numbered 300, in 1827, 348, in 1837, despite their losses from smallpox in 1829 and cholera in 1832, 381, and in 1885, 1,136.

Before the war of 1812 a few American families had settled in Dundee. Of these Benjamin Phillips lived on 12, Orlando Brunson on a point, or marsh island, farther west, and Joseph Spencer on 23, 2nd concession. On the Salmon river were a few families, of whom all record is lost. All were probably squatters, for there is no certainty that the Indians granted leases before 1817, on the 3rd of August of which year a marsh island on Salmon river, Portage island, was leased to Hypolite Emlotte-dit-Perikier, who several years afterwards transferred it to Peter Cameron, who made the island notorious

[p. 169] by distilling whisky upon it. In the spring of 1818, an American, Jonas Schryer, from Alburg, Vermont, moved across the line and leased the east half of No 30 and all of 29 in the Broken Front. To shelter his wife and three children he raised a shanty of logs, having one gable built up with mud and stones for the fireplace, and roofed with splinters of cedar. He was very poor and to obtain provisions, had to labor at potash-making day after day. When winter came he borrowed a yoke of oxen and drew a load of boards from Fort Covington, with which he made his house somewhat more comfortable, though to the last, the children could amuse themselves by sitting at the fire and looking up the wide chimney watch the tree-tops waving overhead.

The same spring that Schryer moved into the western portion of Dundee, an important settlement was formed on the eastern extremity. Late in the fall of 1816 a ship arrived in Quebec with a number of Highland immigrants. The prolonged voyage made it impossible for them to proceed to Ontario, which was their intended destination, and they waited over the winter at Lancaster, being given the use of the barracks that had been erected during the war of 1812. While the women rested in this rude home in the new world, the men worked at what they could get, many hiring themselves to farmers. The people of the vicinity took an interest in them, and the Ross’s, who were then the leading business firm, told them they believed land could be had on the south side of the St Lawrence by lease from the Indians, and a bargain was eventually struck with the chiefs for a range of lots starting from the Godmanchester line. During the winter of 1817 small clearings were made and shanties erected ; the Glengarry farmers making several bees to do the work, and being aided by Ross the lumberer, who had men getting out masts, and who indicated the lines of the lots. These Glengarry men worked with a will all day and at night gathered in one of the new shanties and sang and danced and drank until a late hour, yet rose to renew their good-hearted task next morning with unimpaired vigor. Seven shanties in all were completed and, while the crossing

[p. 170] was still good, their future occupants moved over and took [poses]sion. Starting at the east the order was Wm. Campbell, Angus McGillis, John Tolmie, Ronald, Angus and Norman McDonald and William McPhee. Except Tolmie all were from the Isle of Skye, and had come in the same ship, and they named the settlement New Skye, but in course of time it came to be known as the Isle of Skye. They brought over sufficient seed with them and the season proved favorable, for after that harvest they never knew want. Their Glengarry neighbors continued to take an interest in them, and often came over to help by bees. On one occasion the evening jollification was so prolonged that the keg ran dry, when the hosts, zealous for Highland hospitality, while their guests were sleeping, sent two of their number across the lake to get it refilled, and they were back long before the morning dram was needed. The liquor used at that time was Jamaica rum. Once started, the settlement grew. William McPhee, who was the most comfortably situated of the band, having brought over with him two cows and a yearling, got for his neighbor a very decent Irish couple, John Seaton and his wife. They had no family and left early. West of them was Roderick Murchison. To the east, the settlement extended rapidly down the lake shore, Duncan Stewart, Duncan McNicol, and 3 McMillans settling in 1820. The lake at that time was much lower than it is now, so low that there was a fine sandy beach, on which the young lads raced up and down on their horses, for they never troubled with oxen. The St Lawrence was then well-stocked with fish, which so swarmed in the bays that the habitants came from far and near to fish in them during the season, so that at night 40 or 50 canoes could be counted. The mode of fishing then was wholly by the spear, which was practised during the day as well as by night. The Highlanders, almost all of whom had fished at home, entered into the sport with gusto. The marshes were also valuable for more than the hay which they afforded, for they were visited by such flocks of geese and ducks that, when they rose, they darkened the air like a cloud. When the flocks of pigeons were seen coming from

[p. 171] the Glengarry side, the men and boys hastened to the water’s edge, each armed with a long pole. A peculiarity of the pigeon is that, while crossing water, it skims its surface, and rises as it reaches land. Noticing this, the settlers struck them down with their poles just as they rose from the water’s surface to wing a higher flight, and those who were dexterous sometimes killed 4 at one blow. Wild swan were occasionally met with, but the king of American edible birds, the wild
turkey, never, so far as I have been able to learn, visited Huntingdon. Deer came trotting daily in the dry season to drink at the lake.

The great river furnished a road to the settlement which was all they could desire, for, with one or two exceptions, they had all come from the Highland coast and boating to them was second nature. If the weather was fine, they crossed on Sundays to attend the services conducted by the Rev John McKenzie at Williamstown, and to them he was pastor for many years. On sacramental Sundays the whole settlement was deserted. If any were sick, Dr McLeod of Williamstown was sent for, and his services were gladly given. To build a big boat, that would do to go to mill or market, was a joint undertaking, and it was duly launched and moored in the creek, named in old maps Sherwood. When salts were made, the settlers carried them through the woods in bags upon their backs to the creek, and when the big canoe was loaded, started for Salmon river, generally taking at the same time a grist. The round trip took two days and one night. For 10 years there was no road, except the footpath that connected shanty with shanty. The first road was that to Laguerre. In winter the custom was for each settler to make at least one trip to Montreal in a traineau with his surplus butter and pork. The road taken was by Laguerre to Huntingdon, and thence to the Basin.

In nearly every family Gaelic was the common language, but a reasonable desire was shown by the older people that their children should learn English, and a teacher was secured in Patrick McGregor, who continued to follow his profession in the neighborhood for many years. He was so cruel as to

[p. 172] disgust his scholars with learning, and all the more so that he had little to impart. He was a spare, gaunt man, and his favorite mode of punishment, striking with the back of his hands, was so severe that the blow often drew blood. As his scholars declared, they might as well get a slap from a skeleton. He taught at first from house to house. The second teacher was Alexander Crawford, sadly given to drink, who gave place to Duncan Campbell, a lame weaver, who taught in a shanty on McDonald’s point. Afterwards a school was erected farther west, at the creek, where a burial place by common consent had been chosen. In 1821 the settlement got a blacksmith in Jas. Fraser, on Gardiner’s point. He conducted business in primitive style. If the job was a small one, he told his customer to take up whatever task he was engaged upon on the farm, while he went to his shop and lit his forge. Customers complained that he kept them longer in the field than he ought, and that the change of work was not altogether to his disadvantage.

The clearances were confined for many years to the knolls, but gradually the swamps, which were covered with a splendid growth of black ash, were cleared and drained and fine farms formed. The fires of 1825 left Dundee untouched, and, alone in the county, it has never suffered to any extent from burned soil.

From the year 1820 the settlement of the township proceeded actively, the Indians in that year granting about 40 leases. The terms were liberal, $5 a year for 100 acres, the leases being for 99 years, and then renewable until 999 years elapsed. A few leases were for 1000 years, or so long. as grass grew or water ran. The leases issued after 1822 were all for 30 years, unless the occupants could show they had a promise for a longer period. A condition was inserted in a majority of the leases inflicting a fine of 8 per cent. on the sum received when the land changed hands (lods et ventes), but was never exacted. The leases were negotiated for the Indians by Isaac LaClair, their agent, and signed by a majority of the chiefs – who were all men of mark. In all of these old leases, the reserve is styled “the Indian reservation

[p. 173] of Kintail.” The rents were made payable on the 1st of February in each year. The scarcity of money and the necessities of the Indians caused the amount generally to be taken in kind, and the Indian had often unhealthy pork or an undesirable heifer palmed upon him. For three days at the beginning of February the Indian chiefs attended at Dundee lines with their agent, and squared accounts with the settlers. Even with the privilege of paying in provisions, many settlers were most negligent in settling the rent, and as the agents were supine, arrears were allowed to accumulate for 20 years and over. From the first, the Indians were good neighbors, keeping to their reservation, and rarely seen east of the Salmon river unless hunting or seeking timber for making baskets, which they traded with the farmers. No objection was made by any settler to their felling trees suitable for their petty manufactures.

The free issue of leases stimulated the influx of immigrants. On leaving shipboard, Highlanders naturally gravitated towards Glengarry, the great settlement of their kindred, and where nearly all had relatives, more or less remote. Even those destined for the West made Glengarry their halfway stopping-place, to renew those old friendships which are so precious to the sons of the heather. Thus it came, that in those days there was always during the summer a floating population of immigrants in search of homes, and on Dundee being thrown open they naturally moved into it, the dividing line being only the St Lawrence. The abandoned clearances on Salmon river became again the scene of life and activity, and for over 3 miles below the boundary-line there was a succession of good farm-houses with an excellent road on the river-bank. At Peter Cameron’s, referred to already as a distiller, there was a large and finely kept garden and a race. The rising of the lake-level and the crumbling away of the river bank, have destroyed these scenes of prosperity.

On Salmon river John Davidson established himself, and proved to be the leading-man of the young township. He was a native of Perthshire, and had gone a poor boy to Dundee, where he was taken into the household of a Mr

[p. 174] Ogilvie, who owned a small factory, and who gave him work and whose daughter he subsequently married. He was unfortunate enough to be drafted into the army and served 7 years abroad, and on his discharge at the peace in 1817, emigrated to Canada, where he earned sufficient money as a travelling-merchant to enable him to start in 1819 a small store at Dundee lines, and his log shanty, consisting of one room , was the nucleus of that village, to which he gave the name of the fair town by the Tay in which he had spent the greater part of his life – Dundee. His family, accompanied by his brother-in-law, Alex. Ogilvie, arrived during the following summer. The same season saw also two other arrivals. Henry McDonald, a miller by trade, from Melrose, Scotland, on landing at Montreal, heard of an opening at Fort Covington, and on going there was engaged by Robert Buchanan, the owner of the grist-mill, who had been there for 16 years.* Patrick Buchanan, a youth of 17, and a cousin of the Fort Covington Buchanan, arrived from Scotland the same year, and has left many descendants. He at once engaged in boating, and for half a century no one was better known than Captain Buchanan. It was either in 1819 or 1820 that the first Irish families settled in Dundee, and
of whom the more prominent were Patrick Bannon on 28, B. F. and John Ashburn on 27. They were few, however, and it was not for over 20 years afterwards that they began to come in, and, buying out the Highlanders, formed the settlement in the neighborhood of St Agnes. Among those who
came in 1820 to see the country was Alexander Gardiner, who had emigrated from Renfrewshire, Scotland, that summer, and who was in search of a farm. He hesitated between Dundee and St Andrews, when his brother- in-law, Hugh Brodie, Petite Côte, proposed to leave it to the lot,—a not infrequent mode of deciding a difficulty among the devout Presbyterians

*Mr Buchanan caught enough of salmon at his dam not only for immediate use but to fill several barrels for winter consumption. Although not one has been caught in it for half a century, Salmon river well deserved its name in those days.

[p. 175] of the last century. After earnest prayer, a halfpenny was tossed up, and thrice the side that stood for Dundee came uppermost. In February, 1821, Mr Brodie’s team brought him and his family from Montreal to lot 19, the betterments on which he had bought from an Irishman, James Curran, and whose shanty stood a few yards west of the residence of Peter Gardiner. Glad to gain its shelter, they enjoyed their first meal in the form of a bowl of oat meal brose. Though the oak had disappeared, the ridges were still crowned by great pines, one of which, having grown on its site, furnished Curran with the 3 lower logs of his shanty. The level land between the knolls and ridges was swampy and unfit for cultivation. Mr Gardiner was totally unacquainted with the use of the axe, and was afraid to cut down a tree in case it should fall upon him, but in this and other duties his neighbor Edward Aubrey, an American, who had come in two years before, taught him. On the ridges very good crops were raised, the grain having to be carried on the shoulder to mill, for the flats were too wet to admit of a horse going on them. That summer he had one cow and the following had 3, when Mrs Gardiner, who was a notable dairy-woman, began making cheese, for which a market was found in Montreal. Mr Gardiner was an exemplary man in more respects than those of thrift and industry. In the season of 1821, Father Brunton, as he afterwards came to be affectionately called, arrived in Fort Covington from Scotland, and began preaching to the people there, being greatly encouraged by Robert Buchanan, who was looked up to as the leader of the settlement. When, in 1827, the church was formally organized, Mr Gardiner was chosen one of its elders. The same year that he took up his land, there settled a short distance west of him, on lots 30 and 31, Broken Front, James Farlinger, of U. E. descent, and who in 1823 became his son- in-law.

The settlers along the lake in St Anicet and Dundee, had difficulties peculiar to themselves to contend with. The numerous marshes prevented the construction of roads, and up to 1835 there was hardly one fit for wheels. The grist

[p. 176] had to be shouldered by the settler and to drag his barrel of potash he had to resort to the ox-sled. Horses were few because of little use, and the first settler to own one was Jonas Schryer. Mr Davidson’s store was situated on the east bank of Salmon river and behind it stretched a deep swamp, impossible to cross unless when frozen, so that the settlers could only get to it by going round by Fort Covington. The customs’ officer was vigilant, and extorted duties on what they were taking home, for, in a petition to the legislature, dated 12th November, 1820, Mr Davidson alleges ” that the prosperity of the settlement formerly called Indian lands, now designated by the name of Dundee, is much retarded from the want of a public road. In their present situation, many of the inhabitants are under the necessity of passing through a section of the U. S. , in going to and returning from market (Dundee lines), and are consequently liable to pay heavy duties at the American custom-house. Under these circumstances we pray for aid to enable us to open a road on the British side of the lines. ” No notice was taken of this representation, and two months afterwards he sent in a petition from the settlers praying for aid to make a road across the swamp to Davidson’s store and wharf, which was their outlet during navigation. The French Canadians dominated in the assembly and viewed with undisguised ill will the progress of the townships. On the 17th February, the committee to whom Davidson’s petition and similar ones had been referred, reported that the petitioners ought to have
considered the inconveniences of the places in which they had settled while selecting them and that the law of the province they had come to was that roads are a charge upon the soil, therefore no aid from the public purse could be given. Undismayed by this rebuff, in the winter of 1823 Mr Davidson renewed his request, telling the assembly that: “A serious inconvenience experienced in our settlement is want of roads, the village of Dundee being separated from the rest by a swamp nearly one mile wide, through which the inhabitants have been unable from poverty to make a road, so that the only way that they can have communication is by crossing

[p. 177] the province-line, in doing which they are exposed to the rapacity of the U.S. custom- house officers, who never fail to exact a duty of 16 per cent. on whatever passes to or from our market, or, what is worse, detain our property.” To help the settlers to make a road Mr Davidson asked $400. The assembly took no notice of the petition. Mr Davidson’s representation as to smuggling had another side to it. Until the railway was built to Ogdensburg, the entire tract of country between that place and lake Champlain depended for its supply of manufactured goods being brought by teams from Plattsburgh and Rouses Point. The expense of the long land journey so added to their cost, that they were much dearer than goods brought from Montreal, so that the Americans along the lines bought the greater part of their dry-goods and hardware in Canada, and while the Dundee storekeepers sold smuggled tea, tobacco and whisky to Canadians, they found their best customers for what they brought from Montreal in Americans, who were rarely interfered with by their customs officers, who interpreted the law to mean, that what a farmer bought for his own use was not smuggling.

The clearances were confined to the ridges and the knolls that so abound in Dundee, and on these crops of potatoes and corn were raised, the main dependence being potash-making and lumbering. In winter the woods were dotted with lumbering shanties and an immense quantity of timber taken out. On the Pine Plains, especially, the timber was magnificent, and so abundant that it withstood the ravages of the axe for over 20 years, when it became the desert sandy plain of today. Men acquainted with the lumber districts of the Ottawa declare that they saw nowhere pines to compare with those west of Hungry Bay; pines so straight and tall
that they were made into masts, and sticks ranging from 80 to 120 feet long were hauled out to the lake every winter. From Moquin’s bay, St Anicet, back to the 2nd range was a mast-road, and there were others, all straight and smooth, as they had need to be to permit the passing of the great spars, which would take several yoke of oxen to haul them or, as

[p. 178] was preferred, horses in tandem. To drive the animals needed no small skill, and there were those who could boast of handling successfully 20 horses hitched in tandem to a mighty mast. Of the great lumberers were Angus Roy McDonald of Cornwall, Bagg & Waite, Perrault, and Moquin. The last was a Quebec merchant.

The making of potash was too profitable a trade to allow the storekeepers of Fort Covington to monopolise it, so, shortly after his coming, Mr Davidson added an ashery with pearling-oven to his establishment, and Charles Marsh who had opened store beside him, did likewise. He was an American and had been a clerk in Frothingham’s, Montreal, who had started him in business. He entered into partnership with Peter Cameron, who had made a racecourse on Portage island, and, after a fast and short career, failed. Frothingham started him anew, when he showed he was a changed man and did a large business so long as Dundee retained its trade, especially in the manufacture of potash and pearl-ash. Other early storekeepers were McCutcheon and Wells & Cleveland. The first-named committed suicide from despair over losses in lumbering, when his clerk, Norman McDonald,* continued the business, and some time afterwards Patrick Buchanan added another store to the number, taking, in 1840, his brother-in-law, David Baker, as partner. Up to 1848, all these stores did a large and profitable business, which was by no means confined to trading with the settlers of Dundee. In those days tea, tobacco, whisky, and a few lines of dry-goods were much cheaper in the United States than Canada, and these stores, all situated within a stone-throw of the lines and with buildings built half across, sold more to customers in Glengarry than Dundee. During the war when the importation of spirits from the West Indies was stopped, the American distilleries received a great impetus

* He published a book in New York in 1827 entitled “Moral Maxims and Reflections,” which I have not seen. He was a man of education and talent. He prospered so well in business that, at one time, he was the largest shareholder in the City bank.

[p. 179] and they discovered the art of making mash from potatoes. By 1817 the country was overspread with small distilleries making potato-whisky and the use of their product became general in Upper Canada. The people of the lower province continued to prefer Jamaica rum and did not begin to look at whisky until it became so very cheap that the more ardent and palatable spirit had no chance. From 1822 whisky gradually superseded rum, until it finally supplanted it. St Lawrence county early became famous for its whisky, and Franklin county, at one period, had no fewer than 17 distilleries. The chief distiller was one Parish, who
had a village named after him, and Parishville whisky was known far and wide. The importation of spirits from the States, under any conditions, was then illegal, but there was no serious attempt made to enforce the law, and, on summer nights, barrels were rolled by the dozen from the Dundee storehouses into boats that conveyed them to dealers on the north side of the St Lawrence, and in winter long strings of teams came from Glengarry and Stormont to exchange grain and pork for whisky, tobacco, and tea. By the barrel, Parishville whisky was sold as low as 18 cents a gallon. It is a striking fact, that not one of the merchants engaged in the traffic retained any portion of the immense profits they made for a long succession of years.

The contraband traffic was only a part of the trade of Dundee lines, which included large exports of potash and lumber, the former being conveyed to Montreal in the kind of barge called Durham boats, so named from being modelled on the boats used on the canals in the county of Durham, England. I have found reference to them in U.S. despatches” during the war, but they were rare on the St Lawrence until 1817, when they began to be numerous, and were so palpably superior for river navigation to the bateaux then in use, that they superseded them. In 1817 the collector of customs reported that 835 bateaux had passed Coteau and only 268 Durham boats ; in 1820 the proportion was reversed, 561 Durham boats to 430 bateaux, and the former carried four times the freight of the latter. The bateau of those days

[p. 180] was an open boat of about 20 feet in length, 6 wide, and 3 deep, sharp-pointed at both ends, propelled by 4 oarsmen and steered by the captain with a long oar. When the wind favored, a square sail was set. On the downward trip they could carry 15 tons ; on the upward, less than 5. Being open the freight was exposed to damage by wet, and the crew tied up the boat and went ashore to cook, and frequently did so at night to sleep. The French Canadians who manned these boats endured great hardship and were often in peril in running the rapids. The Durham-boat was in every way superior to the bateau. It was from 60 to 80 feet long and 12 to 15 feet wide, and decked, giving a roomy and dry hold. Flat bottomed, its cargo capacity was great, from 50 to 70 tons. There ran along each side, a broad plank with cleats, on which the men stood to pole the boat along in shallow water. In deep, a centre-board was let down and sail set, a large spread being made; the boat being sloop-rigged. Oars were only used when required in the rapids. The crew consisted of 8 men and a captain. Such were the boats that, for over quarter a century, maintained communication between Montreal and the country west of it. Their navigation required skill, boldness, and superhuman exertion. On getting into swift- water, the crew ranged themselves at the bow of the boat. One stepped on to the plank that ran along the side, dropped his long ash-pole into the water until it struck bottom, then placing the head of the pole against his shoulder-blade, pushed with all his might, walking, as the boat slowly stemmed the current, to the stern, when he returned to the bow and so on. As he passed down, another boatman stepped out with his pole, until all 8 would be so engaged. The work was most exhausting, and caused the skin on the forebreast and shoulder to become callused. Where the rapid was too swift to be thus overcome, or when the boat was heavily laden, oxen or horses were hitched on, as many, if the boat was large and the water low, as 9 span, and painful accidents were of occasional occurrence, from their being unable to overcome the rush of water, and the boat being swept backwards and dragging them to a watery grave.

[p. 181] To prevent such a calamity, each of the crew hung a small hatchet at his waist when the rapids were reached, so as to be ready to cut the tow-rope. Rounding the points was the critical operation, and at Split Rock there was a windlass to supplement the strength of the crew and tow-horses. In this slow and painful manner not only goods but immigrants were conveyed from Montreal, and hundreds of settlers in this district so made the journey. What some of them
suffered is now inconceivable. With favorable weather and plenty of water in the rapids, the passage was endurable; when wet, water low, and winds contrary, it was worse than the ocean-voyage and what women and children endured is not to be described. They were usually overcrowded, perhaps 200 crowded into one, and if the weather was cold or wet, or the passage of the rapids difficult, they were forced into the hold to give the crew full scope on deck, perhaps required to land and walk to the head of the rapid to lessen the draft of the boat. The holds were low-ceiled, dark and foul-smelling, and without a vestige of accommodation for passengers, who slept on the floor, and from the time they went on board until they left would not taste cooked food. With a favorable wind, the trip from Montreal to Coteau would occupy a couple of days; when wind and draft of water were unfavorable, it took from 6 to 14 days. On the down-trip the boats dared not enter the rapids with a headwind, and there was often a fleet of them anchored at Coteau waiting for a change of wind. The Lachine canal was not available until 1825 and the Beauharnois not for 20 years more. From a very early date the rapids between lakes St. Louis and St Francis were partially avoided by four short canals cut across the points on the north shore. They were so very small, the locks being only 6 feet wide with 2 feet of water, that they were of little use until 1817, when the width of the locks was doubled and the water deepened a foot. No further enlargement was attempted, and until the Beauharnois canal was opened any boat that drew more water than they afforded, had to be dragged and pushed up the rapids in the manner described.

[p. 182] The first Durham-boat that hailed from Salmon river was the Dundee, owned by Thos. Farlinger and Robt. Buchanan.* She was succeeded by a much larger boat, the Glengarry. Others followed, until Durham-boats that claimed Dundee as their port became numerous, for Fort Covington and Dundee were the outlets for the vast expanse of country that the Salmon river and its tributaries watered, and Captains Buchanan, Farlinger, and Lucas made regular trips.

The first steamboat to ply the waters of the Salmon river was a very small vessel that had been built in the States, named the Jack Downing. She ran as ferry between Fort Covington and Cornwall in 1835 or 1836, when her engine was taken out to be placed in the Henry Burden, popularly known as the cigar-boat, from her hull being composed of two cylinders, on which the deck rested like a raft, with the one paddle-wheel in the centre. On the opening of the Beauharnois canal, Masson, Finchley & Farlinger bought the Rob Roy, and as business increased built the Lord Elgin, which proved to be too long for the crooks of the Salmon river. Competition came from Augustus Martin of Trout river, who built at Dundee the George Frederick, which made regular trips to Montreal under Capt. Sawyer of Fort Covington, who claimed to be the first to run the north channel of the Long Sault. Then the Fashion, commanded by Captain Charles Dewitt, extended her route to Dundee. The Star, the Blue Bonnet, and the Salaberry succeeded those boats, the latter being the last that made Dundee a regular place of call, for, owing to trade changing to other channels, the traffic that once made Dundee lines the busiest place west of the Basin, deserted it.

The progress of Dundee furnishes nothing of special interest. More than those of any other part of the district, its inhabitants engaged in lumbering and boating, which had a hurtful influence on their habits and made farming a second-

* His eldest son, Thomas, went to Liberia as a missionary and subsequently became governor. He died there of fever, leaving a considerable fortune to his relations on the Salmon river.

[p. 183] ary consideration, so that, despite its land being taken up so early, it was later in being brought into cultivation than that of the adjoining townships. The establishing of schools and churches received little attention until 1830, and for many years the only school in the township besides the one in the, isle of Skye was that at Schryer’s corners, which opened with Hector McRae as master, who was given to drink and cruel in his punishments. The lot adjoining the school came to be used as a place of burial, and Edward Schryer and many others of the first generation rest there. In the schoolhouse the Fort Covington ministers occasionally preached. The Baptist, Rev Nathaniel Culver, made it one of his stations as early as 1824, and, during his incumbency of the Presbyterian church, the Rev John Savage preached frequently and acceptably. One of the first teachers was Alexander Cameron, who belonged to Dundee, Scotland, and had been a divinity student. He exerted himself in several ways to benefit those he had come among, giving religious instruction to the young on Saturday afternoons, distributing tracts, of which he had brought with him across the Atlantic two boxes, and preaching on Sunday. He was a good singer. After making a trial of farming, he left for London, Ontario. No effort was made to secure regular religious services and the years passed until 1832, when the settlers were surprised and pleased by the arrival among them of the Rev Duncan Moody. He was born at Kilmailie, on the banks of Locheil, in 1808, and was educated for the ministry at Glasgow, whither his people had removed. On the completion of his studies he was urged by his older brother, Charles, to go to the East Indies as a missionary, but, on his dying from cholera, he followed his own inclination of going to Canada. He arrived at Montreal in the summer of 1832 and at once waited on Dr Mathieson, who had been at college with his brother. The doctor told him there were several openings, but that Dundee had a special claim upon him, seeing he could preach in Gaelic. He journeyed to Salmon river and met with a hearty welcome, a call being signed by nearly every Protestant in the township. On the 31st October the

[p. 184] Quebec Presbytery ordered his ordination and induction, which took place on the 28th December. The people were too poor to build a church and even if they had been able, it would have been of little service, for the roads were such that they were rarely fit for travel. He arranged to preach regularly at 4 stations the lines, in the Skye and Aubrey schoolhouses, and at Laguerre, with occasional services in private houses. A kirk-session was formed March 21 , 1833, and its first regular meeting was held in the house of Malcolm Smith, 3rd concession, on July 16, with the minister as moderator and James Fraser and Donald McFarlane as elders. In many ways James Fraser was an example of what an elder ought to be, and his influence was felt in Dundee long after he was laid to rest. In all difficulties that arose his advice was sought, and he was the means of settling many a dispute and of maintaining that harmony which is so grateful in a community. He was the originator of a Sunday-school in his neighborhood, maintained a prayer-meeting, and did much otherwise towards promoting a living-faith among his fellow Mr Moody boarded at Dundee village and continued to do so after his marriage with Miss Farlinger until 1837, when he bought lot 12, 4th range. Mrs Moody says:

The township was well settled in 1837 but the people were very poor, so much so that when any of them would offer money to my husband, he, knowing their circumstances, would say, “Keep it for your children. Our lot had hardly any clearance on it, and the people were very kind in giving their assistance. My husband had only to mention that there was work to be done, and in the morning, a number would be at the door. “We have come,” they would say, “to do so-and-so to-day, Mrs Moody; but we have had no breakfast.” My father gave me a horse and 3 cows. Mr Moody being city-bred knew nothing about farming, and when he wanted the horse I had to harness it. He could make little use of the animal in his rounds, for the roads, except in the driest times or in winter, were only passable on foot. It was a day’s journey for my husband to go to the Fort and back. He made his pastoral journeys on foot, and often had to sit on a log, take off his boots, and pour the water out of them. The journey to Laguerre he found the most fatiguing and on coming in he would often remark that he had felt so ex-

[p. 185] hausted that he would have been thankful had any of us gone to meet him with a crust. Although the settlers were poor, there was no actual privation among them. There were very few Irish in the neighborhood of St Agnes when we came to live here; they moved in gradually, buying out the Highlanders.

The building of a church was begun in 1839 on lot 8, 2nd concession. It was a plain, frame building, and all the congregation was able to do was to enclose it. The seats were slabs laid on four water-beech legs, and the only one that had a back was the pew for the minister’s family. The pulpit, which was high, had a canopy after the old-fashion in Scotland, and the precentor’s box was set in front. In the forenoon the service was in Gaelic, the English in the afternoon, and both extremely long, which was rather trying where the seats were so contrived that they neither supported the back nor rendered a few winks possible. Books being scarce, the precentor read the psalms two lines at a time, which he did in a droning tone, so as to retain the run of the tune. The sacrament was administered once a year and was a season of great importance and solemnity. The services, in which Mr Moody was assisted by neighboring ministers, began on Thursday and did not close until Tuesday. Family worship was common in the township and on the catechising of the children great stress was laid. Before Mr Moody’s death a sufficient sum was raised to plaster the church and put in pews. To the last he was no burden to his people, who gave little beyond presents of produce and aiding in bees. His modest wants were met by his farm and the small allowance from the clergy reserves. He died in 1855, and it can be said of him, that he did more to recommend the gospel to his people by his daily life than by his preaching.

The building of a church was begun in 1839 on lot 8, 2nd concession. It was a plain, frame building, and all the congregation was able to do was to enclose it. The seats were slabs laid on four water-beech legs, and the only one that had a back was the pew for the minister’s family. The pulpit, which was high, had a canopy after the old-fashion in Scotland, and the precentor’s box was set in front. In the forenoon the service was in Gaelic, the English in the afternoon, and both extremely long, which was rather trying where the seats were so contrived that they neither supported the back nor rendered a few winks possible. Books being scarce, the precentor read the psalms two lines at a time, which he did in a droning tone, so as to retain the run of the tune. The sacrament was administered once a year and was a season of great importance and solemnity. The services, in which Mr Moody was assisted by neighboring ministers, began on Thursday and did not close until Tuesday. Family worship was common in the township and on the catechising of the children great stress was laid. Before Mr Moody’s death a sufficient sum was raised to plaster the church and put in pews. To the last he was no burden to his people, who gave little beyond presents of produce and aiding in bees. His modest wants were met by his farm and the small allowance from the clergy reserves. He died in 1855, and it can be said of him, that he did more to recommend the gospel to his people by his daily life than by his preaching.

[p. 186] His practice yielded him next to nothing. He was early appointed a justice of peace and agent for the lands owned by Ellice, and, as will be recorded in its place, took a prominent part in suppressing the rebellion of 1837-8. As showing the value of land when he came, it may be stated he bought a lot from Dupuis for a cow.

NOTE. The following is a list of leases granted up to 1838. The date of lease does not always correspond with that of settlement, many lessees having lived on their lots some time before getting deeds and others delaying going on them after receiving leases, while a few resold without doing settlement duties. Where lots are passed the record has been lost or the leases are recent. Remarkable to say the government has not a complete list of the leases granted:

Lot. 1st Concession.

3 Angus McGillis 1819
5 Ronald McDonald 1819
6 Angus McDonald 1819
7 Norman McDonald 1819
8 William McPhee 1819
9 John Seaton 1819
10 Louis & Norbert Dupuis 1819
11 Antoine & Joseph Dupuis 1819
12 Benjamin Phillips 1819
13, 14 & 15 Robert Colquhoun 1821
16 & 17 John McGibbon 1819
18 & 19 John Handley 1819
20 & 21 Horatio Brunson 1819
27 Richard Fitzpatrick 1819
28 Henry Jackson 1819
30 Jonas Schryer 1819
30 Nicholas Farlinger 1819-
32 & 33 Henry C. Bagley 1821
34 John Moore 1818

2nd Concession.

3 Duncan McMillan 1821
4 Donald McKinnon 1819
5 Dougald McKinnon 1819
7 William Frazer 1820
8 Murdoch McAuley 1819
14 Farquhar McLennan 1819
15 Farquhar McRae 1819
16 Alexander McRae 1819
19 Alexander Gardiner 1821
20 Jacob Aubrey 1819
24 Aaron Foster 1821
25 Henry C. Bagley 1821

3rd Concession.

5 & 8 Donald & Dougald McKinnon 1819
9 Finley McRae 1819
14 Murdoch McRae 1819
15 Patrick Timmons and Patrick Garrity 1819
16 Donald McFarlane 1819
17 John Seaton 1819
18 Hiram Stockweather 1823
20,21 & 22 James Curran 1821

4th Concession

3 John Cameron 1821
5 Thomas Cross 1821
6 & 7 Allan Cameron 1824
8 Daniel O’Hare 1819
9 John Derry 1819
10 Francis Logan 1819
11 John Miller 1821
12 Duncan Moody
13 William Miller 1819
14 Samuel Miller 1821
15 Samuel Miller 1837
16 do do 1822
17 John McRae 1821
18 Rufus Campbell 1819
19 & 20 James O’Brien 1821

5th Concession.

6 Oliver Classon 1821
7 William Aubrey 1819
11 Malcolm Smith 1821
12 Moses Miller 1821

7th and 8th Concession.

5 & 6 David Thompson 1819

Broken Front.

26 Patrick Benson 1819
27 John Ashburn 1819
29 Jonas Schrver 1819
B, C, D & N John Davidson 1819
A John Silver 1823
2 marsh lots, Lucy Brunson 1821
Gardiner’s Island, Angus Campbell 1819
Marsh Island, Amable Casinet 1819
Sucker Island, Jacob Hollenbeck 1821
L Angus Plamondon 1821
I William Ross 1825

Bittern Island.

1 Hyp. E. dit Perikier, Utley farm, Henry Utley 1825
2 Duncan Gillis 1820
3 Alexander Campbell 1820
7 Robert Colquhoun 1819
8 George Truax 1819

Petite Chenail.

4 John Lamasney 1819
5 George Truax 1819
6 Patrick Gallagher 1819
8 Isaac Leclair 1818
10 William Empey 1820
11 James Summers 1820
12 Donald Grant 1820
13 John Grant 1820

Village of Dundee.

1 George B. R. Gove 1821
2 Patrick Buchanan 1828
3 James Peck 1821
5 & 6 John Silver 1821

1814 Blair Drummond Moss Census

Kirk Lane No14
Former Possessor Peter McNie
Present Possessor Duncan Stewart 40 yrs
Ann McGregor 32 “
Children
Alexander 14 “
May 9 yrs
James 7 “
Jannet 7 “
James (sic) 5 “
Archibald 3 “
John 1 “

Persons deceased: None

Years Settled on the Moss 4 years
Where they came from Callander

Cats 1
Dogs –
Poultry 2
Swine –
Sheep –
Cows 2
Horses 1
Harrows 1
Plough 1
Carts 1