Читать книгу The Conquest of Canada (Vol. 1&2) - George Warburton - Страница 15

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Upon the surface of Canada are found manifest indications of that tremendous deluge, the effects of which are so plainly visible in the Old World. Huge bowlder stones[151] abound in almost every part of the province; sometimes they are seen rounded, piled in high heaps on extensive horizontal beds of limestone, swept together by the force of some vast flood. Masses of various kinds of shells lie in great quantities in hollows and valleys, some of them hundreds of feet above the level of Lake Ontario. Near to great rivers, and often where now no waters are at hand, undulations of rocks are seen like those found in the beds of rapids where the channels are waved. These have evidently, at some remote period, been the courses of floods now no longer existing. On the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence detached bowlder stones appear, some of enormous size, many tons in weight; they must have come from a great distance, for nowhere in that region is there any rock of similar material. In the upper strata of the country are abundant fossil remains of distinct animal existences now unknown; they are blended with the limestone in which they lie.

It seems certain that the whole of Canada has been violently convulsed by some effort of nature since the floods of the deluge passed away; the mountains are abrupt and irregular in outline, and in some places cleft with immense chasms; the rivers also show singular contortions. North of Quebec and in St. Paul's Bay are many traces of volcanic eruptions, and vast masses of alluvial rocks, bearing marks of vitrification, frequently appear on the surface of the earth. There is, besides, strong evidence that the American Continent has lain for unknown ages beneath the great deep, or that it is of later formation than Europe or Asia.

As far as it has been explored, the general geological structure of Canada exhibits a granite country, with some calcareous rocks of a soft texture in horizontal strata. The lower islands in the St. Lawrence are merely inequalities of the vast granite strata which occasionally stand above the level of the waters; the whole neighboring country appears as if the Great River had at one time covered it. The banks of the St. Lawrence are in many places formed of a schistus substance in a decaying state, but still granite is every where found in strata, inclined, but never parallel to the horizon. In the Gaspé District, many beautiful quartz, and a great variety of cornelians, agates, copals, and jaspers have been found, and traces of coal have also been observed.[152]

The north shore of the St. Lawrence, from thirty miles below Quebec eastward, and along the coast of Labrador, is generally of the primitive formations. Except in the marshes and swamps, rocks obtrude upon the surface in all quarters; in many places, deep fissures of from six inches to two feet wide are seen bearing witness to volcanic violence; the Indians describe some of these rents as several miles long, and forty or fifty deep; when covered with the thick underwood, they are, at times, very dangerous to the traveler. These chasms are probably owing to some great subterranean action; there is a manuscript in the Jesuits' College at Quebec which records the occurrence of an earthquake on the 5th of February, 1663, at about half past 5 P.m., felt through the whole extent of Canada: trees in the forests were torn up and dashed against each other with inconceivable violence; mountains were raised from their foundations and thrown into valleys, leaving awful chasms behind; from the openings issued dense clouds of smoke, dust, and sand; many rivers disappeared, others were diverted from their course, and the great St. Lawrence became suddenly white as far down as the mouth of the Saguenay. The first shock lasted for more than half an hour, but the greatest violence was only for fifteen minutes. At Tadoussac, a shower of volcanic ashes descended upon the rivers, agitating the waters like a tempest. This tremendous earthquake extended simultaneously over 180,000 square miles of country, and lasted for nearly six months almost without intermission.[153]

In the neighborhood of Quebec, a dark clay slate generally appears, and forms the bed of the St. Lawrence as far as Lake Ontario, and even at Niagara; bowlders and other large masses of rock, however, of various kinds, occur in detached portions at many different places. The great elevated ridge of broken country running toward the Ottawa River, at the distance of from fifty to one hundred miles from the north shore of Lake Ontario, and the course of the St. Lawrence, is rich in silver, lead, copper, and iron. On the north shore of the Saguenay, the rugged mountains abound in iron to such an extent as to influence the mariner's compass. The iron mines of St. Maurice[154] have been long known, and found abundantly productive of an admirable metal, inferior to none in the world; it is remarkably pliant and malleable, and little subject to oxydation. In 1667, Colbert sent M. de la Potardière, an experienced mineralogist, to examine these mines; he reported the iron very abundant, and of excellent quality, but it was not till 1737 that the forges were established by the French: they failed to pay the expenses of the speculation; the superintendent and fourteen clerks, however, gained fortunes by the losses of their employers.

There is no doubt that immense mineral resources remain undiscovered among the rocky solitudes of Lower Canada. Marble of excellent quality, and endless variety of color, is found in different parts of the country, and limestone is almost universal. Labrador produces a beautiful and well-known spar of rich and brilliant tints, ultra-marine, greenish yellow, red, and some of a fine pearly gray.

In Upper Canada, the country north of Lake Ontario is generally characterized by a limestone subsoil resting on granite. The rocks about Kingston are usually a very compact limestone, of a bluish-gray color, having a slight silicious admixture, increasing as the depth increases, with occasional intrusions of quartz or hornstone. The limestone strata are horizontal, with the greatest dip when nearest to the elder rock on which it rests; their thickness, like the depths of the soil, varies from a few feet to a few inches: in these formations many minerals are observed; genuine granite is seldom or never found.

West of Lake Ontario, the chasm at the Falls of Niagara shows the strata of the country to be limestone, next slate, and lowest sandstone. Limestone and sandstone compose the secondary formations of a large portion of Canada, and of nearly all that vast extent of country in the United States drained by the Mississippi. At Niagara the interposing structure of slate is nearly forty feet thick, and fragile, like shale crumbling away from under the limestone, thus strengthening the opinion that there has been for many ages a continual retrocession of the Great Falls. Around Lake St. Clair, masses of granite, mica slate, and quartz are found in abundance. The level shores of Lake Huron offer little geological variety; secondary limestone, filled with the usual reliquiæ, is the general structure of the coast, but detached blocks of granite and other primitive rocks are occasionally found: this district appears poor in minerals. The waters of Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior have evidently, at some remote period, formed one vast sheet, which probably burst its bounds by a sudden action of nature, and subsided into the present divisions, all lower than the former general level: the separating ridges of these waters are but slightly elevated; great masses of rock and huge bowlders of granite are found rolled at least 100 miles from their original situations, and immense alluvial beds of fresh-water shells, apparently formed since the deluge, but when the waters were still of a vast depth and extent, are found in the east of Lake Huron.

Little or nothing is known of the dreary solitudes beyond Lake Superior; enormous muddy ponds and marshes are succeeded by open, dry, sandy plains; then forests of hemlock and spruce arise, again swamp, bog, windfalls, and stagnant water succeed; in the course of many miles there may not be one dry spot found for a resting-place. The cold is intense in this desolate region; in winter spirits freeze into a consistency like honey; and even in the height of summer the thermometer only shows thirty-six degrees at sunrise. Part of the north and east shore of this greatest of the lakes present old formations—sienite, stratified greenstone, more or less chloritic, and alternating five times with vast beds of granite—the general direction east, with a north or perpendicular dip. Great quantities of the older shell limestone are found strewn in rolled masses on the beach. Amygdaloid occupies also a very large tract to the north, mingled with porphyries, conglomerates, and various other substances. From Thunder Mountain westward, trappose greenstone is the prevailing rock: it gives rise to some strange pilastered precipices near Fort William. Copper[155] abounds in this region to an extent, perhaps, unsurpassed any where in the world. At the Coppermine River, three hundred miles from the Sault de St. Marie, this metal, in a pure state, nearly covers the face of a serpentine rock, and is also found within the stone in solid masses. Iron is abundant in many parts of Upper Canada; at Charlotteville, eight miles from Lake Erie, the metal produced is of a very fine quality. The Marmora Iron Works, about thirty-two miles north of the Bay of Quinté, on the River Trent, are situated on an extensive white rocky flat, apparently the bed of some dried-up river; the ore is found on the surface, and is very rich, yielding ninety-two per cent.: the necessary assistants, lime and fuel, abound close at hand. Various other minerals have also been found there; among the rest, small specimens of a metal like silver.

There are many strong mineral springs in different parts of Canada; the most remarkable of these is the Burning Spring above Niagara; its waters are black, hot and bubbling, and emit, during the summer, a gas that burns with a pure bright flame; this sulphureted hydrogen is used to light a neighboring mill. Salt springs are also numerous; gypsum is obtained in large quantities, with pipe and potter's clay; yellow ocher sometimes occurs; and there are many kinds of valuable building stones. It is gathered from the Indians that there are incipient volcanoes in several parts of these regions, particularly toward the Chippewa hunting grounds.

The soil of Lower Canada is generally fertile; about Quebec it is light and sandy in some parts, in others it is a mixture of loam and clay. Above the Richelieu Rapids, where the great valley of the St. Lawrence begins to widen, the low lands consist of a light and loose dark earth, with ten or twelve inches of depth, lying on a stratum of cold clay, all apparently of alluvial formation. Along the banks of the Ottawa there is a great extent of rich alluvial soil; each year develops large districts of fertile land, before unknown. The soils of Upper Canada are various; brown clay and loam, intermixed with marl, predominates, particularly in the rich district between the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa: north of Ontario it is more clayey and extremely fertile. A rich black mold prevails in the district between Lakes Ontario and Erie. There is in this upper country an almost total absence of stone or gravel for building and other common purposes. So great is the fertility of the soil in Canada, that fifty bushels of wheat an acre are frequently produced, even where the stumps of trees still occupy a considerable portion of the ground: near Toronto one hundred bushels of wheat have been grown upon a single acre, and in some districts the land has yielded rich crops of that grain for twenty successive years, without being manured.

The quality of the soil in wild lands may be known by the timber growing upon it. Hard-wood trees, those that shed their leaves during winter, show the best indication, such as maple, bass-wood, elm, black walnut, hickory, butternut, iron-wood, hemlock, and a giant species of nettle. A mixture of beech is good, but where it stands alone the soil is generally light. Oak is uncertain as an indication, being found on various bottoms. Soft or evergreen wood, such as pine, fir, larch, and others of the species, are considered decisive of a very light soil. The larch or tamarack on wide, flat plains, indicates sand upon a substratum of marly clay, which the French Canadians hold in high estimation. It is, however, right to add, that some very respectable authorities dispute that the nature of the timber can be fully relied on as a guide to the value of the land. The variety of trees found in the Canadian forest is astonishing, and it is supposed that many kinds still remain unknown. Of all these, none is more beautiful and useful than the maple; its brilliant foliage, changing with each season of the year, is the richest ornament of the forest. The timber is valuable for many purposes, and from the sap might be produced an immense quantity of excellent sugar. A great deal is at present made, but, like all the other resources of this magnificent country, it is very partially turned to the use of man: the sap of the maple is valuable also for distillation.

There is a considerable variety of climate in Canada, from the northeast, chilled by the winds of the Atlantic,[156] to the southwest, five degrees lower, and approaching the center of the continent; the neighborhood of ranges of bare and rugged mountains,[157] has also a marked effect upon the temperature of different localities. However, in all parts the winters are very severe, while the heat of summer is little inferior to that of the tropics. But, on the whole, the clear blue sky, unobscured by fog or mist, and the pure elastic air, bespeak the salubrity of these provinces in all seasons.

In Lower Canada the extreme severity of the winter is, in a measure, caused by the vicinity of the range of lofty and rugged mountains, as well as by its more northern position. The fall of snow commences in November, but seldom remains long on the ground till December; in that month constantly successive falls of snow rapidly cover the whole surface of the country. Toward the end of December the heavy clouds disperse, and the rude storm is followed by a perfect calm; the air becomes pure and frosty, and the skies of a clear and beautiful azure. The River St. Lawrence[158] is frozen over every winter from Montreal to the Richelieu Rapids, but from thence to Quebec only once in about five years; at other times, however, enormous fields and masses of ice drift up and down with the changing tides, increasing or diminishing with the severity or mildness of the weather; where the Island of Orleans divides the Great River into two branches, the northern channel is narrow and less acted upon by tides; here these huge frozen masses are forced together by the winds and waters, and form an enormous bridge from shore to shore. The greatest degree of cold prevails toward the end of January, for a few days occasionally so intense that the human frame can scarcely endure exposure to it for any length of time. When winter has set in nearly every bird disappears, and few wild animals are any longer to be seen; some, like the bear, remain torpid, others change their color to a snowy white, and are rarely observed. Rocks of the softer kinds are often rent asunder, as if with the explosion of gunpowder, by the irresistible expansive power of the frost.[159] Dogs become mad from the severity of the cold, and polished iron or other metal, when exposed in the air for a little time, burns the hand at the touch as if it were red hot.[160] During the still nights of intense frost the woods send forth a creaking sound, like the noise of chopping with thousands of hatchets. Sometimes a brief thaw occurs in the middle of winter, when a very extraordinary effect, called by the Canadians ver glas, is occasionally produced upon the bare trees: they are covered with an incrustation of pure ice from the stem to the extremities of the smallest branches; the slight frost of the night freezes the moisture that covered the bark during the day; the branches become at last unable to bear their icy burden, and when a strong wind arises, the destruction among trees of all kinds is immense. When the sun shines upon the forest covered with this brilliant incrustation, the effect is indescribably beautiful.

The months of March and April are usually very hot, and the power of the sun's rays is heightened by the reflection of the ice and snows. Toward the end of April or the beginning of May, the dreary winter covering has altogether disappeared; birds of various kinds return from their wintery exile; the ice accumulated in the great lakes and streams that are tributary to the St. Lawrence breaks up with a tremendous noise, and rushes down in vast quantities toward the ocean, till again the tides of the Gulf drive them back. Sometimes the Great River is blocked up from shore to shore with these frozen masses; the contending currents force them together with terrible violence, and pile them over each other in various fantastic forms. The navigation of the river is not fairly practicable till all these have disappeared, which is generally about the 10th of May.

When the young summer fairly sets in, nothing can be more charming than the climate—during the day bright and genial, with the air still pure and clear; the transition from bare brown fields and woods to verdure and rich green foliage is so rapid, that its progress is almost perceptible. Spring has scarcely begun before summer usurps its place, and the earth, awakened from nature's long, wintery sleep, gives forth her increase with astonishing bounty. This delightful season is usually ushered in by moderate rains, and a considerable rise in the meridian heat; but the nights are still cool and refreshing. In June, July, and August, the heat becomes great, and for some days intense; the roads and rocks at noon are so hot as to be painful to the touch, and the direct rays of the sun possess almost tropical power; but the night brings reinvigorating coolness, and the breezes of the morning are fresh and tempered as in our own favored land. September is usually a delightful month, although at times oppressively sultry. The autumn or fall rivals the spring in healthy and moderate warmth, and is the most agreeable of the seasons. The night-frosts destroy the innumerable venomous flies that have infested the air through the hot season, and, by their action on the various foliage of the forest, bestow an inconceivable richness of coloring to the landscape.

During the summer there is a great quantity of electric fluid in the atmosphere, but storms of thunder and lightning are not of very frequent occurrence. When they do take place, their violence is sometimes tremendous, and serious damage often occurs. These outbursts, however, usually produce a favorable effect upon the weather and temperature.

The most remarkable meteoric phenomenon that has occurred in Canada since the country became inhabited by civilized man, was first seen in October, 1785, and again in July, 1814. At noonday a pitchy darkness, of a dismal and sinister character, completely obscured the light of the sun, continuing for about ten minutes at a time, and being frequently repeated during the afternoon. In the interval between each mysterious eclipse dense masses of black clouds, streaked with yellow, drove athwart the darkened sky, with fitful gusts of wind; thunder, lightning, black rain, and showers of ashes added to the terrors of the scene; and, when the sun appeared, its color was a bright red. The Indians ascribe this wonderful phenomenon to a vast volcano in the unknown regions of Labrador. The testimony of M. Gagnon gives corroboration to this idea. In December, 1791, when at St. Paul's Bay, in the Saguenay country, he saw the flames of an immense volcano, mingled with black smoke, rising to a great height in the air. Several violent shocks, as of an earthquake, accompanied this strange appearance.

The prevailing winds of Lower Canada are the northeast, northwest, and southwest, and these exercise considerable influence on the temperature of the atmosphere and the state of the weather. The southwest wind, the most prevalent, is generally moderate, accompanied by clear, bright skies; the northeast and east wind bring rain in summer, and snow in winter, from the dreary regions of Labrador; and the northwest blast is keen and dry, from its passage over the vast frozen solitudes that lie between the Rocky Mountains[161] and Hudson's Bay. Winds from the north, south, or west are seldom felt: the currents of the neighboring air are often affected by the direction of the tidal streams, which act as far as 400 miles from the mouth of the Great River.

The effect of a long continuance of snow upon the earth is favorable to vegetation; were the surface exposed to the intense severity of wintery frosts, unprotected by this ample covering, the ground could not regain a proper degree of heat, even under a Canadian sun, before the autumn frosts had again chilled the energies of nature. The natural heat of the earth is about 42°; the surface waters freeze at 32°, and thus present a non-conducting incrustation to the keen atmosphere; then the snow becomes a warm garment till the April sun softens the air above; the latent heat of the earth begins to be developed; the snow melts, and penetrates the ground through every pore, rendering friable the stiffest soil. For a month or more before the visible termination of the Canadian winter, vegetation is in active progress on the surface of the earth, even under snow several feet thick.

In Upper Canada the climate does not present such extremes of heat and cold as in the Lower Province. In the Newcastle District, between latitude 44° and 45°, the winter is little more severe than in England, and the warmth of summer is tempered by a cool and refreshing southwest breeze, which blows throughout the day from over the waters of the great lakes. In spring and autumn the southwest wind brings with it frequent rains; the northwest wind prevails in winter, and is dry, cold, and elastic; the south-eastern breezes are generally accompanied by thaw and rain: from the west, south, or north, the wind rarely blows. The most sudden changes of weather consequent upon varying winds are observed from the northwest, when the air becomes pure and cool; thunder storms generally clear away with this wind: the heaviest falls of snow, and the most continued rains, come with the eastern breezes.

The great lakes are never frozen in their centers, but a strong border of thick ice extends for some distance from the shore: in severe weather, a beautiful evaporation in various fantastic shapes ascends from the vast surfaces of these inland seas, forming cloudy columns and pyramids to a great height in the air: this is caused by the water being of a higher temperature than the atmosphere above. The chain of shallow lakes from Lake Simco toward the midland district are rarely frozen over more than an inch in thickness till about Christmas, and are free from ice again by the end of March. The earth in Upper Canada is seldom froze more than twelve or eighteen inches deep, and the general covering of the snow is about a foot and a half in thickness.

In Canada the Indian summer is perhaps the most delightful period of the year. During most of November the weather is mild and serene; a soft, dry haze pervades the air, thickening toward the horizon; in the evenings the sun sets in a rich crimson flush, and the temperature is mild and genial: the birds avail themselves of the Indian summer for their migration. A phenomenon called the "tertian intervals" has excited much interest, and is still unexplained: at the end of the third day the greatest intensity of frost is always remittent, and succeeded by several days of mild weather. The climate is so dry that metals rarely are rusted by exposure to the air. This absence of humidity prevents the extremes of heat and cold from being so powerful here in their effect upon the sensations of the human frame as in other countries.

The Aurora Borealis, or northern lights,[162] appear with great brilliancy in the clear Canadian sky, especially during the winter nights. Starting from behind the distant horizon, they race up through the vault of heaven, spreading over all space one moment, shrinking to a quivering streak the next, shooting out again where least expected, then vanishing into darkness deeper than before; now they seem like vast floating banners of variegated flame, then as crescents, again as majestic columns of light, ever changing in form and color. It is said that a rustling sound like that of silk accompanies this beautiful appearance.

The climate of Canada has undergone a slight change since the discovery of the country; especially from the year 1818, an amelioration has been perceptible, partly owing to the motion of the magnetic poles, and partly to the gradual cultivation and clearing of the country. The winters are somewhat shorter and milder, and less snow falls than of old; the summers are also hotter.[163] The felling of the forests, the draining of the morasses, partial though it may still be, together with the increasing population, have naturally some effect. The thick foliage, which before interposed its shade between the sun and the earth, intercepting the genial warmth from the lower atmosphere, has now been removed in many extensive tracts of country: the cultivated soil imbibes the heat, and returns it to the surrounding air in warm and humid vapors. The exhalations arising from a much increased amount of animal life, together with the burning of so many combustibles, are not altogether without their influence in softening the severity of the climate.[164]

Canada abounds in an immense and beautiful variety of trees[165] and shrubs. Among the timber trees, the oak, pine, fir, elm, ash, birch, walnut, beech, maple, chestnut, cedar, and aspen, are the principal. Of fruit-trees and shrubs there are walnut, chestnut, apple, pear, cherry, plum, elder, vines,[166] hazel, hickory, sumach, juniper, hornbeam, thorn, laurel, whortleberry, cranberry, gooseberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, sloe, and others; strawberries of an excellent flavor are luxuriantly scattered over every part of the country. Innumerable varieties of useful and beautiful herbs and grasses enrich the forests, whose virtues and peculiarities are as yet but little known to Europeans.[167] In many places, pine-trees grow to the height of 120 feet and upward, and are from nine to ten feet in circumference.[170] Of this and of the fir species there are many varieties, some of them valuable from their production of pitch, tar, and turpentine. The American oak[171] is quicker in its growth and less durable than that of England; one species, however, called the live oak, grown in the warmer parts of the continent, is said to be equal, if not superior, to any in Europe for ship-building. The white oak is the best found in the Canadian settlements, and is in high repute. Another description is called the scrubby oak—it resembles the British gnarled oak, and is remarkably hard and durable. The birch[173] tribe is very numerous: the bark is much used by the Indians in making canoes,[174] baskets, and roofings; the wood is of a useful quality, and the sap, when extracted in the spring, produces by fermentation a pleasant but weak wine. The maple[175] is one of the most variable and beautiful of all the forest trees, and is adopted as the emblem of Canadian nationality.

Two plants, formerly of great importance in these counties, are now almost extirpated, or little noticed as articles of commerce—ginseng[176] and capillaire. The first was found in great abundance by the French in their earlier settlement of the colony, and large quantities were exported to Europe, from whence it was forwarded to China. The high value it then possessed in that distant market induced the Canadians to collect the roots prematurely; and the Indians also gathered them wherever they could be found; consequently, this useful production was soon exhausted, and is now rarely seen. The capillaire[177] is now either become rare or neglected for other objects; a small quantity is, however, still exported. In the woods there is a vast variety of wild plants and flowers, many of them very beautiful. The sweet garlic especially deserves notice: two large pale-green leaves arise from the root; between them stands the delicate stem, about a foot in height, bearing a cluster of graceful flowers, resembling blue-bells in shape and color. The wild turnip is also very beautiful. There are, besides, many valuable herbs and roots, which the Indians use for various purposes. The reindeer moss[178] often serves for support and refreshment to the exhausted hunter; when boiled down into a liquid, it is very nourishing; and an herb called Indian tea produces a pleasant and wholesome draught, with a rich aromatic flavor. Wild oats and rice[179] are found in some of the marshy lands. The soil and climate are also favorable to the production of hops and a mild tobacco, much esteemed for the manufacture of snuff. Hemp[180] and flax are both indigenous in America. Father Hennepin, in the seventeenth century, found the former growing wild in the country of the Illinois; and Sir Alexander Mackenzie, in his travels to the western coast, met with flax in the interior, where no European was ever known to have been before. The Indian hemp[181] is seen in abundance upon the Canadian soil, particularly in light and sandy places; the bark is so strong that the natives use it for bow-strings; the pod bears a substance that rivals down in softness and elasticity; the culture is easy; the root, penetrating deep into the earth, survives the frosts of winter, and shoots out fresh stalks every spring. When five or six years old it attains the greatest perfection. It may be added that in these favored provinces all European plants, fruits, vegetables, grain,[182] legumes, and every other production of the earth required for the subsistence or luxury of man, yield their increase even more abundantly than in the old continents.

The animals originally belonging to America appear to be of an inferior race—neither so robust, fierce, or numerous as those of the other continents: some are peculiar to the New World; but there is reason to suppose that several species have become utterly extinct, and the spread of cultivation, and increase of the human race rapidly extirpate many of those that still remain. America gives birth to no creature of equal bulk to the elephant and rhinoceros, or of equal strength and ferocity to the lion and tiger. The particular qualities in the climate, stinting the growth and enfeebling the spirit of the native animals, have also proved injurious to such as have been transported to the Canadas by their present European inhabitants. The soil, as well as temperature, of the country seems to be rather unfavorable to the development of strength and perfection in the animal creation.[183] The general quality of the natural grasses covering those boundless pastures is not good or sufficiently nutritious.[184]

The native animals of Canada are the buffalo, bison, and musk bull, belonging to the ox kind. The buffalo is still found in herds of immense numbers upon the prairies of the remote western country, where they have wandered from the hated neighborhood of civilized man: the skin[185] is invaluable to the Canadians as a protection from the keen wintery air, and is abundantly supplied to them by the hunters of the Hudson's Bay Company.[186] This animal is about the size of an ox, with the head disproportionably large; he is of a lighter color, less ferocious aspect, and inferior strength to those of the Old World. Both the bison and musk ox are varieties of the domestic cow, with a covering of shaggy hair; they possess considerable strength and activity. There are different descriptions of deer: the black and gray moose or elk, the caribou or reindeer,[187] the stag[188] and fallow deer.[189] The moose deer[190] is the largest wild animal of the continent; it is often seen upward of ten feet high, and weighing twelve hundred weight; though savage in aspect, the creature is generally timid and inoffensive even when attacked by the hunter, and, like the sheep, may be easily domesticated: the flesh and skin are both of some value.

The black and brown bear[191] is found in various parts of America, but chiefly in the northwest: some few are seen in the forests to the north of Quebec. This animal chooses for his lurking-place the hollow trunk of an old tree, which he prepares with sticks and branches, and a coating of warm moss; on the approach of the cold season he retires to his lair, and sleeps through the long winter till the return of spring enables him again to seek his prey. The bear is rather shy than fierce, but very powerful and dangerous when driven to extremities; he displays a strong degree of instinct, and is very dexterous and cunning in procuring food: the flesh is considered a delicacy, and the skin highly prized for beauty and warmth. Foxes[192] are numerous; they are of various colors and very cunning. Hares[193] are abundant, and turn white in winter like those of Norway. The wolverine or carcajou is called by the hunters beaver-eater, and somewhat resembles a badger; the skin is soft and handsome. A species of porcupine or urchin is found to the northward, and supplies the Indians with quills about four inches long, which, when dyed, are worked into showy ornaments. Squirrels[194] and various other small quadrupeds with fine furs are abundant in the forests. The animals of the cat kind are the cougar or American lion, the loup-cervier, the catamount, and the manguay or lynx.

Beavers[195] are numerous in North America; these amphibious animals are about two feet nine inches in length, with very short fore feet and divided toes, while the hinder are membranous, and adapted for swimming; the body is covered with a soft, glossy, and valuable fur; the tail is oval, scaly, destitute of hair, and about a foot long. These industrious creatures dam up considerable streams, and construct dwellings of many compartments, to protect them from the rigor of the climate, as well as from their numerous enemies; their winter food, consisting of poplar logs, pieces of willows, alder, and fragments of other trees, is collected in autumn, and sunk in the water near the habitation. The beaver exhibits an extraordinary degree of instinct, and may be easily tamed; when caught or surprised by the approach of an enemy, it gives warning to its companions by striking the water with the flat of its tail. The musk rat and otter resemble the beaver in some of their habits, but are inferior in ingenuity, and of less value to the hunter.

The walrus has now disappeared from the frequented waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but is still found on the northern coasts of Labrador; in shape he somewhat resembles the seal, but is of much greater size, sometimes weighing 4000 pounds; when protecting their young, or when wounded, they are dangerous from their immense tusks; when out of the water, however, they are very helpless.

Nearly all these wild animals are pursued by the Indians, and the hunters of the Hudson's Bay Company,[196] for their skins; they are consequently growing rarer, and their haunts become more remote each succeeding year: probably, at no distant time, they will be altogether extinct.

The birds of Canada differ little from those of the same names in Europe, but the severe climate is generally uncongenial to them. There are eagles, vultures, hawks, falcons, kites, owls, ravens, crows, rooks, jays, magpies, daws, cuckoos, woodpeckers, hoopers, creepers, humming-birds, thrushes, blackbirds, linnets, finches, sparrows, fly-catchers, pigeons, turkeys, ducks, geese, swans, grouse, ptarmigans, snipes, quails, and many others. The plumage of the American birds is very brilliant; but the sweet voices that fill the European woods with melody are never heard. Many of the birds of Lower Canada are migratory; the water-fowl seek the cooler north during the heat of summer, and other species fly to the south to shun the wintery frosts. In the milder latitudes of Upper Canada, birds are more numerous. They are known by the same names as those of corresponding species in England, but differ from them to some extent in plumage and character.

In Lower Canada the reptiles are few and innocuous, and even these are not met with in the cultivated parts of the country. In the Upper Province, however, they are more numerous; some species are very dangerous, others harmless and exquisitely beautiful. Two kinds of rattlesnakes[197] are found here: one of a deep brown and yellow color, and seldom more than thirty inches in length; it frequents marshes and low meadows, and is very dangerous to cattle, often fastening its fangs upon their lips while grazing. The other is a bright greenish yellow clouded with brown, and twice the size of the former. These reptiles are thicker in proportion to their length than any others; the rattle is at the end of the tail, and consists of a number of dry, horny shells inclosed within each other. When wounded or enraged, the skin of the rattlesnake assumes a variety of beautiful colors; the flesh is white as that of the most delicate fish, and is esteemed a great luxury by the Indians. Cold weather weakens or destroys their poisonous qualities. In the spring, when they issue from their place of winter concealment, they are harmless till they have got to water, and at that time emit a sickening smell so as to injure those who hunt them. In some of the remoter districts they are still numerous, but in the long-settled parts of the country they are now rarely or never seen.

Several varieties of lizards and frogs abound; the latter make an astonishing noise in marshy places during the summer evening by their harsh croaking. The land crab is found on the northern shore of Lake Erie. A small tortoise, called a terrapin,[198] is taken in some rivers, creeks, and swampy grounds, and is used as an article of food. Seals have been occasionally seen on the islands in Lake Ontario.

Insects[199] are very numerous and various, some of them both troublesome and mischievous: locusts or grasshoppers have been known to cause great destruction to the vegetable world. Musquitoes and sand-flies infest the woods, and the neighborhood of water, in incredible numbers, during the hot weather. There are many moths and butterflies resembling those seen in England. The beautiful fire-fly is very common in Canada, their phosphorescent light shining with wonderful brightness through the shady forests in the summer nights.

The lakes and rivers of Upper Canada abound in splendid fish of almost every variety known in England, and others peculiar to the country: sturgeon of 100 lbs. weight are frequently taken, and a giant species of pike, called the maskenongi, of more than 60 lbs. The trout of the upper lakes almost rivals the sturgeon in size, but not in flavor. The delicious white-fish, somewhat resembling a shad, is very plentiful, as is also the black bass, which is highly prized. A fresh-water herring abounds in great shoals, but is inferior in delicacy to the corresponding species of the salt seas. Salmon are numerous in Lake Ontario, but above the Falls of Niagara they are never seen.