Page images
PDF
EPUB
[ocr errors]

On leaving La Prairie I bade adieu to the St. Lawrence, which is by far the most beautiful river I have ever seen. I had previously thought that nothing could surpass the Ohio; but that river is much inferior to the St. Lawrence in picturesque beauty. Parts of the Rhine, the most beautiful river I have seen in Europe, might, if on a larger scale, be compared to it; but the immense size of the great Canadian river adds an air of grandeur to its beauty, tha places it above all comparison. An old lumbering vehicle, dignified with the name of a stage, brought us from La Prairie to St. John's, through a flat and uninteresting country, which however is tolerably well cultivated, and affords numerous specimens of the farm-houses of the French Canadians. For several miles, we passed through a low birch wood, every leaf and green twig of which had been destroyed by caterpillars, of which thousands were still clinging to the boughs of every tree. Indeed, these caterpillars were sometimes congregated in such numbers, and so close together, that until I got out of the stage and examined them, I could not but believe that the trees were diseased. I never before had seen such devastation committed by the insect tribe. The driver told me, that the people in the neighbourhood intended to assemble and try to set fire to the 1992 to To129PPONĮ wood, as the only means by which the caterpillars could be destroyed.

could be

الا

bobdor VI At the little town of St. John's, situated on the

river which connects Lake Champlain with the St. Lawrence, I embarked on board one of the superb steam-boats which ply upon the Lake. The entrance to Lake Champlain is narrow, and through a flat country thickly covered with copse wood.

Ten

miles below St. John's is "Isle Aux Noix," a most important station, on which the British are erecting some strong fortifications. At no great distance from this, is a large and beautiful fort, built by the Americans, and which commands the upper part of the Lake. The commissioners, who were appointed to ascertain the boundary line between the United States and Canada (settled by treaty to run in Latitude 45°, from the State of Maine to the St. Lawrence), found out, by an astronomical survey, that this fort was a few poles on the British side of the line. They made, however,

ther discovery, not quite so favourable to the British, as the only navigable channel of the Long Sault rapid was found to be in the territory of the United States. It is said that this will give the Republicans a strong argument in support of their right to the free navigation of the St. Lawrence; for if this be refused, they will cut off the water communication between Upper and Lower Cait appears all will be amicably arranged,

nada. R

for the fort above-mentioned has not been taken possession of, nor has any dispute originated about Canadian boats descending the Long Sault.

We touched at Plattsburg, a place that excites

[ocr errors]

recollections of rather an unpleasant kind in the mind of an Englishman, as it was here that our flotilla was captured, and that the army under Sin George, Prevost, retreated disgracefully, I may indeed observe with regard to the first of these oc currences, that the flotilla was certainly not within cannon shot of the shore, and that even had Sir George been successful, he could not, as has been reported, have altered the fate of the Naval action. But of our second disaster there is but one opinion on both sides, viz. that had Sir George attacked the Americans boldly, he must have taken the place, and destroyed their troops, since he had so very much the advantage in point of numbers. I have conversed with several Americans, who were engaged in the trifling skirmish, that took place pre vious to the retreat of the British forces, and they all assured me that they were quite astonished, at finding Sir George's Army had actually retreated. Never, perhaps, was there exhibited a greater instance of military incapacity and mismanagement, than in this expedition.art. „obot vult le

Landing at Burlington, a pretty little town situated in the State of Vermont, I remarked at once the cleanliness, and cheerful appearance that dist tinguishes the villages of the New England States. Each house, with its large windows, and prettily painted Venetian Blinds, stands in the middle of a small garden, containing some flowering shrubs, and surrounded by a neat fence.dit kombe mundus

[ocr errors]

Lake Champlain forms a beautiful prospect from Burlington, and very much resembles the Lake of Geneva, as seen from Lausanne. Indeed, as is the case with the Alps, the fine and picturesque chain of the Alleghanies increases in size towards the upper extremity of the Lake, and decreases towards the lower extremity, I shall, however, destroy the sublimity of this Alpine comparison, if I remark, that on looking up Lake Champlain there is an island, which from its small size and conical shape has the appearance of a floating hay-cock.

The road leading from Burlington to Royalton, runs for about ten miles through an undulating and cultivated country. It then enters the lofty mountains of Vermont, which, with the exception of spots that have here and there been cleared, are covered with a thick forest of pine. In one place, the road passes through a most remarkable fissure in the mountains, called "the Gulf," which is so narrow, that we had but just room enough to pass, the trees, that have fixed themselves in the crevices of the rocks, brushing the top of the stage.

[ocr errors]

Montpelier, the capital of the state of Vermont, is a very thriving town, pleasantly situated at the bottom of a deep valley. The fences to the fields, throughout all this part of the country, are made of the stumps of large trees placed close together with their roots outwards. Formerly, when a settler cleared a piece of land, he was obliged, after cutting down the trees, to leave the stumps to rot

[ocr errors]

in the ground, which for a long time interrupted his ploughing; but now an ingenious machine has been invented, by which these stumps are torn up by the roots and converted into an excellent fence.">

Near the little town of Hanover I crossed the river. Connecticut, and entered the State of New Hampshire, the country still continuing mountainous, but intersected with fertile valleys.

I

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors]
« PreviousContinue »