The Harbour: Its Marine 1815-1827
Soon after the close of the war with the United States in 1814, the era
of steam navigation on Lake Ontario opens. The first steamer, the
Frontenac, was launched at Ernesttown, on the Bay of Quinte, in 1816.
Her trips began in 1817. The length of her deck was 170 feet; the
breadth, 32 feet; her burden, 700 tons; her cost, L15,000; her
commander, Capt. James McKenzie, a retired officer of the Royal Navy.
I
1818 we observe an enactment of the Provincial Legislature, having
reference to steam navigation. It is decreed that the usual space
occupied by the engine and machinery in a steam vessel, with the
requisite stowage of wood, should be taken to occupy one-third of such
vessel, and that such vessel should only pay Lighthouse or Tonnage Duty
on two-thirds of her admeasurement.
In successive numbers of the Kingston Chronicle, the advertisement of
the Frontenac, occupying the width of two columns, conspicuously
appears, with a large rude woodcut of a steamer with two smoke-pipes at
the top. For the sake of the fares and other particulars, we copy this
document (from the Chronicle of April 30, 1819). "The Steamboat
Frontenac, James McKenzie, Master, will in future leave the different
ports on the following days: viz., Kingston for York, on the 1st, 11th
and 21st days of each month. York for Queenston, 3rd, 13th and 23rd days
of each month. Niagara for Kingston, 5th, 15th and 25th days of each
month. Rates of Passages: From Kingston to York and Niagara, L3. From
York to Niagara, L1. Children under three years of age, half-price;
above three, and under ten, two-thirds. A Book will be kept for entering
the names of passengers, and the berths which they may choose at which
time the passage money must be paid. Passengers are allowed sixty pounds
weight of baggage; surplus baggage to be paid for at the usual rate.
Gentlemen's servants cannot sleep or eat in the Cabin. Deck passengers
will pay fifteen shillings, and may either bring their own provisions,
or be furnished by the Steward. For each dog brought on board, five
shillings. All applications for passage to be made to Capt. McKenzie, on
board. Freight will be transported to and from the above places at the
rate of four shillings per barrel bulk, and Flour at the customary rate
delivered to the different consignees. A list of their names will be put
in a conspicuous place on board, which must be deemed a sufficient
notice; and the Goods, when taken from the Steamboat will be considered
at the risk of the owners. For each small parcel, 2s. 6d., which must be
paid on delivery. Kingston, April 28th, 1819." Capt. McKenzie has
acquired confidence in himself and his vessel in 1819. An earlier notice
in the Chronicle, relating to the Frontenac, was the following. Its
terms show the great caution and very salutary fear which governed the
action of sea captains, hitherto without experience in such matters,
when about to encounter by the aid of steam the perils of a boisterous
Lake. "Steamboat Frontenac will sail from Kingston for Niagara,
calling at York, on the 1st and 15th days of each month, with as much
punctuality as the nature of the Lake navigation will admit of."
The ordinary sailing craft of the Lake of course still continued to ply.
We hear of a passenger-boat between York and Niagara in 1815, called the
Dove; also of the Reindeer, commanded for a time by Captain Myers.
In 1819-20 Stillwell Wilson, with whom we are already acquainted, is in
command of a slip-keel schooner, carrying passengers and freight between
York and Niagara. The Wood Duck was another vessel on this route. (In
1828 the Wood Duck is offered for sale, with her rigging and sails
complete, for Four Hundred Dollars cash. "Apply to William Gibbons,
owner, York." She is afterwards the property of Mr. William Arthurs.)
The Red Rover, Captain Thew, and the Comet, Captain Ives, were
others. The Britannia, Captain Miller, was a visitant of York harbour
about the same period; a top-sail schooner of about 120 tons, remarkable
for her specially fine model. She was built by Roberts, near the site
of what is now Wellington Square, and was the property of Mr. Matthew
Crooks, of Niagara.
Captain Thew, above named, afterwards commanded the John Watkins, a
schooner plying to York. Captain Thew encountered a little difficulty
once at Kingston, through a violation, unconsciously on his part, of
naval etiquette. A set of colours had been presented to the John
Watkins, by Mr. Harris of York, in honour of his old friend and a
co-partner whose name she perpetuated. It happened, however, through
inadvertency, that these colours were made of the particular pattern
which vessels in the Royal Service are alone entitled to carry; and
while the John Watkins was lying moored in the harbour at Kingston,
gaily decorated with her new colours, Captain Thew was amazed to find
his vessel suddenly boarded by a strong body of men-of-war's men, from a
neighbouring royal ship, who insisted on hauling down and taking
possession of the flags flying from her masts, as being the exclusive
insignia of the Royal Navy. It was necessary to comply with the demand,
but the bunting was afterwards restored to Captain Thew on making the
proper representations.
In 1820, Capt. Sinclair was in command of the Lady Sarah Maitland. We
gather from an Observer of December in that year, that Lake Ontario,
according to its wont, had been occasioning alarms to travellers. An
address of the passengers on board of Capt. Sinclair's vessel, after a
perilous passage from Prescott to York, is recorded in the columns of
the paper just named. It reads as follows: "The subscribers, passengers
in the Lady Maitland schooner, beg to tender their best thanks to
Capt. Sinclair for the kind attention paid to them during the passage
from Prescott to this port; and at the same time with much pleasure to
bear testimony to his propriety of conduct in using every exertion to
promote the interest of those concerned in the vessel and cargo, in the
severe gale of the morning of the 4th instant (Dec. 1820). The manly
fortitude and unceasing exertions of Capt. Sinclair, when the situation
of the vessel, in consequence of loss of sails, had become extremely
dangerous, were so highly conspicuous as to induce the subscribers to
make it known to the public, that he may meet with that support which he
so richly deserves. The exertions of the crew were likewise observed,
and are deserving of praise.--D. McDougal, James Alason, G. N. Ridley,
Peter McDougal."
This was probably the occasion of a doleful rejoinder of Mr. Peter
McDougal's, which became locally a kind of proverbial expression: "No
more breakfast in this world for Pete McDoug." The story was that Mr.
McDougal, when suffering severely from the effects of a storm on the
Lake, replied in these terms to the cook, who came to announce
breakfast. The phrase seemed to take the popular fancy, and was employed
now and then to express a mild despair of surrounding circumstances.
In 1820 a Traveller, whose journal is quoted by Willis, in Bartlett's
Canadian Scenery (ii. 48), was six days in accomplishing the journey
from Prescott to York by water. "On the 3rd of September," he says, "we
embarked for York at Prescott, on board a small schooner called the
Caledonia. We performed this voyage, which is a distance of 250 miles,
in six days." In 1818, Mr. M. F. Whitehead, of Port Hope, was two days
and a-half in crossing from Niagara to York. "My first visit to York,"
Mr. Whitehead says in a communication to the writer, "was in September,
1818, crossing the Lake from Niagara with Dr. Baldwin--a two and a-half
days' passage. The Doctor had thoughtfully provided a leg of lamb, a
loaf of bread, and a bottle of porter: all our fare," adds Mr.
Whitehead, "for two days and a-half." We have ourselves more than once,
in former days, experienced the horrors of the middle passage between
Niagara and York, having crossed and re-crossed, in very rough weather,
in the Kingston Packet, or Brothers, and having been detained on the
Lake for a whole night and a good portion of a day in the process. The
schooners for Niagara and elsewhere used to announce the time of their
departure from the wharf at York in primitive style, by repeated blasts
from a long tin horn, so called, sounded at intervals previous to their
casting loose, and at the moment of the start. Fast and large steamers
have, of course, now reduced to a minimum the miseries of a voyage
between the North and South shores; but these miseries are still not
slight at the stormy seasons, when Lake Ontario often displays a mood by
no means amiable--
"Outrageous as a sea, dark, wasteful, wild,
Up from the bottom turned by furious winds
And surging waves."
It is some consolation to reflect, that with all the skill and
appliances at the command of English engineers and shipbuilders, it has
been found hitherto impossible to render the passage from Dover to
Calais a luxury; nor possibly will that result be secured even by the
enormous ferry-steamers which are projected. In 1791, twenty-four hours
were occasionally occupied in the passage from Dover to Calais. "I am
half-dead," writes the learned traveller Dr. E. D. Clarke, at Calais, to
his mother; "I am half-dead with sea-sickness: twenty-four hours'
passage from Dover."
Again, the mode in which the first Lake steamers were made to near the
landing-place in the olden time, was something which would fill a modern
steamboat captain with amazement. Accustomed as we are every day to see
huge steamers guided without any ado straight up to the margin of a quay
or pier, the process of putting in seems a simple affair. Not so was it,
however, in practice to the first managers of steamboats. When the
Frontenac or William IV. was about to approach the wharf at York,
the vessel was brought to a standstill some way out in the harbour. From
near the fore and after gangways boats were then lowered, bearing
hawsers; and by means of these, when duly landed, the vessel was
solemnly drawn to shore. An agitated multitude usually witnessed the
operation.
In the Gazette of July 20, 1820, we have the information that "on
Saturday evening, a schooner of about sixty tons, built for Mr. Oates
and others, was launched in this port (York). She went off," the
Gazette says, "in very fine style, until she reached the water, where,
from some defect in her ways, her progress was checked; and from the
lateness of the hour, she could not be freed from the impediment before
the next morning, when she glided into the Bay in safety. Those who are
judges say that it is a very fine vessel of, the class. It is now
several years," continues the Gazette, "since any launch has been
here; it therefore, though so small a vessel, attracted a good deal of
curiosity." This was the Duke of Richmond packet, afterwards a
favourite on the route between York and Niagara. The Gazette describes
the Richmond somewhat incorrectly as a schooner, and likewise
understates the tonnage. She was a sloop of the Revenue cutter build,
and her burthen was about one hundred tons. Of Mr. Oates we have had
occasion to speak in our perambulation of King Street.
In an Observer of 1820, we have the first advertisement of the
Richmond. It reads thus: "The Richmond Packet, Edward Oates,
commander, will commence running between the Ports of York and Niagara
on Monday, the 24th instant (July), as a regular Packet. She will leave
York on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, at 9 o'clock a.m., precisely;
and Niagara on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, at 10 a.m., to the
24th of September, when the hour of departure will be made known to the
Public. The Richmond has excellent accommodations for Ladies,
Gentlemen and other Passengers, and nothing will be omitted to make her
one of the completest and safest passage vessels of the class in
America, being manned with experienced mariners. Rates of passage: After
Cabin, 10s.; Fore Cabin, 6s. 3d. Children under twelve years,
half-price. Sixty pounds baggage allowed to each passenger; above that
weight, 9d. per cwt., or 2s. per barrel bulk. For freight or passage
apply to John Crooks, Esq., Niagara; the Captain on board; or at the
Subscriber's store. Ed. Oates, York, July 17, 1820."
Captain Vavassour, commandant at Fort George, presented Capt. Oates with
a gun and a set of colours. The former used to announce to the people of
York the arrival and departure of the Richmond; and a striped
signal-flag found among the latter, was hoisted at the Lighthouse on
Gibraltar Point whenever the Richmond Packet hove in sight. (For a
considerable period, all vessels were signalized by a flag flying from
the Lighthouse.)
Two years later, the Richmond is prospering on the route between York
and Niagara. In the Gazette of June 7th, 1822, we have an
advertisement of tenor similar to the one given above. "Richmond
Packet, Edward Oates, master, will regularly leave York for Niagara on
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and Niagara for York on Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Saturdays, from the 1st of June until the 1st of
September." The advertisement then goes on to say: "Edward Oates
respectfully informs his friends and the Public, that his Packet shall
leave York and Niagara on the above days, either in the morning or
evening, as the wind and passengers may suit; and that passengers may
depend on a passage on the above days. The superiority of sailing and
accommodation for ladies and gentlemen are too well known to the public
to make any comment upon. York, June 1st, 1822." By the following year,
however, the Richmond's occupation was coming to an end. Steam on the
route between York and Niagara had its effect. From the Gazette of
Jan. 16, 1823, we learn that Mr. Oates is about to dispose of his
interest in the Richmond; is virtually about to sell the vessel. In
the paper just named we read the following advertisement: "Auction.
Fifty Shares, or three-quarters and two sixty-fourths of that superior
vessel the Richmond Packet, will positively be sold by auction, at the
Town of York, on Saturday, the 25th instant, together with all her
tackle, apparel, stores and furniture; an inventory of which may be seen
on application to R. Coleman, Esq., York; Mr. Edward Oates, Niagara.
N.B.--Terms of sale: one-third down; the remainder in two equal payments
at three and six months, with approved endorsers. York, Jan. 6, 1823."
In a Gazette of this year we have a pleasure boat offered for sale at
York, apparently a bargain. In the number for May 15, 1823, is the
following advertisement: "Pleasure-boat to be sold: built of oak, an
extremely fast sailer, and in every respect a complete vessel of the
kind. It is rigged with jib, foresail, mainsail, and driver. Original
cost, upwards of forty guineas (and not more than four years old). It
will now be sold, with everything belonging to it, at the low price of
fifteen pounds currency. Enquire at the Gazette Office, York. 7th May,
1823."
As the Richmond Packet filled an important place in the early marine
of the harbour, it will be of interest to mention her ultimate fate.
While engaged, in 1826, in conveying a cargo of salt from Oswego, she
was wrecked near Brighton, on the bay of Presqu'isle, towards the
eastern part of Lake Ontario. The Captain, no longer Mr. Oates, losing
his presence of mind in a gale of wind, cut the cable of his vessel and
ran her ashore. The remains of the wreck, after being purchased by
Messrs. Willman, Bailey and Co., were taken to Wellington, on the south
side of the peninsula of Prince Edward county, where the cannon which
had ornamented the deck of the defunct packet, and had for so many years
daily made the harbour of York resound with its detonations, did duty in
firing salutes on royal birthdays and other public occasions up to 1866,
when, being overcharged, it burst, the fragments scattering themselves
far and wide in the waters round the wharf at Wellington.
Just as the Richmond disappears, another favourite vessel, for some
years distinguished in the annals of York harbour, and commanded by a
man of note, comes into the field of view. "The new steamer Canada,"
says the Loyalist of June 3, 1826, "was towed into port this week by
the Toronto, from the mouth of the river Rouge, where she was built
during the last winter. She will be shortly fitted up for her intended
route, which, we understand, will be from York and Niagara round the
head of the Lake, and will add another to the increasing facilities of
conveyance in Upper Canada." The Loyalist then adds: "Six steamboats
now navigate the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, in this Province,
besides the Canada, and a boat nearly ready for launching at
Brockville." We shall presently hear much of the career of the Canada
and her commander.
The Toronto (Capt. Shaw), named above as towing the Canada into the
harbour, was a steam-packet of peculiar make, built at York. She was
constructed without any difference of shape at the bow and stern, and
without ribs. She was a shell of successive layers of rather thin boards
placed alternately lengthwise and athwart, with coatings, between, of
stout brown paper pitched. She proved a failure as a vessel for the Lake
traffic, and was speedily taken down the river, where she was also
unfortunate. We hear of her in the Loyalist of June 17, 1826. "By a
letter," the Editor says, "received from Kingston we are sorry to hear
that the steamboat Toronto, on her first trip from that place to
Prescott, had unfortunately got aground several times, and that in
consequence it had been found necessary to haul her out of the water at
Brockville, to be repaired. The damage is stated not to be very great,
but the delay, besides occasioning inconvenience, must be attended with
some loss to the proprietors." The Editor then adds: "The navigation of
the St Lawrence, for steamboats, between Kingston and Prescott, is in
many places extremely difficult, and requires that the most skilful and
experienced pilots should be employed." In the same number of the
Loyalist is an advertisement of the Martha Ogden, a United States
boat. "Notice. The steamboat Martha Ogden, Andrew Estes, master, will
ply between York and Youngstown during the remainder of the season,
making a daily trip from each place, Saturdays excepted, when she will
cross but once. Hours of sailing, 6 o'clock in the morning and 3 o'clock
in the afternoon. To accommodate the public, her hours of departure from
each place will be changed alternately every week, of which notice will
be regularly given. This arrangement will continue in effect, weather
permitting, until further notice is given. Passengers wishing to cross
the river Niagara will be sent over in the ferry-boat free of charge.
Cabin passage, two dollars. Deck passage, one dollar. Agents at York,
Messrs. M. and R. Meighan. June 13, 1826."
The Frontenac is still plying to York. In 1826 she brings up the
Lieut.-Governor, Sir Peregrine Maitland, from Kingston. The Loyalist
of Saturday, June 3, 1826, duly makes the announcement. "His Excellency
the Lieutenant-Governor arrived here (York) on Wednesday afternoon, on
board the Frontenac, Capt. McKenzie, from Kingston. His Excellency
landed at the King's Wharf under a salute from the Garrison. Major
Hillier and Captain Maitland accompanied his Excellency. On Thursday
morning, his Excellency embarked on board the Frontenac for Niagara."
The following week she brings over from Niagara Col. McGregor and the
70th Regiment. The Loyalist of June 10, 1826, thus speaks. "We have
much pleasure in announcing the arrival in this place of the Head
Quarter Division of the 70th Regiment, under the command of Lieut.-Col.
McGregor. They landed from the steamboat Frontenac yesterday morning,
and marched into the York Garrison." The Loyalist then proceeds to
eulogize the 70th, and to express satisfaction at the removal of that
regiment to York. "The distinguished character of this fine regiment,
and the honourable testimony which has been given of their uniformly
correct and praiseworthy conduct, wherever they have been stationed,
affords the most perfect assurance that from the esteem in which they
have so deservedly been held, during a period of more than thirteen
years' service in Canada, their stay at this Garrison will be rendered
highly satisfactory to the inhabitants, and, we should hope, pleasant to
themselves." It was on this occasion that many of the inhabitants of
York beheld for the first time the impressive sight of a Highland
regiment, wearing the kilt and the lofty plumed cap. A full military
band, too, which accompanies only Head Quarter Divisions, was a novelty
at York; as previous to this year Niagara, and not York, was regarded as
Military head quarters. The Pipers increased the excitement. The band of
the 70th displayed, moreover, at this period further accessories of pomp
and circumstance in the shape of negro cymbal players, and a magnificent
oriental-looking standard of swaying tails surmounted by a huge
glittering crescent bearing small bells.
In the down-trip from York, the same week, the Frontenac took away a
detachment of the 76th Regiment. "The detachment of the 76th Regiment,"
the Loyalist of June 10 reports, "under command of Lieut. Grubbe,
embarked on board the Frontenac yesterday, on its destination to join
the regiment at Montreal. Lieut. Grubbe takes with him," the Editor of
the Loyalist says, "the cordial regard of the inhabitants of York; and
the exemplary conduct of the detachment under his command has been such
as to merit from them their best wishes for their future
prosperity."--During the same week the steamer Queenston had arrived
at York, as we learn from the following item in the same Loyalist of
June 10: "The Rev. Mr. Hudson, Military Chaplain, who accompanied the
Lord Bishop from England, arrived here in the Queenston on Tuesday
last. Mr. Hudson is appointed Chaplain to the Garrison at York." (In
August, 1828, Mr. Hudson must have been in England. We read the
following in the Loyalist of Oct. 11, in that year:--"Married, on the
12th of August last, at Crosby-on-Elden, Cumberland, by the Rev. S.
Hudson, B.A., the Rev. J. Hudson, M.A., Fellow of St. Peter's College,
Cambridge, and Chaplain to the Forces at York, in Upper Canada, to
Barbara Wells, second daughter of the Rev. Thomas Lowry, D.D.") In the
Loyalist of July 29, in this year (1826), we hear of "the new steamer
Niagara, built at Prescott, John Mosier, captain." This new steamer
Niagara was in reality Capt. Mosier's schooner The Union of
Wellington Grove, turned into a steamer. Some error had been committed
in the build of the Union, and she suddenly capsized in the river near
Prescott. Capt. Mosier then cut her in two, added to her length thirty
feet by an insertion, and converted her into the Niagara steam-packet.
Her arrival at York is announced in the Loyalist of July 29, and her
return thither from Niagara with American tourists on board. The
Loyalist says: "The new steamboat Niagara, built at Prescott, John
Mosier, captain, arrived here (York) on Monday last, the 24th instant.
She proceeded the same day to Niagara, and returned on Tuesday
afternoon, with a number of American ladies and gentlemen making the
Northern tour. This arrangement," continues the Loyalist, "of visiting
York twice on the route round the Lake will be continued, we hope, as
the number of persons travelling at this season of the year, having an
opportunity of seeing York, will tend to enliven the town. The
Niagara" it is added, "is a handsome and well-built boat, with a
powerful engine, and most excellent accommodation for travellers." A
Loyalist of the following month (the number for Aug, 12, 1826) reports
the Niagara as bearing another kind of freight. She has on board, for
one thing, 60 hogsheads of tobacco. "The steamboat Niagara, Capt.
Mosier, arrived in port on Monday last from Prescott via Niagara. On
going on board," says the Editor of the Loyalist, "it afforded us much
pleasure to find that her cargo consisted in part of sixty hogsheads of
Leaf Tobacco for the Montreal market, the produce of the western part of
the Province. The cultivation of this article of consumption," continues
the Loyalist, "is attracting the attention of the farmers in the
Western District, and a large quantity of it will be offered in the
market this year. The next season it will be very much increased. The
soil and climate of that part of the Province is represented as being
well adapted to the growth of the tobacco plant, and the enterprise
which is exhibited to secure the advantages thus held out, gives fair
promise that the article will before long be added to the list of the
staple productions of our country, and afford not only a sufficient
supply for home consumption, but also form an important item in the
schedule of Canadian exports."
In the same number of the Loyalist we hear again of Capt. Richardson's
new steamboat, the Canada. We read of her first passage across from
York to Niagara, thus: "The new steamboat Canada, Capt. Richardson,
made her first trip to Niagara on Monday last, and went out of the
harbour in fine style. Her appearance reflects much credit on her
builder, Mr. Joseph Dennis; and the machinery, manufactured by Messrs.
Wards of Montreal, is a specimen of superior workmanship. The combined
excellence of the model and machinery of this boat is such," says the
Loyalist, "as will render her what is usually termed 'a fast boat.'
The trip to Niagara was performed in four hours and some minutes. Her
present route, we observe, is advertised from York to Niagara and the
Head of the Lake. In noticing this first trip of another steamboat,"
continues the Loyalist, "we cannot help contrasting the present means
of conveyance with those ten years ago. At that time only a few
schooners navigated the Lake, and the passage was attended with many
delays and much inconvenience. Now there are five steamboats, all
affording excellent accommodation, and the means of expeditious
travelling. The routes of each are so arranged that almost every day of
the week the traveller may find opportunities of being conveyed from one
extremity of the Lake to the other in a few hours. The Niagara and
Queenston from Prescott, and the Frontenac from Kingston once a
week, and the Canada and Martha Ogden between York and Niagara and
the Head of the Lake every day, afford facilities of communication which
the most sanguine could scarcely have anticipated at the period we speak
of. Independent of these boats, it must be mentioned that the Cornwall
on Lake St. Louis makes a trip every day from Coteau du Lac to Cornwall;
the Dalhousie runs between Prescott and Kingston twice a week and
conveys the mail; the Charlotte and Toronto once a week from
Prescott to the Head of the Bay of Quinte; thus affording to every part
of the country the same advantages of convenient intercourse. These are
some of the evidences of improvement among us during the last few years
which require no comment. They speak for themselves, and it must be
pretty evident from such facts as these, that those who cannot, or will
not, see the progress we are making, must be wilfully blind." (The
closing remark was of course for the benefit of contemporary editors at
York and elsewhere, who, from their political view of things, gave their
readers the impression that Canada was a doomed country, going rapidly
to perdition.)
From the Loyalist of Aug. 19, 1826, we learn that "the steamboat
Niagara, on her trip from York to Kingston, had her machinery injured,
and has put back into Bath to repair." In the same number of the
Loyalist, we are told that the proprietor of the Frontenac had
fractured his leg. "We regret to hear," the Loyalist says, "that an
accident happened last week to John Hamilton, Esq., the proprietor of
the steamboat Frontenac. In stepping out of a carriage at the Falls,
he unfortunately broke his leg." In a Loyalist of the following month
(Sept. 2, 1826), we hear again of Sir Peregrine Maitland's movements in
the Frontenac. The Loyalist says: "His Excellency the
Lieutenant-Governor and suite arrived in town (York) from Kingston
yesterday morning, on board the Frontenac, and after remaining a few
hours, proceeded to Stamford." The next Loyalist (Sep. 9, 1826) speaks
of an expeditious trip made by Capt. Mosier's Niagara. "The Steamboat
Niagara, Capt. Mosier, made," it says, "her trip last week, from York
to Prescott, and back again, in something less than four days, touching
at the ports of Kingston, Gananoque and Brockville, going and returning,
independent of the usual delay at Prescott. The distance is nearly five
hundred miles."
From the Loyalist of Sept. 30, 1826, we hear of the steamboat
Queenston, Capt. Whitney. A notice appears that "The steamboat
Queenston, Capt. W. Whitney, will, during the remainder of the season,
leave Niagara for Kingston and Prescott every Thursday at eight o'clock
a.m., instead of 10 o'clock as heretofore. Queenston, Sept. 8, 1826."
From a number of the Loyalist in the following month (Oct. 7, 1826),
we gather that an accident, which might have been very disastrous, had
happened to the Queenston. "With pleasure," the Editor says, "we state
that the steamboat Queenston arrived here (York) on Thursday last,
without having sustained any serious injury in consequence of the late
accident which happened by her getting aground near Kingston. The
apprehensions which were entertained for the safety of this fine boat
are therefore happily removed. After getting off she returned to
Prescott, where the necessary repairs were immediately made, and brought
up several passengers and a full cargo."
A communication from Hugh Richardson, Captain of the Canada, appears
in the Loyalist of Oct. 14, 1826. A passenger has leaped overboard
from his vessel and been drowned. "To the Editor of the U. E.
Loyalist. Sir,--On Friday evening a passenger on board the Canada, on
her way from Burlington Beach to Niagara, was seen by the man at the
helm to jump overboard. On the alarm being given, in an instant the
sails were in, engine stopped, and boat lowered, into which I jumped
with two hands, and rowed a quarter of a mile in our wake, but, I am
sorry to say, without success. On returning aboard, his hat was found,
as if deliberately placed near the gangway whence he jumped. The hat is
a new white one, and beside the maker's name is written 'Joseph Jewell
Claridge, Jersey City.' The hat contained a new red and yellow silk
handkerchief, a pair of white cotton gloves, and three-quarters of a
dollar in silver. He was a good-looking young man, well dressed, in blue
coat, yellow waistcoat, black or blue pantaloons and boots. He had
neither bundle nor luggage, and came on board at Burlington Beach. I am
inclined to think from all appearances, and the trifle of money left in
the hat, that distressed circumstances had pourtrayed, in a too
sensitive mind, insurmountable evils, producing temporary derangement,
during which the barriers of nature were broken down; and he rushed in
frenzy before his Maker. Perhaps by your kindly inserting this it may
meet the eye of some relation or friend, to whom, on application, the
little articles he left will be restored. I am, Sir, your most obedient
servant, Hugh Richardson. York, Oct. 3, 1826." (We shall have other
communications of Capt. Richardson's brought under our notice shortly.
They are always marked by vigour; and are now and then pleasantly racy
of the profession to which the writer belonged.)
The Loyalist of Nov. 11, 1826, notices a second accident which has
befallen Captain Mosier's vessel. It says: "The steamer Niagara, on
her way from Prescott last week, unfortunately struck on a reef of rocks
off Poplar Point, about fifty miles from Kingston, where, at the latest
dates, she was lying on her beam ends, in about five feet of water. The
Queenston brought her passengers up," it is added, "on Saturday last;
and we are informed that, owing to the exertions of Capt. Mosier, the
greater part of her cargo has been forwarded to York. Yesterday a person
who came from the Niagara, stated that she had received no damage from
the late gales of wind, and as she has weathered these, we sincerely
hope that she may be got off without much difficulty or injury." In the
next number it is noted that "at the latest dates the steamboat
Niagara was still aground. The greatest exertions are making by Capt.
Mosier to get her off. The weather has been tempestuous; but we are
happy to hear that the Niagara has not received any material injury."
In this number is a notice that "a meeting of the stockholders of the
Steampacket Canada will be held at York, on board of the Boat, on
Monday, the 4th of December, at 12 o'clock. By order of the Committee of
Management. J. W. Gamble, Treasurer, York, 15th Nov., 1826."--One result
of the meeting thus advertised is an address to the stockholders from
Capt. Richardson, which appears in the Loyalist of Dec. 9. The Captain
is plainly uneasy in view of the possibility of the majority deciding
that he shall not be in the sole charge and management of the Canada
in the ensuing year. He announces his intention to visit England during
the winter, for the purpose of raising funds among his friends which may
enable him to buy out the few persons who are associated with him in the
ownership of the boat. "Gentlemen," he says, "it having been decided at
a Meeting of the Stockholders, held on board the Canada, that I should
be invested with the sole charge and management of the boat the ensuing
year, unless at a Meeting to be held the first Monday in March, other
arrangements take place, I seize this opportunity, on the eve of my
departure for England, to assure the Stockholders that I have made
every arrangement for the safety of the boat and the necessary repairs.
And at the same time I respectfully submit to them the ostensible motive
of my voyage. Gentlemen, I am so deeply embarked in the speculation I
have entered into, that the prospect of the stock depreciating, and of
the boat's services and my own labours being rendered abortive in so
lucrative a ferry as that betwixt York and Niagara, mainly by a
plurality of the management, fills me with dismay. And, as I trust I am
entitled to the confidence the Stockholders generally placed in my
abilities, and am convinced that unless the power of management be
invested in one person to act with all his energies in the scene of
profits, to seize the advantages of market in the economy of the outlay
with the discretion of a sole owner, loss and ruin to myself must ensue.
With this view of the subject I embark for England to endeavour to raise
funds and relieve those gentlemen who are averse to my management, and
to take up the remainder of the stock, that they who so kindly confided
in my assurances of individual profit, and placed implicit reliance in
my integrity and abilities, may not be disappointed in their fair
expectations. Confident that I possess the hearty wishes of success from
many valuable patrons, in taking leave, I am happy to subscribe myself,
Gentlemen, your most obedient humble servant, Hugh Richardson. York,
Dec. 6, 1826."
By the 24th of March in the following year (1827) he is back again in
York. In the Loyalist of the date just given is a second address to
the stockholders, preparatory to the meeting which is to take place on
the 2nd of April. He recounts his proceedings in England, and urges
again his own appointment as sole manager of the Canada. As
illustrative of the anxieties attendant at an early period, and at all
periods, on individual personal enterprise, insufficiently supported,
the document possesses an interest.
"To the Stockholders in the Canada Steamboat. Gentlemen, it must be
fresh in the memory of you all that I am the original projector of the
Canada; that my abilities, in whatever light they may be viewed, were
wholly employed in planning, constructing and fitting her out. Facts
have already proved that I led no one astray by false theories in her
construction; and her engine is upon the model of the very best now
generally in use in England. I have been all along by far the largest
shareholder, and nearly the whole of the shares were taken up by
gentlemen upon my personal solicitations, in doing which I did not fear,
in the strongest language I was master of, to pledge the success of the
undertaking, not only on the prospect of the lucrative ferry, but also
upon the faith of my own personal exertions. Then do I infer too much by
saying that a friendly disposition towards me, a confidence in my
abilities and my integrity (with very few exceptions), was the basis
upon which I met with such general patronage? However, after a certain
period it was no longer possible to raise sufficient stock to complete
the vessel; the expedient of borrowing was resorted to, and a debt of
L1,200 contracted with the Bank. Upon this the boat commenced her
operations, and ran from the 7th of August, a period of 98 days; during
which time, Gentlemen, I look upon it as a matter of congratulation that
at her very first starting, having an American boat to oppose her, the
proceeds of the Canada not only paid her current expenses, but also a
sum of upwards of L200 in extraordinary outfit, including L40 insurance
on money borrowed, also the interest thereon; L50 nearly for replacing
her wheels repeatedly destroyed, and considerable repairs. I see nothing
but what is most flattering in this her first outset. Thus it would have
appeared had I made my report: and had I done it in the most favourable
light, I should have thought, as one of the guardians of the property
entrusted to my charge, that I was only fulfilling a duty I owed the
Stockholders when I enhanced, rather than depreciated, its value. At the
end of the season, from disappointments and expenses in collecting the
amount of the shares taken up, there was found still wanting a sum of
L400; and at the last general meeting this further sum was borrowed,
hampering the boat with a debt of L1,000. At this crisis, at a very
great personal expense, and at a greater sacrifice of domestic comfort,
I set out for England to trespass upon my own immediate friends; and now
return prepared to relieve the embarrassments of the boat, and am
willing, in the face of representations that went to disparage the
stock, to invest a much larger capital in the Canada; in doing which I
confer a benefit upon the whole, and trust I give further proof of the
sincerity of my professions, when I undertook the arduous task of
getting up a Steamboat. But, Gentlemen, things have not gone as I
wished, or as I intended; and, perhaps, I am the only person who will
have property invested in this vessel to such an amount as to make it of
vital importance that success should attend the adventure. Therefore,
upon this ground, upon the ground of my being the projector of this
vessel, upon the responsibility of my situation as Master, ostensible
agent, and possessing owner, I most earnestly solicit your particular
support to my appointment as managing owner of this vessel; and to that
effect may I again solicit the most general attendance of the
Stockholders at the meeting to be held on board the Canada the second
of April. I am, Gentlemen, your very obedient and very humble servant,
Hugh Richardson. York, 24th March, 1827."
It is to be supposed that Capt. Richardson's views were adopted at the
meeting.
In the Loyalist for May 5, 1827, we have him subscribing himself
"Managing Owner," to the following notice: "The Canada British
Steam-Packet, Capt. Hugh Richardson, leaves Niagara daily for York at 7
o'clock in the morning, and starts from York for Niagara every day at 2
o'clock in the afternoon. The Canada crosses the Lake in the short
space of four hours and a half, and affords travellers arriving at the
Falls an expeditious and convenient opportunity of visiting the Capital
of Upper Canada. Fare: Cabin passage, two dollars; Deck and Fore Cabin,
one dollar. Passengers returning immediately with the boat will only pay
half the above prices for the return. Hugh Richardson, Managing Owner.
York, April 21, 1827."
In 1827 Capt. Richardson was the recipient of an honorary present of a
Key Bugle. In the Loyalist of June 30, '27, we read the following
card:--"Mr. Richardson takes this opportunity of acknowledging the
receipt of a Key Bugle from the young gentlemen of York, accompanied by
a letter expressive of their esteem and approbation of his conduct in
the management of the Canada. In returning his sincere thanks for the
above mark of their valued esteem and the high compliment paid him in
the accompanying letter, he must look upon the warm and friendly
colouring which they have been pleased to give to his conduct, as a
picture drawn by the free and generous hand of youth, rather to emulate,
than having semblance to the original. Nevertheless, his aim has ever
been, and ever will be, to do credit to those who placed him where he
is, and to support the character of a British seaman. York, 30th June,
1827."
From a preceding number of the Loyalist in this year we learn that on
the 20th of April the mate of the Canada was accidentally drowned. The
paper just mentioned says:--"George Reid, mate of the Steamboat
Canada, was last night drowned by falling from the plank leading from
the wharf to the vessel. It is painful to hear that the unfortunate man
leaves a wife and five children to deplore his sudden loss."
The Loyalist of the 7th of that month says: "His Excellency the
Lieutenant-Governor and family left York for Stamford on Wednesday
morning last, on board the Steamboat Queenston. His Excellency's
departure was announced by a salute from the Garrison."
On May the 12th the Queenston has returned from Niagara, and meets
with a casualty at York. The Loyalist of the 19th says: "The Steamboat
Queenston met with an accident while lying at the wharf here on
Saturday last. In raising the steam before proceeding to Niagara, the
boiler was partially burst. The accident was not attended with any
serious consequences. The Queenston was delayed until the following
Thursday in making the necessary repairs, before she proceeded on her
voyage."
In June this year (1827) the Niagara has been removed from the spot
where she was run ashore last year, and is undergoing repairs at
Kingston. In the Loyalist of June 16, 1827, we read: "We are happy to
hear that the Steamboat Niagara has been got off the rocks near Long
Point, and that she is now lying in the harbour at Kingston, undergoing
repairs. She is stated to have received but little damage; and it was
expected that in the course of a month she would commence her regular
trips across the Lake."
In the Loyalist of May 26, 1827, we hear once more of the Frontenac.
She is laid up, we are told, and a steamer to succeed her is to be
built: "We are happy to hear," the Loyalist says, "that Captain
McKenzie, late in command of the Frontenac (now laid up), has made
arrangements for building a new boat, to be propelled by an engine of
greater power than that of any other now navigating the Lake. The
acknowledged ability of Capt. McKenzie while in command of the
Frontenac, the regularity with which her trips were performed, and the
attention he at all times bestowed to the comfort and convenience of his
passengers, induce us to hope that the undertaking he has commenced will
be speedily carried into effect."
In the Loyalist of June 9th, 1827, the Frontenac is offered for sale
by auction at Kingston. In the advertisement, the historical machinists
Boulton & Watt are named as the makers of her engine: "By Public
Auction. Will be sold on Monday, the second of July next, at Kingston,
as she now lays (sic) at the wharf, the Steamboat Frontenac, with
her anchors, chain-cables, rigging, &c. Also the engine, of 50 horse
power, manufactured by Messrs. Watt & Boulton. Sale to commence at 10
o'clock a.m., on board. For any further information application to made
to Mr. Strange, Kingston, or to John Hamilton, Queenston. June 1, 1827."
Possibly no sale was effected, for we learn from the Loyalist of Sept.
1 that the Frontenac was to be removed to Niagara by Mr. Hamilton. The
Loyalist copies from the Upper Canada Herald, published at Kingston,
the following paragraph: "Yesterday the old Frontenac, under the care
of R. Hamilton, Esq., left Kingston for Niagara, where, we understand,
she is to be broken up. Mr. Hamilton is preparing materials for a new
boat of about 350 tons."
We then gather from a Loyalist of Sept. 29, 1827, that while lying at
the wharf at Niagara, the Frontenac was mischievously set fire to. The
paper just named says: "The Messrs. Hamilton, proprietors of the
Steamboat Frontenac, have offered a reward of L100 for the discovery
of the persons who set fire to that vessel some time ago. The
Frontenac, after being fired, was loosed from her moorings, and had
drifted some distance into the Lake, when she was met by the Niagara,
Capt. Mosier, who took her in tow, and succeeded in bringing her to the
wharf at Niagara, where after some exertions the flames were
extinguished."
This, as we suppose, terminates the history of the Frontenac, the
first steamboat on Lake Ontario.
As associated with Boulton & Watt's engine, spoken of above, we must
mention the name of Mr. John Leys, for some years Capt. McKenzie's chief
engineer on board the Frontenac. At the outset of steam navigation,
men competent to superintend the working of the machinery of a steamboat
were, of course, not numerous, and Captains were obliged in some degree
to humour their chief engineer when they had secured the services of
one. Capt. McKenzie, it would be said, was somewhat tyrannized over by
Mr. Leys, who was a Scot, not very tractable; and the Frontenac's
movements, times of sailing, and so on, were very much governed by a
will in the hold, independent of that of the ostensible Commander. Mr.
Leys, familiarly spoken of as Jock Leys, was long well known in York.
In July, 1827, the Queenston was engaged in the transfer of troops.
In the Loyalist of July 21, 1827, we read: "Detachments of the 68th
Regiment for Amherstburg, under the command of Captain North; Fort
George, Captain Melville; and Penetanguishene, Ensign Medley, were on
board the Queenston, and proceeded on Tuesday last to their several
destinations. On Thursday the Queenston returned to York from Niagara,
when the first division of the 70th Regiment embarked to proceed to
Lower Canada." In her next trip the Queenston brought more troops, and
took more away. In the Loyalist of the 28th of July we read: "The
first division of the 68th Regiment for this Garrison arrived by the
Queenston on Tuesday, and on her return a second detachment of the
70th proceeded to Lower Canada. The exchanges are now we believe nearly
completed," the Loyalist adds. In the number for August 4, the
Queenston is once more spoken of as engaged in the conveyance of
troops to and from York. "The head-quarter division of the 68th
Regiment, under the command of Major Winniett, arrived on Tuesday
morning, and on Thursday that of the 70th Regiment, under Lieut.-Colonel
Evans, embarked on board the steamboat Queenston. During the short
stay made by the 70th Regiment in this garrison," the Loyalist says,
"their conduct has been such as to secure to them the same kind feelings
which have been expressed towards them by the inhabitants of the towns
in both Provinces where they have at different times been stationed.
They are now on their return to their native country, after a long and
honourable period of service in the Canadas, and they carry with them
the best wishes of the inhabitants for their future welfare and
prosperity." When thus announcing the departure of the 70th Regiment,
the Loyalist adds: "We cannot but notice with pleasure the arrival of
so distinguished a corps as the 68th amongst us." The standing
advertisement of the Queenston for this year may be added: "Lake
Ontario Steam-Boat Notice: The Public are informed that the Steam-Boat
Queenston, Captain James Whitney, has commenced making her regular
trips, and will during the summer leave the different Ports as follows:
Leave Niagara for Kingston, Brockville, and Prescott, every Thursday
morning at 8 o'clock precisely; and leave Prescott on her return for
Brockville, Kingston and York, every Sunday, at 12 o'clock, noon.
Arrangements have been made with Messrs. Norton and Co., Stage
Proprietors, Prescott, by which passengers going down will arrive at
Montreal on Saturday evening; and passengers proceeding upwards will,
by leaving Montreal on Saturday morning, arrive at Prescott in time to
take the Boat. Every endeavour has been made to render the accommodation
and fare on board of the best description. Queenston, May 25, 1827."
In a Loyalist of this period we have a communication from Captain
Richardson, of the Canada, giving an authentic account of the swamping
of a small boat in the attempt to put a passenger on board his steamer
in the Niagara river. This characteristic letter contains some excellent
directions as to the proper method of boarding a steamer when under way.
"To the Editor of the U. E. Loyalist.--Sir, according to your request,
and to prevent misrepresentation, I herewith furnish you with the
particulars of the little accident that occurred to a Ferry Boat in
Niagara River, in attempting to board the Canada. On Saturday last as
the Canada passed the lower ferry, coming out of Niagara river, a boat
put off with a passenger, and contrary to the rule laid down to admit of
no delays after the hour of departure, I ordered the engine to be
stopped, to take the passenger on board. The Ferryman, instead of rowing
to the gangway of the Canada, pulled the boat stem on to her bow
before the water wheel. The vessel going through the water, all
possibility of retreat from that position was precluded, and the
inevitable swamping of the boat ensued. Fortunately the engine was
entirely stopped: the Ferryman had the good luck to get hold of the
wheel and ascend by it. The passenger, after passing under it, clung to
the floating skiff. No time was lost in going to his relief with the
boats of the Canada, and both escaped uninjured. Any comment upon the
impropriety of boarding a steam vessel before the water wheel would be
absurd; but I may be allowed to advise this general rule to all persons
going alongside of a steam vessel, viz.: always to board to leeward,
never to attempt to cross her hawse, but to bring the boat's head round
in the same direction with the vessel under way; row up on her lee
quarter double oar's length distance, until abreast of the gangway; then
gradually sheer alongside, keeping as much as possible in parallel line
with the direction of the vessel you are boarding. I am, sir, your very
obedient servant, Hugh Richardson, Master of the Canada."
A passage from Captain Richardson's "Report on the Preservation and
Improvement of the Harbour," to which in 1854 a supplementary or extra
premium of L75 was awarded by the Harbour Commissioners, may be quoted
as a further example of the neat employment of a sailor's technical
language. (He is arguing against cutting a canal into the Harbour at the
Carrying Place, where the great irruption of the waters of the lake
subsequently took place.) "With wind at S. W., and stormy," he says,
"(such a canal) would be valuable for exit, but for entrance from the
east, every nautical man would prefer making a stretch out into the open
Lake, weathering the Light at one long board, and rounding into the
Harbour with a fair wind, to hauling through the Canal, coming in dead
upon a lee shore, and having to beat up the Bay in short tacks." Some
twenty years previously similar views had been expressed in a printed
essay on York Harbour--a production in which, in his zeal for the
well-being of the Bay, Captain Richardson said some hard things of the
river Don, which we may here notice. The person who had uttered an
imprecation on the North Pole, Sidney Smith pronounced capable of
speaking evil next even of the Equator. Of what enormity of language
must not the dwellers by the stream which pours its tribute into the
Harbour of York, have thought Captain Richardson capable, when they
heard him in his haste call that respectable stream "a monster of
ingratitude," "an insidious monster," "the destroying cancer of the
Port?" "From the moment that the peninsula raised its protecting head
above the waters, and screened the Don from the surges of the Lake, the
Don," Captain Richardson says, "like a monster of ingratitude, has
displayed such destructive industry as to displace by its alluvial
disgorgings by far the greater part of the body of water originally
enclosed by the peninsula. The whole of the marsh to the East, once deep
and clear water, is," he asserts, "the work of the Don, and in the Bay
of York, where now its destructive mouths are turned, vegetation shews
itself in almost every direction, prognosticating" as he speaks, "the
approaching conversion of this beautiful sheet of water into another
marshy delta of the Don." Fothergill, too, in an address to the Electors
of the County of Durham, in 1826, indulges in a fling at the river which
pays its tribute to the Harbour of York. After quoting some strong words
of the elder Pitt in the British House of Commons on the subject of
public robbery and national plunder, he adds: "Perhaps the very quoting
of such language will be deemed treasonable within the pestilential
range of the vapours of the marsh of the great Don, and of the city of
many waters," meaning York, the head-quarters of the Government. "But
the Don, the poor unconscious object of all this invective, is in
reality no more to blame than is the savage because he is a savage, not
having had a chance to be anything else. In proceeding to lay the
foundation of a delta of solid land at its mouth, the Don followed the
precedent of other streams, in conformity with the physical conditions
of its situation. When at length the proper hour arrived, and the right
men appeared, possessed of the intelligence, the vigour and the wealth
equal to the task of bettering nature by art on a considerable scale,
then at once the true value and capabilities of the Don were brought out
into view. Speedily then were its channel and outlet put to their proper
and foreordained use, being transformed by means of cribwork and
embankments into a convenient interior harbour for Toronto, an
arrangement of high importance to the interests of a now populous
quarter, where some of the most striking developments of business
activity and manufacturing enterprise that the capital of Ontario can
boast of, have been witnessed."
But to return. We were tracing the fortunes of Captain Richardson's
boat, the Canada, in 1827.
In July, 1827, the Canada met with an accident. She broke her main
shaft on the Lake. The Loyalist of the 4th of August says: "We regret
to state that the steam-boat Canada, while crossing the Lake from
Niagara on Tuesday last, unfortunately broke her main shaft. The
accident we hope is not of such a nature as to deprive us any great
length of time of the convenience which that excellent Boat has afforded
us of daily communication with Niagara." In the paper of August 18th it
is announced that the Canada is all right again. "The Canada, we are
happy to state, has again commenced making her usual trips to Niagara:
she left the Harbour yesterday afternoon." Towards the close of the
season we have a record of the brave buffetings of this vessel with an
easterly gale on the Lake. "On Monday last," says the Loyalist of the
27th October, "we were visited by one of those violent gales of easterly
wind, accompanied with torrents of rain, not unusual at this season of
the year. The Steam-Boat Canada, at 10 o'clock in the morning, when
there was an appearance of the storm moderating, left the Niagara river
for York. She had not proceeded far on her voyage however, when the gale
increased with greater violence than before, and in a short time both
her masts were carried away, and some damage done to her chimney.
Fortunately her engine remained uninjured, and enabled her at about
five in the afternoon to reach the wharf in safety. The Canada has
made some of her trips in the most boisterous weather, and deservedly
bears the name of an excellent sea boat. She suffered no delay from the
damage she had sustained, and left the Harbour the following morning for
Niagara. The weather since Monday continues boisterous and cold."
On December 1st, the Loyalist announces that "the Canada Steam Boat
made her last trip from Niagara on Tuesday, and is now laid up for the
winter." In the following spring, on the 27th of March, she takes over
Sir Peregrine Maitland. "His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor and
family left York," says the Loyalist of March 29, 1828, "on Thursday
morning for Stamford. His Excellency embarked on board the Canada
Steam Packet under a salute from the Garrison." A communication from the
Captain appears in the Loyalist of the 12th of April, having reference
to this trip. He replies to some strictures in the Colonial Advocate
on some alleged exclusiveness exhibited by Sir Peregrine while crossing
the Lake in the Canada. "Having observed in the Colonial Advocate of
the 3rd of April, under the head of Civilities, that His Excellency the
Lieutenant-Governor engaged the whole of the two cabins of the Canada
for himself and family, and would not allow even the Members of Assembly
who were returning home to go over that day, except as deck passengers,
I have to declare the same an impudent falsehood. His Excellency having
condescended to intimate to me his desire to remove his family and
household as early as possible, I hastened the equipment of the Canada
expressly on His Excellency's account, contrary to my intentions, and
the requisite delay for outfit until 1st April. To all applications for
passage on the day fixed for His Excellency's embarkation I replied, I
considered the vessel at His Excellency's orders. The moment His
Excellency came on board, and understood that I was excluding
passengers, I received His Excellency's orders to take on board every
passenger that wished to embark. The only further intimation I received
of His Excellency's pleasure was, on my application to know if I should
stop at Niagara, I received for answer that His Excellency had no desire
to stop there, but if I wished it, it could make no difference to His
Excellency. Born and bred under a Monarchical Government, educated in
the discipline of a British seaman, I have not yet learned the
insolence of elbowing a desire (in right, an order) of the
Representative of my Sovereign, by an impertinent wish of my own. I have
only to say that as long as I command the Canada, and have a rag of
colour to hoist, my proudest day will be when it floats at her mast-head
indicative of the presence and commands of the Representative of my
King. Hugh Richardson, Master and Managing Owner of the Canada
Steam-Packet. April 11th, 1828. P.S. Perhaps Dr. Lefferty being a Member
on the right side, who embarked on board the Canada, and who did me
the honour of a call a night or two before, for information, may confirm
this."
Captain Richardson, as we can see, was a man of chivalrous temperament.
His outward physique, moreover, corresponded with his character. His
form was lithe, graceful and officer-like. It was not alone when the
Governor of the Province happened to be present that established
distinctions in society were required to be observed on board the
Canada steam-packet. At all times he was particular on this point.
This brought him into collision occasionally with democratically
disposed spirits, especially from the opposite side of the Lake; but he
did not scruple to maintain his rules by main force when extreme
measures were necessary, calling to his aid the stout arms of a trusty
crew.