LETTERS FROM PERTH, UPPER CANADA. |
LETTER I |
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My DEAR SIR, |
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When I took leave of you, a short time before I left my native country, you
requested me to write you an account of my voyage to Canada, of the new
settlements to which I was going, and especially of the state of religion
in the colony, together with any thing else that might appear interesting.
Though this was delayed it was not forgotten, and I now proceed to obey
your commands. |
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You know that, in consequence of a petition addressed to the Associate
Presbytery of Edinburgh, by a number of Presbyterians settled at Perth, in
upper Canada, I was, early in the spring of 1817, ordained as their
minister. My family having arrived at Leith, and all being ready for our
departure, on Saturday the 5th of April, we proceeded to the shore with a
number of our friends. A gentleman belonging to the customhouse, though a
stranger to us, had the kindness to offer the cutter to put us on board the
ship, which lay at anchor about two miles from the shore. She was called
The Rothiemurchus, and commanded by Captain Watson. |
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My reason for sailing from Leith instead of Greenock was this: I had been
preaching in Edinburgh and Leith for some months before I embarked, by
which I got acquainted with the owner of The Rothiemurchus,
whose son was
the Captain; and, expecting to be more comfortable, with him than with an
entire stranger, I was induced to sail from this port. |
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Our feelings at this moment may be more easily conceived than I can
describe them. Leaving our native country, perhaps for ever - having a
numerous family of young children - and going to a part of the world in
which we had not a single acquaintance, were all calculated to produce
serious reflections. Mrs Bell and the children discovered some emotion,
but, upon the whole, they supported themselves under this trial of their
fortitude better than I expected. Having taken an affectionate leave of our
friends on the shore, we proceeded with a few who accompanied us to the
ship. In half an hour we were on board. Here we found the Rev. Mr. Taylor
and his family, who were proceeding with us to Canada. |
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All on board was hurry and bustle, getting read for sailing. The passengers
young and old, amounting to 105, were all on board. Some appeared lively
and cheerful - some thoughtful and serious - while a few, by the tears
which they shed, showed that they we're not leaving their country and their
friends without a struggle. At five in the evening the Captain came on
board, and gave orders to get ready for proceeding. Before six we had
weighed anchor and were under sail with a fair wind. But in half an hour it
came round to the east, and blew rather fresher; so that about seven we
were forced to come to anchor, not far from the place we had just left. |
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About half an hour before we sailed, a messenger at arms came on board with
a warrant, to apprehend, and carry ashore, a man who had forgotten to
discharge his debts before be came away. But, after searching half an hour
below, with a lighted candle, he was forced to return disappointed. After
he was gone, the man he had been seeking crawled out of the coal-hole below
the lower deck, to the no small astonishment of his fellow passengers; many
of whom congratulated him on his narrow escape from the hands of justice. |
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We now proceeded to examine the accommodations which the ship afforded.
These were not of the first order. She was fitted for the timber trade, and
had no cabin except a small one on the quarter deck, called by seamen a
roundhouse; but as there was a good deal of room between decks, and as we
were not overcrowded with passengers, we expected, at this season of the
year, to make a tolerable shift. Mr. Taylor and I had engaged a part at the
stern, in which were the two windows which usually light the cabin. For
this part we paid £120. The Captain had engaged to divide it from the rest
of the ship by a temporary partition; this however he never performed. |
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On each side of the ship were ranged two tiers or stories of bed-births;
the passengers providing their own bedding. Along the open space in the
middle, were placed two rows of large chests, which were some times used as
tables, and at other times as seats. When evening approached, a good deal
of noise and confusion took place before all the passengers were arranged
in their births; and the Captain was obliged to interpose his authority,
and to determine which bed ever one was to have. This was an arrangement
which ought to have been made sooner, and the want of it occasioned much
unnecessary trouble, both to the Captain and passengers. We now began to
feel what it was to be at sea with so much company. The crying of the
children, the swearing of the sailors, and the scolding of the women who
had not got the beds they wanted, produced a concert in which it was
difficult to discover any harmony. Its disagreeable effect was heightened
by the darkness of the night, and the rolling of the ship; which, at this
time, began to be agitated by a sea somewhat rough. I almost envied the
happiness of many a poor but pious cottager, who, at that moment, at his
peaceful fireside, and surrounded by his family, was worshipping the God of
his fathers - a privilege which we could not then enjoy. |
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Next morning, which was Sabbath, I got up at seven, and found that we were
still at anchor. The wind was easterly, and blowing a fine breeze, so that
numbers began to be affected with seasickness. I had agreed with both the
captain and the passengers, that we should have worship morning and and
evening every day, and preaching on Sabbath. This morning we met at eight
o'clock for worship, for the first time, the bustle and confusion having
prevented us the evening before. A lot of the passengers and sailors
attended, and behaved with the greatest propriety, with the exception of
two young gentlemen who were passengers, and two or three of the sailors,
who were not a little amused with the idea of having worship on board a
ship, and wished to turn it into ridicule. But as they observed there was a
great majority against them, they soon composed themselves, and behaved
like the rest. |
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The manner of our worship, not only at this time, but during the whole
passage, was this: A few verses of a hymn or psalm were read out, and sung
by the whole assembly; a portion of Scripture was read, and then Mr. Taylor
or I engaged in prayer, the one in the morning and the other in the evening. |
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After breakfast I began to be sick; but, by the advice of a sailor, I took
a drought of salt water, which operated as an emetic, and I soon got
better. As we had made an arrangement for preaching twice every Sabbath, I
was just about to commence, when the Captain requested me to defer it till
the afternoon, as he wished the passengers' luggage put below and the decks
cleared. With this request we found it necessary to comply. Most of the
passengers observed the Sabbath as decently as circumstances would permit;
but the sailors were hard at work, stowing away chests, or fastening them
down to the lower deck, a good part of the day. But what annoyed us more
than even this, was the arrival of boats from the shore with persons, who
brought liquors on board, that they might have a parting glass with their
friends. Of this the sailors were always sure to have their shares, so that
before dinner-time, some of them were quite intoxicated. |
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In the afternoon, the necessary arrangements being made, Mr. Taylor
preached between decks. All the passengers, and most of the sailors,
attended. Not an instance of levity was observed during the whole time,
excepting in the conduct of the young gentlemen above alluded to. At six we
met again for worship. The evening was delightful, and my feelings at the
moment were such as I am not able to describe. The service in which we were
engaged, the sight of our native shore, which in a few hours we were to
leave, perhaps for ever, and the recollection that many prayers had, in the
course of the day, been presented to God in our behalf both by churches and
individuals, produced emotions of an unusual nature. |
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At five next morning, we weighed anchor, and set sail with a fair wind. The
morning was fine and the ebbing tide in a few hours carried us out
of the river. During the day, the wind, though light, continued favourable,
and we had, literally speaking, a pleasure sail. Every heart was light,
every face wore a smile. Some were reading the books they had the
precaution to take along with them; some conversing about their prospects
in America, or the friends they were leaving behind; and, between decks,
a part of young people were dancing a good part of the day. As we scudded
rapidly along, the coast of Fife, with its numerous towns and well
cultivated fields, was soon left far behind. About sunset we were opposite
to Stonehaven, and before midnight passed Aberdeen; but as I had retired to
rest, I had not an opportunity of seeing the Guid Town. |
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On the following morning, which was the 8th of April, I was awakened at an
early hour, by the violent motion of the ship, and an unusual bustle on
deck. On getting up, I found that we were likely to have dancing enough
against our will. A gale blew from the north-west, the sea roared and
foamed around us, the passengers became sick, and every thing began to wear
a discouraging aspect. As we entered the Murray Firth, things began to grow
worse and worse. Both wind and sea increased; two-thirds of our people
were sick, and in a very uncomfortable condition. Consternation and alarm
were soon visible in every countenance; children were crying, and women
wringing their hands, and wishing they had remained at home. What a a
change a short time produces! Fiddling and dancing were never once
proposed. |
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The aspect of the sea in a storm is truly grand, though a sense of danger
seldom allows one to contemplate it with leisure. Our ship had little
ballast, and mounted on the waves like a feather. But sometimes a head sea
broke over her with a shock that made every one stagger, and swept the deck
of everything movable. The gale continued all day and about sunset it began
to blow more violently than before. The sea roared, and ran tremendously
high. The ship rolled so much, that we were often dashed from one side of
our beds to the other, with great violence. She sometimes lay so long on
one side, that I feared she would never rise more. Those who had young
children, found it difficult to avoid crushing them to death in their beds.
About midnight a woman lately married was taken with premature labour, and
added much to the horror of the scene by her dismal cries. But before
morning she was safely delivered of a male child, and in a few days was as
well as before. The surgeon's situation, during her labour, was scarcely
less embarrassing, than her own. He was several times thrown down by the
violent motion of the ship, and at one time the birth in which she lay,
went to pieces with a crash, which made some people think that the good
Rothiemurchus herself had uttered her last groan. |
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After a sleepless night, in which we received many a bruise, and uttered
many a groan, the morning of the 9th brought us little comfort. On getting
up, I was informed that a squall had carried away our main-yard, and
damaged the rigging, and that we were on our way back to Leith to refit.
The ship was going smoother, it is true; for she was going with the wind;
but the gale was not in the least abated. What a sight was now presented
between decks! Clothes, and vessels of all descriptions; spoons, knives,
broken bottles, basins, and jugs, shoes and hats, with provisions of all
sorts, were strewed over the decks, or lying in promiscuous heaps. At one
time, when the ship lay on her side, several of the chests, though strongly
lashed to the deck, broke from their moorings, and, in their progress
downwards, carried destruction to every thing on which they happened to
fall. The temporary births, made of rough boards for the passengers' beds,
cracked so much during the storm, that many thought the ship herself was
going to pieces. Every now and then we were alarmed by a sea breaking over
us, and pouring down by the hatches, which could not be entirely shut, for
fear of suffocating the people below. |
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After breakfast, we left the Murray Firth, passed Peterhead, and proceeded
to the southward. Having, arrived at the mouth of the Dee, the river on
which Aberdeen is situated, the Captain directed the first mate to stand
off and on, till he went ashore to try if he could procure a mainyard at
that place. The wind was north-west, and the hills covered with snow; the
weather was cold, and we were continually assailed with showers of rain and
sleet. We could not meet for worship as usual, most being sick, and no one
able to stand on deck. We had been told that a passage round the north of
Scotland was generally disagreeable, but did not expect to find it half so
bad. |
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On the 10th, the wind and weather became a little more moderate. About
mid-day, the Captain returned with a mainyard dragging behind the boat,
and, as soon as it was taken on board, we bent our course once more to the
northward. But the wind being still against us, we found it necessary to
stand out to sea during the night. |
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On the morning of the 11th, finding that we were a great way to sea, we put
about, and stood for the shore, which, when we reached, we found that we
had not advanced an inch to the northward. We were mostly all sick, and in
a very uncomfortable condition. |
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Next day we found things no better, the wind being still ahead. Many were
sick; some were grumbling about the provisions; and others wondering at
their own folly in leaving a comfortable home to engage in such a dangerous
undertaking. But they were in greater danger than they were aware, for in
the course of the day the ship had a narrow escape from destruction by
fire. A party of the passengers found their own provisions. One of them was
melting tallow in a pot, when it caught fire, and the flames rising to a
great height, the ship would have been in ablaze, had not the Captain
heaved the pot, tallow and all, into the sea. With this I shall conclude
the history of the first week of my voyage, expressing my hope that it may
afford more pleasure to you in reading than to me in writing. The
recollection of the uncomfortable situation in which we were then placed,
still presents a gloomy picture to my mind. |
END OF LETTER I. BACK TO START OF LETTER
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