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She writes of a speech made by James Crooks in 1854, wherein he says that he had come to Niagara sixty years before, when Niagara was the first and almost the only Town in Upper Canada. From here, he had shipped the First Barrel of Flour, the First Bushel of Wheat, the First Barrel of Ashes, and that he had owned the First Merchant Craft that ever left Lake Ontario for the St. Lawrence. Most of us have a rather uncertain knowledge of those early days in Niagara. We were the seat of government for this entire district. Here were many firsts: the First Provincial Parliament, the First Governor, First Agricultural Fair, the first Masonic Lodge, the First Newspaper, and the First Library.
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Here was the source of learning in those early days, there being several good school taught by learned men and women. Here came the Indians to receive their Government Grants. We must remember that those Indians had left their homes in the States and had come to make their homes under the Union Jack. They fought with us and very materially helped to repel the invaders from our shores. The house, which you see on King Street facing the Garrison Common, was the place where they came to receive their Treaty money.
Daniel Claus was the Indian Agent, and lived in this house. When I was a boy, it was known as "Geale's Grove," but it was later known as "The Wilderness." There are so many items of historical interest in and about our Town that is well to remember. One of the oldest houses is the old house on Mississaugua Street, long the home of Colonel Butler whose family burying ground is just over the way. Lest there be any misunderstanding about the two houses that remained unburned, let us say that this was not one of them, as it was not then within the boundaries of the Town and so is not listed. The two houses that remained standing after the American bonfire were the Clench house on the site of the first one and the cottage where Miss Janet Kerr lives is about the spot of the Swinton house.
This Town was the geographical hub of the District. From here went the First Preachers, here were the Wholesale houses which brought in the goods from outside our country and furnished the wares that small dealers and itinerant peddlers purchased and resold to settlers here, there and everywhere.
So you will see that there is much to cherish, and not much to regret in the early days and early inhabitants of our Town. While changing times and circumstances over which we had no control have taken away most of our greatness, we still have much to be thankful for and to remember with pride.
Think if you can of a plain, unbuilt on stretch of riverbank. Take away all the buildings and trees etc., and what would there be? Along the River from the high ground near Fort George, there was nothing but a marsh. King Street, Melville, Wellington, and Nelson were not there, nor was Ricardo at the edge of the hill.
Over the river was the only Niagara of those days. Here was a British garrison and here were coming a never-ending stream of refugees from the rebellious colonies. Food and other supplies were scarce, as the only source was by water from Quebec and those in command were at their wit's end to deal with the problem. To send these people back whence they came was impossible.
His regiment of Butler's Rangers had no accommodation at Fort Niagara so he conceived the idea of finding that desired accommodation on our side of the river. And here he built his barracks during the winter of 1778 and 1779, to house his men and any destitute settlers who needed shelter. It is apparent that John Butler was a man of substance before the Revolutionary War, for he seems to have built his barracks from his own pocket. However, on March 8th of 1779, we find him billing General Haldimand, then Governor-General for the sum of 2,527 pounds, 19 shillings and tuppence for the cost of these buildings. As I see it, those barracks stood along the high ground, somewhere about the site of the land beyond Melville Street. There was quite a distance between them and the Town as it was afterwards laid out. This ground used to yield a harvest of old coins and buttons. You must remember that King Street was the southeasterly limit of the original Town site.
When our American cousins so thoughtfully made a bonfire to cheer themselves up at having to leave our vicinity, these barracks escaped the torch and were afterwards moved to their present site, so as to remove them from possible gunfire from across the river.
The next thing we know that man Butler set about clearing some land for his men and others, to raise crops to feed themselves. This seems to have received favorable consideration from Governor Haldimand and he urged that settlement be made to save expense in feeding the soldiers and others. In 1780, some land had been cleared and a start made in raising food.
[Editor's Note: According to the Diary of Francis Goring, who was a Trader here since 1776, his father-in-law Peter Secord commenced farming on this side of the Niagara River on August 4th, of the year 1780. He is considered the first settler in Niagara according to his land petition.]
It is hard for us, in our day in the midst of a land of plenty, to comprehend a dreary land of woods and wasteland, no orchards full of fruits or fields filled with grain or vegetables. Any land brought under cultivation had to be first all cleared of trees and underbrush, and think of the job after this was done, of planting and cultivating with the crude implements then available. Then one must remember that this land did not belong to Butler's Rangers or the destitute settlers, but was the property of the Indians.
In 1785, John Butler communicated to General Haldimand, a statement of his services during these troublous times, when claiming some reimbursement for the loss of his properties to the states, by reason of his having remained loyal to the Crown. He claims to have been in the service of the Indian Department since 1755 and details some of the Battles and Sieges in which he took part, such as Lake George, Ticonderoga, Cataraqui, Niagara, Oswagatchie, and Montreal. In 1760, the officers of the Indian Department were dismissed and Butler was then continued on account of his knowledge of the Indian languages and placed under Col. Guy Johnson, the Indian Superintendent, whom he later succeeded.
In 1775, John Butler came to Canada with his superior and was sent to Niagara. Col. Guy Johnson having gone to England after naming Butler his deputy, it left Butler in a position of great responsibility, as no one knew what the Indians would do in the struggle between the rebels and the loyalists. Here is where our John Butler really was of tremendous service to the loyalist cause. His knowledge of Indian languages and their knowledge of him played an important part in lining up the tribes on our side. The nation and empire owe a great debt to Colonel John Butler for the part he played in these trying times. At first, efforts were made to keep the Indians neutral, but later, as the Rebellion continued, it was decided to enlist their services offensively against the enemy. Butler was authorized to enlist a Corps of Rangers. This he did, the Corps having eight companies. With his own command and bodies of Indians, he was very active. With the men of his Rangers and the Indians under his command, he fought and skirmished all over Western New York and Pennsylvania and finally had to come to Niagara with his men.
It is generally thought that the first Grist Mill was at the Servos Farm on the Four Mile Creek. I suppose that not many of my readers ever saw an old stone flourmill in action. I used to see one at Youngstown. One of the places of activity was at the Ball Farm above Jordan, where Ball's Falls furnished power for both Saw and Grist Milling. This is a very pretty spot and well worth a visit. One must remember too, that much more water flowed through all of the creeks and streams in our part of the country than is now the case. This same Sergeant Brass later became a Lieutenant and finally settled near the Bay of Quinte.
Butler's Rangers were disbanded after the Revolutionary War was over and quite a lot of ink was spilled before the men and their families were settled in new homes. Talk about a shortage of housing accommodation is common in our day, but you can get building materials (if you have the price) in a very short time. But in those days of which we read, it was not so easy. I was once talking to the late John Crysler about the old days when his forebears were settling on the land granted to them. Their land had an abundance of trees with building material, while some of their neighbours were lacking such material.
Now remember that few of these people had any money, as they had left everything of any value when they came west into Canada. So the Cryslers were able to get much of their land cleared by trading timber for labour in clearing their land. In those days, there was a neighbourly spirit abroad in the land. Implements were crude and scarce and no money was available to hire help, so neighbours just had to be more than mere acquaintances. Nowadays, tools and machinery are plentiful and much of the hard, manual toil has been done away with.
John Butler succeeded Sir John Johnson as Indian Agent. One of the burning questions of that day was travel, both for goods and people. Most of it had to be done by water. For getting up the river past the Falls, a man named John Stedman was granted the privilege over what was known as "the carrying place", this being on the east side of the River. He was given the franchise for a period of seven years from 1779 and later on we find him in some trouble at the opening of a new route on the west side. For land travel, shank's mare was about the only convenience available.
As time passed, there seemed to be a good deal of discontent among the Indians and what an import part Col. Butler is expected to play and does play in allaying the unrest among our Indian allies. In our day, we may not realize the great responsibility placed on him and his unflagging zeal in doing his part. We find Lord Dorchester in his correspondence with Sir John Johnson, speaking very highly of Butler and directing Johnson to have Butler keep a special eye on Forts Ontario and Niagara. Some alarm was being felt in official circles because of the fact that the Americans were arming, ostensibly against the Indians, but apparently no one really knew where they intended to strike. As the border forts were only lightly garrisoned, it was possible that we might, if caught off guard, be swept out of this territory. And to Butler was given the task of making things a bit safer by keeping the Indians our allies.
Dorchester instructed Johnson to arrange a meeting with the Six Nations to ascertain their views about retaining Forts Ontario and Niagara and the meeting was so arranged and was held at Niagara on February 10th, 1787. Of course, Col. Butler was the man to meet the Indians and as directed, he addressed them and stated the position of affairs. He pointed out to them, that the Americans had frequently threatened to attack those two posts and that these were kept up largely to protect the Indians, but if the Americans did attack, there would be War. He advised the Indians to avoid war if possible and that it might be in their interest to make friends with the Americans and thus lessen the number of their enemies. He bluntly asked for their views on the whole matter.
They, in reply, were just as blunt. They pointed out that their every action was known to us. They had kept to their engagements, had sacrificed their lives and property in our behalf and had made no agreement with the Americans. I do not know just what Butler had promised them at the outbreak of the late war and I gather from the tone of their remarks that they put Butler on the spot. They wanted to know why they should be asked for their opinion. The late War was your War and you should be the best judges on how to act in the matter. We next find Butler presenting to the authorities some grievances of the settlers and interceding in their behalf. Their chief grievance seems to have been that they wanted to have some voice in the appointment of magistrates and public officials.
In 1785, Butler submitted to the Government a narrative of his services, showing that he had served continuously from 1755 and he received from General Haldimand a full endorsement of his services and conduct. Said the General, "His services both in the Field and in the management of Indian Affairs have been uniformly Zealous, Brave and Judicious and have Deservedly obtained my fullest Testimonies of Approbation."
John Butler died in 1796, after a long life of service to the Crown and to his adopted country. His house still stands and his remains rest in the Family Burying Ground nearby.
Those Stedmans seem to have had the business for some time on the east side of the river, but with the beginnings of settlement on the west side, they began to encounter opposition. So we find our Mr. Stedman presenting a modest request to the Committee for Inland Navigation and Commerce for the government business "from the new Landing Place to the Chippawa Creek". This was to be at the rate of one shilling and eight pence, New York currency per gross hundredweight, and he would agree to contribute two pence per hundredweight for upkeep of the roads. Also, he would bind himself to keep enough horses and oxen to transport over ten tons per day and to provide a carriage to convey forty-hundredweight or a large bateau.
Next, we notice that a number of the farmers living nearby, presented a counter petition to be allowed the privilege which they already had been enjoying on our side, to the satisfaction of all concerned. Their offer was at a price of one shilling and nine pence per gross quintal of 112 pounds, subject to a reduction of two pence per quintal for the repair of roads. After hearing and examining several witnesses, the Board decided to grant the privilege to the local men at a rate of one shilling and eight pence per quintal. I don't suppose many of us in our day are familiar with the York Currency here mentioned. I only remember that in my young days, I used to hear many articles quoted as a York shilling on the American side. A York shilling was nothing more than twelve and a half cents and there used to be a coin of that value minted on the other side. However, it was the unanimous opinion of the members of the Board that it was better to give the local men the privilege they asked, as farmers in those days eked out a scanty livelihood.
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One must remember that only a part of the present Town site was included in his plan, King Street being the southeasterly boundary and Lot Number 412 along King Street being the southwesterly extent of the Town Plot. Following the burning of the Town came the task of rebuilding and the Military Authorities decided to build a Fort at the mouth of the River. The land about there had been acquired by James Crooks, so they decided to give him other lands instead of that he already had.
So the four blocks bounded by King, Picton, Wellington and Castlereagh were deeded to him and in the course of time, became part of the Town as did the land now possessed by St. Mark's and St. Vincent DePaul Churches and the Town Park. Crooks also had land around the present Waterworks. Then the Harbour and Dock Company came along and they were granted what was then nothing but a marsh, being all the land below what is now Ricardo St. So, little by little, our wee Town grew until it attained its present size. One must remember that when Fort Mississaugua was planned, the military were thinking of the landing of our Yankee friends not very far from the mouth of the river and were arming against a recurrence of the event. Military weapons were then very limited in range and in the moving of Butler's Barracks to their present site, they were placed beyond the reach of the guns of Fort Niagara. In fact, they even contemplated moving the Town before it was rebuilt.
For a long time, there was no authentic registered map of the Town and I remember that when the Canadian Chautauqua came along, they erected a high board fence from the lakefront at the end of Queen Street and thought they were outside of the Town. As they had been given substantial monetary aid by the Town, and built their Hotel well within what they thought were their own grounds and thus would escape Town taxes, this didn't appeal to the Town Fathers. So they had a surveyor run the westerly boundary line as it is at present. Then again, disputes arose about street lines and it was found necessary to have a complete survey made and registered, which was done by Alexander Niven and this is the present legally established Town Plot. But Mr. Smith's work still stands and our wide streets are a monument to his foresight and skill. Of course, streets in the added portions of our Town do not follow his ideas, but he is not to blame for that. So let us give thanks to the name of D. W. Smith for our wide and straight highways.
In later years, one dear lady who lived in solitary state and whose land lay along 6th Street, bought a car and had a small garage on the Sixth St. side of her property. She had some difficulty in backing out of her garage, as it was on the brow of a hill and she usually banged into the fence on the opposite side of the street. So there came a complaint from the dear lady that the said fence was out on the street and she wanted the owner to be compelled to retrieve it from its illegal position at once, if not sooner. Well, the matter came up in Council and was referred to the Board of Works. The fence in question just happened to belong to the lady's husband with whom she was not on speaking terms. The Chairman of the Committee was a bit puzzled as to what to do in the matter, but when it was pointed out to him that the lady's fence as well as that of the offending husband was also out on the street, the matter was soon settled. The Committee waited upon the lady and expressed sympathy with her, but were sorry to tell her that if they required the husband to move his fence back, they would be compelled in all fairness to require her own fence to be moved, as it too was out on the street allowance. Naturally, the lady was just slightly annoyed at this intelligence and so expressed herself in firm language, whereat the Committee retired in good order, and the fences remain to this day in their original position. Husband and wife and Committee are gone from this mortal sphere. This is only a sample of municipal difficulties that are encountered from time to time.
Two of the streets as laid out by D. W. Smith have a width of 99 feet, King and Queen Streets. All of the others are 66 feet or one chain.
In the added portions of the Town Plot, streets vary. Wellington and Nelson are 99 feet wide; Picton is 96 as it is the continuation of Queen Street. Lockhart, Ball and Delatre Streets are 50 feet; Ricardo 66 feet; Melville is 60 feet, narrowing to 49 from Lockhart to the River. Up Irishtown way, they are all kinds of widths. Charlotte is 66 feet from John to Campbell and 60 feet from Campbell to Niagara Street; Paffard St. is 50 feet; Flynn is 44 feet while Green and Campbell are each 30 feet and Rye is 60 feet.
During the late war, a Major Chetwynd was Camp Engineer and he showed me a plan which he was preparing and which would amend the boundaries of the Government domain. He showed me that Byron and John Streets were not Town property and along John St. there was a considerable encroachment by the properties fronting thereon. He proposed to amend the boundaries of the Fort George Common to remedy this state of things. Alas, Simcoe Street from Queen towards the River needed the same treatment. He was moved to Ottawa and I never heard any more of his plan. It might be interesting to inquire what become of this common sense plan, because Byron has become increasingly important. While John Street has not so much traffic, yet during the First Great War, it was our only outlet southward. Since the Parks Commission took over the River Road, it has diverted most of the traffic to Byron and Ricardo Streets. I thought it might interest the public to be informed in a few of these matters.
EARLY TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION
I was reading about a course of training being given some of the Troops who are to take part in the Coronation procession in London. The poor dears will have to march thirteen long, long miles. Does not your heart bleed for the poor dears. Our men, at the time of the Fenian Raid in 1866, marched from here to Fort Erie in a day, in heavy marching order. None of them fainted or fell out by the way, but nowadays, why you just wouldn't have time to do a stunt like that, let alone undergo such a fearful ordeal. I wonder what the old Iron Duke would think if he could look down and see the fearful physical hardships that these hardy men will have to undergo. Or Marlborough marching his men all over the map of Europe. Our own boys, in 1915, used to do a route march in heavy marching order once a week covering a route of 16 to 20 miles in a day, out from Niagara Camp. I fear me that the youth of today are being bred too soft. I see the kids going by to school dressed like little gentlemen. They are not asked to buck a few sticks of stove wood or hoe a garden. They don't even play any rough games anymore. I wonder if anyone has ever stopped to think that boys need any hardening. Another thought comes to me. Has anyone ever thought of a school uniform? I think it would be an improvement if such were adopted.
SHIP'S CARGO IN THE EARLY YEARS
But to get back to the old days, I was looking at the cargoes carried by these wee vessels of long ago. One of them had a cargo of 1,000 pine boards, 10 bbls. Pearl Ashes and a ton and a half of hay. Another had 11 cwt. shot and ball, 73 casks of wine and spirits and 123 boxes, cases, bales and trunks of drygoods. Another had 1 cwt. shot and ball, 52 casks wine and spirits and 32 packages, etc. of drygoods. Another had 21 cwt. shot and ball, 138 packages of drygoods, 78 casks of wine and spirits, and 60 barrels of iron and steel. It would seem that some attention was given to the spirituous needs of the people of those days.
We can understand the need of shot and ball and of drygoods, but those rough diamonds who settled hereabouts certainly seem to have brought their appetite for liquids with them. But I don't suppose that life had much that was desirable for those people. I notice, too, a shipment or two between Detroit and Fort Erie, and between Detroit and St. Mary's. Westward, they carried the same three items, powder and ball, rum and spirits and drygoods. Eastward was shipped furrs (Note the spelling).
We had a hailstorm a few days ago and someone of the radio spoke of stones as big as golf balls. I noticed an item in 1789 where a man recorded in his diary about hailstones as big as apples. The world doesn't change much, does it?
The business of teaming was an important one in early days. Coal and wood had to be delivered by team; freight to and from railway and ships were so transported. There were gardens to be plowed, hay to be mowed, roads to be kept open in winter, household goods to move, ice to be hauled. In fact, the Teamster was a mighty important man in those days.
Then, too, there were differences among horses and drivers. For instance, Jack Caughill always kept a fine, big team. They were immaculately groomed and fit as a fiddle. Jack Abbott's horses were also the pride of his heart. They were well looked after and while not a heavy team, he always kept them full of pep. I remember that one time, Jack got hurt in a fight and was laid up for three or four months and his brother-in-law John Clockenburg drove his team. While John did a good job and took good care of his horses, they didn't look the same. Jack did the teaming for the Canadian Canners for years, until trucks came on the scene.
One of Jack Caughill's activities was running and moving a threshing outfit, he being regarded as a bit of an expert at it. John Courtney always kept a small team. As he was small himself, that was quite an understandable taste in horseflesh on his part. He could do as good a job with his small team as some others could with bigger nags. I well remember Arth Matthews' Arabs. No one else around here had any like them. He could do anything with them, as he and they seemed to work well together. Jim Brady had a team of bony old skates that looked as if they were ready for the boneyard.
I well remember the time when someone wanted a big log hauled out of the slip just opposite the American Hotel. Jack Abbott tackled the job and though he swore a blue streak and wore out a whip, his horses couldn't do the job. At last, Jack Caughill invited him to get out of the way and let a good team tackle the job. But, alas, even the Caughill team with their added beef and brawn couldn't budge the darn thing.
Along came Jim Brady with his bony old nags and he had quite a time guying Abbott and Caughill and they came back with "You try it, your so darned smart." "Why", drawled Jim, "that ain't much of a job." And he proceeded to unhook his sorry old team from his old bus. He hooked them onto the log and he talked to them as if they would know just what he wanted. He got them settled away and gave a shout, and those old plugs just put their noses nearly into the ground and away they went with the log. I think I see the wide grin on Jim's face as he unhooked from the log. "Pshaw," he said, "that was nawthin, nawthin at all."
Steve Sherlock was another owner of good horses. He didn't do much of the actual teaming himself, but he started in early and managed to do a good business and when the motor car put in an appearance, he added a pair of Reo Cars to his Livery stock, being the first one to do such a thing. Tommy May was another who graduated from horses to cars, his first venture into car owning being a Ford of early vintage. About the only one left in the horse business is Jack Greene. At one time there were at least four Livery establishments.
The Queen's Royal Hotel kept a yellow bus of its own and it met every boat and train during the summer season. There was a large barn on King Street, just abreast of the end of Delatre Street that housed their horses, their bus, and their baggage wagon. The last driver of their baggage wagon was Tim Enright, who later kept the American Hotel.
The mails used to be carried in horse drawn vehicles. There was a mail that used to arrive about three o'clock from the falls and another came by the Stage from St. Catharines, arriving here about five. And the American mail came by train about six, so we were well served for our letters. Of course, in the summer, Toronto mails came by boat. A man named Nolan carried mail between boat and office being succeeded later by Steve Sherlock.
WOODBURNING TRAINS AND SHIPS
Then there came a change in engines, the diamond stack becoming the fashion. Coal, meanwhile, had replaced wood as the fuel. As I remember the railway, it was operated by the Canada Southern Railway Company. The rails on which it ran were soft iron, small things, and forty pounds to the yard. Cars were painted a flaring yellow and also were much smaller than the modern ones and were constructed of wood. There were no airbrakes and one of the duties of the fireman was to man the brake, a handle for which was in the gangway between the engine and the tender. The line was finally leased to the Michigan Central Railroad Company, and still is, although the Michigan is now merged within the New York Central System. The Michigan almost at once put down new steel rails, 60 lbs. ones and have since re-railed the line with heavier ones. The bright yellow paint on the cars was soon replaced with a dark coating and the diamond stacks on the engines have been replaced by short, straight stacks. As far as we are concerned, all our railway business has gone, except for an occasional freight service. Trucks and busses have done that for us. In some ways, we get better service but we old timers miss the railway and its associations.
Few remember Paddy Miles, who was conductor for a donkey's age. Billy Logan was known all over the country as he served for many years as brakeman and baggageman. Jack McDermott was Engineer for many years. These people were all residents of the Town as were the section gang. Fred Cowley followed Paddy Miles as conductor. Hugh Watt was brakeman for a long time and later served as Fireman. Court Secord was brakeman, as was Halsey Longhurst. John Lynch worked on the section and was later pumpman at the Dock. Joe Fellows and his brother Bill were well known section men, so was Walt Freel and also George Bissell. Bing Addison was baggageman and pumpman at the dock for years, followed by George Grimstead, who also served for many years. This will serve to show what an important part of our community was the Railway.
[From October 2nd, 1952:]
I was looking at a newspaper picture of one of the old style wood-burning teakettles that used to be on the Locomotive Engines of by-gone days. I well remember the same machines that used to pull a wee train between here and Buffalo. They had a huge funnel-shaped smokestack and their tender was piled high with cordwood. The stream of sparks that they emitted was a gorgeous sight to boyish eyes after dark. I remember the old turntable too. It was planked all over and was turned by some gadget that one worked with a crank. And the cars, both freight and passenger, were built of wood and were much smaller than any you may see nowadays. The passenger and baggage cars were painted a bright yellow. The rails on which those cars and engines traveled were of soft iron and were tiny compared with the modern rails. They were only 40 pounds to the yard. The arrival and departure of trains were a matter of much interest to young and old. You would be surprised to see the number of people who would assemble about the King and Queen Street intersection to see the train come in on a winter's night. There was a long wooden platform on the side next to the hotel. I remember a train coming in one day when we were at school and we were allowed to go over to see the people who were arriving. The late Senator J. B. Plumb then lived in the brick house on the lot now occupied by the Parliament Oak School and the visitors who were arriving were the Governor-General and his wife and a distinguished party of friends. The Governor-General was the Marquis of Lorne and his wife was the Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria. All I could tell you about them as they alighted from the train, was that there were a lot of men with plug hats and very elaborately dressed ladies but which was which, none of us kids knew.
Steaming into harbour at Niagara, c.1915 - artist's conception
I remember too, the old Steamer, City of Toronto, owned by the Milloy family. She too used wood as fuel in my early days. I think I see the crew wheeling wood aboard. They had a huge wheelbarrow that they used. I think it held about half a cord of wood. One of our local men, Sam Tracey, lost his life when he and his barrow fell off the gangplank into the River. There used to be a wharf on the U.S. side of the river, just in front of what is now Villa St. Vincent, known as Marshall's Wharf and I have seen it piled full of wood for use of the Steamers.
In fact, wood played a very important part among us when I was young. Our schools were heated with it, as were our homes. Very little coal was used and only a few of the toffs did use it. And yet it was cheap. You could buy first class hard coal for $4.50 a ton and it gradually replaced the wood as fuel. Wood became scarce too, as the farms were stripped of their trees.
THE STEAMER SOUTHERN BELLE
[From March 25th, 1954]Previous to 1904, we had neither range lights nor foghorn on our side of the River. There used to be a spar buoy a distance from Mississauga Point which we called the Red Buoy, it being painted that colour, while opposite it on the American side was the Black buoy. Then the Canadian Government replaced the Red Buoy with a Bell Buoy placed some three miles out near the edge of the Harbour bar. I never heard that Harbour bar moaning, but when the wind was right, that darn bell tolled most dismally.
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Jacob Lindley, a Quaker who visited the Niagara district has this to say: "They were so reduced by scarcity of bread and provisions of all kinds that they came to an allowance of one spoonful of meal per day for one person, ate strawberry leaves, birch leaves, flaxseed dried and ground in a coffee mill - caught the blood of little pigs, - bled the almost famished cow and oxen; walked twelve miles for one shive of bread, paid twelve shillings for twelve pounds of meal. One of the lads who was hired out, carried his little sister two miles on his back to let her eat his breakfast and they gave him none till dinner. The children leaped for joy at one robin being caught, out of which a whole pot of broth was made. They eat mustard, potato tops, swamp root and made tea of hops."
This gruesome picture seems to have been painted the year following what was known as "the scarce year." Thinking of those hardships that people endured makes one give thanks for the blessings we enjoy and which we take as a matter of course. One must give thanks for the Red Cross and the dozens of other kindred organizations that exist now. I wonder how some of our lily-like youths of today would face up to the hardships that kid went through for his little sister. I really don't think that people realize the manifold blessings that are ours today. Personally, I had to go to work when I was ten years old, got up before daylight in the morning and do a hard day's work before breakfast. I suggest that parents of growing boys should see that they are taught by voice and example that life is not just a time for pleasure, but a time to be useful.
It seems to me that today's parents do not realize their responsibilities to their children. It is not enough to clothe them and feed them for in this time of plenty, it is easy enough for most of our people. It is much more important that they be brought up to be upright and honourable and most important of all, to be useful. Life, after all, is not a question of getting the better of the other fellow, but of being better. But there, I didn't set out to preach a sermon. I only wish to make my readers appreciate the ease and comfort that is theirs and to make them truly thankful for the same. Those people of old had their troubles and worries, but we must be thankful for the stoutness of heart that was theirs. Most of them left good homes and came to the country that was then a wilderness, for a principle. For loyalty and love of a just cause. We have a fine country and one of which we are justly proud. Let us remember those words of Kipling:
"Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget, Lest we forget.''
INDIANS AND OUR EARLY SETTLERS
Butler on the other hand, was a sincere friend of the Indians. They trusted him, while he did not trust the Americans. It seems to have been a fact that Uncle Sam was raising an army, the reason given being that it was intended to be used to subdue the southern Indians. Butler wanted to make sure that his charges were safe. A tract of land at the Grand River had been purchased from the Mississaugua Indians and it was to be a new home for our friendly Indians and this was the spot to which Butler wished to use for a home of his Indian charges.
There seems to have been friction between Col. Butler and Col. Harris who was the officer in charge of the District of Nassau, as our district was then called, and Harris did his darndest to make trouble for Butler. Wherever you find a man who does things you find someone who, from whatever motive, will try to belittle his efforts. It is a bad thing to have a suspicious mind, one that is continually looking for a flaw in the other fellow's character or conduct. Anyway, this old time Senator McCarthy gave Butler some bad moments and he had to present his side of the case to Lord Dorchester, the Governor. He made out all right, but he must have felt pretty badly when, after forty years of service to his King and Country, he was accused of being a grafter and a misfit in his position in charge of Indian affairs.
I never have found that he ever acquired any great wealth and he seems to have died respected. Anyway, he was the first man to do any building on our side of the Niagara River and it was largely through this action of his, that there came into being, a movement to settle the Niagara District. In fact, the Town was known at one time as Butlersburg. His views on the movement of Indians to the Grand River prevailed and it paid a worthwhile dividend when War broke out with the Americans, for we find the Indians doing good work for us when we needed friends. So let us not forget our Indian friends, and what they did for us in "the brave old days of old."
SITE OF THE TOWN OF NIAGARA
Following that meeting came the survey of the present Town site by D. W. Smith, but the Lots mentioned were not used. Perhaps the owners were not willing to give up their homes for a Town site, so the site at the mouth of the River was chosen.
When our American neighbours got such cold feet that they needed the fire and smoke of the whole Town to warm them, they kindled a fire that ultimately spread so far as to consume every settlement on their side of the river, even their Capital City of Washington, besides nearly every building in our Town. One of the consequences of this utter destruction of our Town was that in rebuilding, some deviation from the surveyed lines came about as man built as best they knew how. As time passed, men who were our local legislators, built sidewalks and roads, planted trees and did much to add to the beauty and charm of our Town, besides adding to the comfort and convenience of our people. To them too, we owe our thanks. One must remember that prior to 1907, all our sidewalks were of pine planks. Of course, lumber was cheap as was labour, but men began to see that something of a more permanent nature was becoming more and more desirable, so the Council of 1907 embarked on a programme of building cement walks. As the work was being done, disputes came about as buildings and fences were found to be out of line. In this connection, it was discovered that there was no registered survey of the Town although from time to time, partial surveys had been made for one reason or another. After due deliberation, a Provincial Surveyor was secured in the person of Alexander Niven. Mr. Niven had worked as a young man, on a previous survey and knew from that experience how to make an intelligent start. As a result of his work, street boundaries were marked by cement blocks duly numbered. There were several citizens who disagreed with Mr. Niven's findings and even in Council there were divisions. However, the motion was thrashed out before a Government Official in 1909 and we had the spectacle of the Mayor opposing the survey and the Councilors supporting it. Mr. Niven's work was so good and efficient that the survey as made by him was confirmed by the Government and is the valid registered survey of the Town of Niagara.
As a result of this conflagration already referred to, it is a matter of record that only two houses remained unburned and they have since disappeared, one by fire and the other by being torn down. In conversation with a lady a few days ago, the matter came up to whether any houses in the Town as now constituted were still in existence. There are two shown in Miss Carnochan's History of Niagara and while they were outside the Town Limits in 1913, they are now within its borders. One of them you will find on the southeast side of King Street above Paffard St. It is a log building now clapboarded over, and was once a school where a Miss Young taught. The other is on Mississaugua Street and was at one time, the home of Colonel John Butler. In later years, it was the farm home of Nelson Bissell and has now passed into other hands.
Some things that have passed away are the railway platforms. There was one opposite the Prince of Wales Hotel. It, as well as the others, was built of pine planking and was about a foot and a half high. Then, there was a long narrow one just above Ricardo Street. This was wood, chiefly to accommodate visitors to the Queens Royal Hotel. There was a long one at the Dock and it extended from in front of the Lake View House to the end of the Station Building along side of Milloys' Wharf.
You may be interested in his description of Fort Niagara as it was in his day. It is particularly interesting to me as my father and other Niagara men worked on the construction of the walls as they are now, during the days of the American Civil War. You will see what a complete change was then made.
I couldn't help smiling to myself when I read that last part and when I thought of the ease with which our men took it from the smart Americans in the latter part of the War of 1812. The Fort remains much as it was as rebuilt, except that they have closed the gate facing the River that was used as the main entrance when I was a boy and opened what purports to be the ancient entrance with a drawbridge, etc. This looks to me rather incongruous in the midst of a modern brick wall.
My father has told me many stories of what they saw when working at the Fort. There was an old Army Major in command who was hard as nails. One of the favorite punishments of prisoners was to place a log of wood on a man's shoulder and make him walk up and down till he dropped with fatigue. I remember very well when I was in the 19th Regiment, seeing a man named Weaver from one of the St. Catharines companies, march up and down with a large old-fashioned knapsack on his back. A few days afterwards, I came across him and he was vowing vengeance on his Sergeant for getting him the punishment. I learned afterwards that he gave the said Sergeant a first class walloping after they were out of uniform. That form of punishment was called "pack drill."
At Fort Niagara, when I was around the water, they had a large woodpile and this was used to give prisoners exercise and to furnish fuel for the kitchens and bakery.
That the Land Board of which I have written had a busy time adjudicating between settlers and the boundaries of their properties. It is a strange thing that problems of the same nature are still occupying the people and furnishing a livelihood for the legal fraternity. Right here in our Town, there are still dozens of fences or buildings improperly placed. These inaccuracies could easily occur in a new or unsurveyed country.
Well, as time went on, this old Fort was deserted. A family named Procter lived there when I was a boy. In the spring of 1886, we had very high water and following a heavy northeaster, much erosion of the shore in front of the Queen's Royal Hotel was caused. Henry Winnett secured permission from the Dominion Government of the day to remove all the log buildings from the Fort, wherewith to make a breakwater in front of the Hotel. In the light of money and effort being expended all over this Canada of ours to restore such buildings, does it not seem a shame that these people were allowed to perform such acts of desecration. Think of the care and worry that went into the building of these fortifications.
As time went on, the Mayor of the Town, I think it was Bill Milloy, managed to get the Government to erect a very nice flagpole on the southeast corner of the Fort enclosure. Bye and bye, some fool of an engineer blew the flagpole to kingdom come to test out some explosive. At one stage, they built a wooden roof over the Tower and it too has gone and the poor old Fort that cost so much effort to build, is now a refuge of dirt and grime. I don't know whether Ted Daley reads the Advance, but someone ought to build a fire under him and his Park's Commission like they used to do under a balky mule. I have heard so many comments from people who see the neglected Fort that it would be a very popular move to either put the Fort in respectable shape or else remove it altogether as they did the Half Moon Battery.
Read more about it!
THE HALF-MOON BATTERY
Of course, Forts are out of fashion nowadays. In fact, they never did amount to much. Just think of the amount of time and money, the French spent on the Maginot Line and the enemy just walked around it. And the poor French, who had though they were secure, and thus relaxed their vigilance, were easy prey for Hitler. But it is nice to preserve our ancient buildings as they betoken the toil and sweat of the people who made and kept Canada British. It is no fault of theirs if the trend of modern warfare has rendered their work obsolete. For their day and age, their work was good and efficient. When you stop to think of the hard manual toil that was put into the felling and trimming of the logs, the buildings, and the palings around those two Forts, it brings to us a feeling of gratitude to those early men and women who did so much to make us into the nation that we have become. And it is eminently fitting that we should keep what we can of their work to honour them and to commemorate their hardships. We have come along in our appreciation of them. There is not so much of the spirit of getting rid of things that are outdated, which was so common a few short years ago. It would do a lot of us good just to visit our historical museum and view the primitive tools our early men and women had to get along with. In this later day, we have wonderful machinery to do our work and life is thereby made much easier.
