A Yankee in Canada, with Anti-slavery and reform papers. — John Shaqi
A Yankee in Canada, with Anti-slavery and reform papers.Thoreau, Henry David
History
A Yankee in Canada, with Anti-slavery and reform papers.
Thoreau, Henry David
Brown, John, 1800-1859; Québec (Province) -- Description and travel; Slavery -- United States
falling on it would roll toward the circumference, where the barracks of
the soldiers and officers are; it has been proposed, therefore, to make
it slightly concave, so that they may roll into the centre, where they
would be comparatively harmless; and it is estimated that to do this
would cost twenty thousand pounds sterling. It may be well to remember
this when I build my next house, and have the roof “all correct” for
bombshells.
At mid-afternoon we made haste down _Sault-au-Matelot_ street, towards
the Falls of Montmorenci, about eight miles down the St. Lawrence, on
the north side, leaving the further examination of Quebec till our
return. On our way, we saw men in the streets sawing logs pit-fashion,
and afterward, with a common wood-saw and horse, cutting the planks into
squares for paving the streets. This looked very shiftless, especially
in a country abounding in water-power, and reminded me that I was no
longer in Yankee land. I found, on inquiry, that the excuse for this
was, that labor was so cheap; and I thought, with some pain, how cheap
men are here! I have since learned that the English traveller,
Warburton, remarked, soon after landing at Quebec, that everything was
cheap there but men. That must be the difference between going thither
from New and from Old England. I had already observed the dogs harnessed
to their little milk-carts, which contain a single large can, lying
asleep in the gutters regardless of the horses, while they rested from
their labors, at different stages of the ascent in the Upper Town. I was
surprised at the regular and extensive use made of these animals for
drawing, not only milk, but groceries, wood, &c. It reminded me that the
dog commonly is not put to any use. Cats catch mice; but dogs only worry
the cats. Kalm, a hundred years ago, saw sledges here for ladies to ride
in, drawn by a pair of dogs. He says, “A middle-sized dog is sufficient
to draw a single person, when the roads are good”; and he was told by
old people, that horses were very scarce in their youth, and almost all
the land-carriage was then effected by dogs. They made me think of the
Esquimaux, who, in fact, are the next people on the north. Charlevoix
says, that the first horses were introduced in 1665.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account