It was by these batteaux, that the refugees, and their families, as well as the soldiers and their families passed from the shores of Lake Champlain, from Sorel, and the St. Lawrence, where they had temporally lived, to the Upper Province. It was also by these, or the Skenectady, or the Durham boat, that the pioneers made their transit from Oswego. Thus it will be seen that to gain the northern shore of the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, was a task of no easy nature, and the steps by which they came were taken literally inch by inch, and were attended with labor hard and venturesome. Records are not wanting of the severe hardships endured by families on their way to their wooded lands. Supplied with limited comforts, perhaps only the actual necessaries of life, they advanced slowly by day along dangerous rapids, and at night rested under the blue sky. But our fathers and mothers were made of stern stuff, and all was borne with a noble heroism. This toilsome mode of traveling continued for many a year. John Ferguson, writing in 1788, from Fredericksburgh to a friend in Lower Canada, Lachine, says of his journey, “after a most tedious and fatiguing journey I arrived here—nineteen days on the way—horrid roads— sometimes for whole days up to the waist in water or mire.” But the average time required to ascend the rapids with a brigade was from ten to twelve days, and three or four to descend. One can hardly conceive of the toilsome hours formerly spent in passing from Kingston, or the seventh and eighth townships of the bay to Montreal, and back. Before setting out, the traveler would make elaborate preparations for a journey of several weeks. There was no regular traffic, and only an occasional batteaux, laden with simple articles of merchandise, would start for the head waters of the bay. Individuals would often wait, sometimes a long time, for these opportunities, and then would work their passage, by taking a hand at the oars. Even up to the present century, it was the custom. The following is a most interesting instance of batteaux traveling which has been placed in our hands by the Rev. Mr. Miles. It gives one an excellent idea of traveling at the beginning of the present century. “I left Kingston on the 6th of April, 1811, but as the traveling _then_ was not as it is _now_, I did not arrive in Montreal till the 15th. I will just copy verbatim, the journal I kept on my passage. Durham boats were scarce on the Canada side at that time, but it was thought if I could get to the American shore, I would find one on its way to Montreal. Well, I found a man in Kingston, just from Grindstone Island, who had brought up some shingles and tar to sell, and he told me if I could get to Briton’s Point, several miles down the river from Cape Vincent, and to which place he would take me, that he thought I would find a Durham boat there, and the following is my journal on that route.