United States -- History -- War of 1812 -- Personal narratives
Succeeding his brother, Capt. Dunlop, as Member
of the Provincial Parliament and
taking successful interest in
the welfare of Canada,
and died lamented
by many
friends
1848.
The elder of these two brothers, William Dunlop, was born at Greenock,
Scotland, in 1792, and became, when a stripling of scarce 21 years of
age, a surgeon in the famous 88th, or, Connaught Rangers. Being ordered
to Canada, where the war with the United States was in progress, he made
his way to the fighting line in the Niagara Peninsula, and there,
serving first as surgeon and afterwards as a combatant, he gave
indubitable proofs of courage and capacity. When the "appalling
intelligence" of the peace concluded by the Treaty of Ghent reached him,
Dunlop embarked with his regiment for England, just missing by a few
days a share in the glorious action of Waterloo, and was ordered to
India. While there his restless activity occupied itself with his
medical and military duties, with the congenial task of editing a
newspaper, and with numerous tiger hunts. So successful was he as a
slayer of tigers that he earned the name of "Tiger" Dunlop, and in his
later Canadian days was familiarly known as "The Tiger." An attack of
jungle fever drove him back to England on half-pay, and settling in
London he lived for a few years what has been called a most
miscellaneous life. He wrote articles for the magazines. He edited for a
time a newspaper called the "British Press," until he quarrelled with
the publisher for dismissing contemptuously a political upheaval in
France in the following brief "leader": "We perceive that there is a
change of ministry in France;--we have heard of no earthquakes in
consequence!" He edited a work on medical jurisprudence. He started a
Sunday newspaper for Anglo-Indians called "The Telescope," the history
of which, declared one of his friends, was a comedy of the drollest
kind. He founded a club,--being of convivial tastes and a prince of boon
companions,--called The Pig and Whistle. Finally,--and this doubtless
led to his returning to Canada,--he became interested, as secretary, or,
director, in some industrial concerns, notably a salt works in Cheshire.
In London he made the acquaintance of Mr. John Galt, and accompanied him
to Canada in 1826. He received from the Canada Company the appointment
of Warden of the Forests, and for twenty years was a leading figure in
what we now call Western Ontario. If one wishes to know "The Tiger" in
this period, he must be sought in the charming pages of the Misses
Lizars' book "In the Days of the Canada Company." There, his rollicking
humour, his broad sympathies, his eccentric jests are excellently
depicted. Dunlop represented Huron in Parliament, where he was a
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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