E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, storm, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 22496-h.htm or 22496-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/2/4/9/22496/22496-h/22496-h.htm) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/2/4/9/22496/22496-h.zip) SETTLERS IN CANADA by CAPTAIN MARRYAT Author of "Children of the New Forest," "Peter Simple," "Little Savage," "Newton Foster," "Privateersman," "Monsieur Violet," etc., etc. With Illustrations George Routledge and Sons London: Broadway, Ludgate Hill New York: 9 Lafayette Place [Illustration: BEE-HUNTING.] THE SETTLERS. CHAPTER I. It was in the year 1794, that an English family went out to settle in Canada. This province had been surrendered to us by the French, who first colonized it, more than thirty years previous to the year I have mentioned. It must, however, be recollected, that to emigrate and settle in Canada was, at that time, a very different affair to what it is now. The difficulty of transport, and the dangers incurred, were much greater, for there were no steamboats to stem the currents and the rapids of the rivers; the Indians were still residing in Upper and many portions of Lower Canada, and the country was infested with wild animals of every description--some useful, but many dangerous: moreover, the Europeans were fewer in number, and the major portion of them were French, who were not pleased at the country having been conquered by the English. It is true that a great many English settlers had arrived, and had settled upon different farms; but as the French settlers had already possession of all the best land in Lower Canada, these new settlers were obliged to go into or toward Upper Canada, where, although the land was better, the distance from Quebec and Montreal, and other populous parts, was much greater, and they were left almost wholly to their own resources, and almost without protection. I mention all this, because things are so very different at present: and now I shall state the cause which induced this family to leave their home, and run the risk and dangers which they did. Mr. Campbell was of a good parentage, but, being the son of one of the younger branches of the family, his father was not rich, and Mr. Campbell was, of course, brought up to a profession. Mr. Campbell chose that of a surgeon; and after having walked the hospitals (as it is termed), he set up in business and in a few years was considered as a very able man in his profession. His practice increased very fast; and before he was thirty years of age he married.