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Show TP.\VI·:LS TUROUG II LOWER CA ADA: litary } o{b on the lakes, pre ar.ltory to their being dc:livered up to the United States. On the north-well: fide of the St. Lawrence, except fur abou t fifty 111 iles or thereabout s, arc road s, and alfo fi attcred fettlc:ment s, at no grc:tt di{bnce from each other, the whole way between lVJontreal and Kingfion, whilh is fituatcd at the eaflern extremity of Lake Ontario ; but no one ever thinks of going thither by land, on account of the numl)cr1e(s inconveni ncics fuch a journey would be attended with ; incl.t: d, t'lc ditli.cu.ty of getting hodes acrofs the many deep and rapid rive1::, l,lilu'rr into , lC St. Lawrence would in itfclf b fuHicicnt to deter t r,wdl rs from p ocLcding by land to 1 ingflon, fup1 ofing even that there were none otb~.:r to ncountcr. A water onveyancc is by far the moll: e1igibl..., aml except only betw~.:cn ~cbcc and J\llontrcal, it i~; th comqancc univcrCtlly made ufc of in cvt:ry pat t of the country, that is, \\ht:n people wifh mcrdy to follow the courfe of the riv ,rs, in the neigh bourhoo l of which alone there arc any fc ttlements. The rapids in the St. Lawrence are fo very {hong juD: above Montreal, tha t the bateaux are never laden at the town, but fufft:rcd to proceed empty as .Gu· as the village of La Chine, which ilands on the iiland of Montreal, about nine miles higher up. The goods are fent, from Montre111, th "ther in cart . La Chine is built on a fine gravelly beach, at the head of a little bay at the lo ;ver end of Lake St. Louis, whi h is a bro:1d part of the river St. Lawrence. A fmart current fets down the lake, and owing to it there is generally a confidcrable curl on the furf.1ce of the water, even clofe to tl1e fhon:!, which,. with the appearance of the boats and canoes upon it in motion, gives the pLtcc a very lively air. The .Gtnation of the village is inck~d extremely agreeable, and from feme of the houfes there arc moll: charming views of the lake, and of the country at the oppoftte fide of it. There arc very c tcnfivc fiorehoufc belonging to the King, and a1fo to the merchants of J\fontreal. In the former the pr·e~ nts for the In lian:> arc d ·pouted~~ foon as they arrive from England; and prior to their being fl'nt up the country they ar infpected by the commanding (>.1icer of the g,,r ·ifon of lontreal an 1 a committee of 1 1crchants, who 9 arc INDIAN VILLJ\GF. 5 are bound to make a faithful report to government, whc' 1cr th · pr (.· 1 t~ arc agreeable to the contra t, and as good as could be obtained fur th~ price that is paid for th m. In fight of La Chine, on the oppofitc fide f the St. L·nvrencc, iland" the village of tht:: Cochcnonaga Indians, whom I have al ready had o ca~ iion to mention. The villag~ contains about f1fty 1 g hou(cs and a R0 - man catholic church, bL1ilt in the CanJdian !l:ylc, and ornamented within with pictures, ln.mp , &c. in fuch a manner a to :tttratl: the eye as forcibly as poffible. The outward fhew, and numerous ceremonies of the Roman catholic religion, arc particul arly fuitcc..l to the capaciti<.: , of the Indians, and as but very little rdl:raint is impoCcd upon them by the miJJionaries, more of them become converts to th:l.t religion th :m to any other. The worfhip of the Iloly Virgin meets in a very peculiar manncr with the approbation of the fquaws, and they fing her praifes with the moll: profound devotion. In this and all the other Indian villages fituated in the improved Pf\rts o[ Low r Canada, a great mixture of the blood of whites with that of the aborigines is obfervable in the perfons of the inhabitants; there arc alfo confider~ble numbers -of the French Can,tdi~m s living in thLfe villages, who hav marri ·d Indian wives, and h, vc been adop tcJ into the different nations with whom th ey reticle. lVl ny of the French C:.tnadians b ar fuch a clofe rcfcmblance to the Indians, owing to their dark complcCtion s, black yc , and long black hair, th :J.t when attire i in the fame habits it is only a perfon intimately acquainted with the featmcs of the Indians that could dif1:ingui01 the one race of men from the oth~r. Th · difpofitions of the two people alfo accord together in a very ilri hn~ manner; both are averfe to a fettled life, and to regular habits of induflry; both arc fo nd of roving about, and procuring full: 'tuncc by hunti ng rather than by cultivating the earth; nature fccms to have implanted in their hearts a reciprocal :~ffection for each other; they aflueiatc together, and live on the moll amicable term ; and to this one circum(bncc mon: than to any other caufe is to be attributed that vo;·ondcrful afc<::ndancy which the l< rcnch were ever known to have over the Indi.1ns, whiltl: they had pofldlion of Canacb. It is v ry rcmarkabk inJct:d, that in L 1 2 the |