The New Hampshire Gazette Newspaper, July 27, 1759, Page 1

. ¥ « 27. 1759 THE / NeW-Ham})fhir -i g5 Containing the Frefbefl Advices The publick Attention being now turned to thegrand Fx- ~ peditions under the Generals mherlt and Waolfe, we have therefire endeayoured to colledt, for the Bene- Jit of our Readers, an Account of the River St. Law- rence, and the City of Quebeck, from the lateft and beft Suthurities 5 but we Joail firlt give : A ¢ .eral Account of Canapa. HE immenfe country, called by the French, Canada, is, accord- ing to them, half as bigasEurope: It borders upon our Hrovinces.of MavzScotia, MewiEnz &0, aly 2R w York, on the ealt and northeait, Louifiana on the fouth, and that known tra® of land which ftretches to the South Sea, on the weft, and our colony of Hudfon’s-bay on the north. The climate refembles that of our own colo- - nies ; but as it is much farther from the fea, and more northerly than a great part of thofe provinces, it has a much ieverer winter ; tho’ 4 the air is generally clear. The cold is beyond Vi all meafure, from the month of December to that of April ; during that fpace of time the river St. Lawrence is always froze over, not- withftanding the flowing and ebbing of the fea ; and the fnow upon the ground 1is 3 or 4 feet deep, which is very ftrange, in acoun- try that lies in the latitude of 47 degrees and fome odd minutes. The weather then is fo clear and ferese, that for three wecks toge- ther you fhall not fee acloud in the horizon. The foil is various ; moftly barren ; but the French have fettlements where the land 1s equal in goednefs to that in‘any of our colo- pies 5 it yields Indian corn very well in molt parts ; and very fine wheatin fome : All forts of garden ftuff which grows in Europe, flou- « fifhes here: In particular they fow peas, which are much efteemed in France. All forts of grain are very cheap here, as well as butchers mear, and fowl, wood is almoft nothing in comparifon with > the charge of its carriage, which after all, is very confiderable ; the whole country (except the little that is planted) being a continued foreft. They raife no ftaple commodity to = anfwer their demands from Old France: Their trade with the Indians produce all their returns for that market. They are the furs of the beaver principally, and thofe of foxes and racoons, with deer {Kins, and all branches of the pelery.” Thefe, with what A - A corn and lumber they fend to the Weft Indi- . €5, a people not very luxurious, nor extreme- A . ly numerous, furnifh, though very little mo- ney, yet wherewithal, in a plentiful country, to render life eafy and agreeable. - In Canada the French -have traders, whom they call Couteurs de Bois ; who, in the man- ner of the original 1ahabitants, traver{ing the vaft lakes and rivers that divide this country, » in canoes of bark, with incredible induftry 0 and patience, carry their goods into the re- motelt part of America, and among(t nations entirely unknowa to us. They carry a fort of duffil blankets, guns, powder, and ball, +kettles, hatchers, and. tomahawks, with all forts of toys and trinkets : Thefe they dif- pofe of among all the favage nations of the continent, by way of exchange for beaver- » fkins. They are fometimes a year apd a half, [ | or two years on their voyage, and clear an immenfe profit ; and as foon as they comal#f “home, fpend itall in lewdnefs and debauche? 1y, gaming and drunkennefs. This done, they are forced to go upon a new voyage for fubfiftence, The price of e The number of inhal%}zants are not above one hundred thoufand &pls; they have 7 or 8ooa militia, hardy and well difciplined, al- ways reddy to co-opperate with their regular troops. The government of Canadaisina Governor, and [ntendan:, and a Royal Coun- cil. The Governor is invelted with a great deal of power ; which, however, on the fide of the crown, is check’d by the Intendant, who has the care of +k- Ting’s rights, and whatever relases totht sevenus 3 and oo the fide of the people, it is check’d by the Roy- al Council ; whofe office it is to fee that the people are not opprefled by the one, or de- frauded by the other. The Governor’s fa- lary is paid by the crown. His perquifites are none. All the other officers are likewife paid by the crown, and out of the revenues of Old France. The fortifications are built and re- paired, and the foldiers are paid out of the fame funds. About 120,000 crowns come annually from France, which finds them cir- culating cath. Of the River St. Lawrence, and the City of Quebeck. WE are at alofs 10 find the head of this river ; for tho’ it has been traced 7 or 800 leagues up, yet its fource was never yet reached. The remoteft place that the Cou- reurs de Bois go to,being the lake Lenemipi- gon, which difembogues into the upper lake as that does into the lake of Hurons, and that into the lake Erie, @nd the lake Eriein- to that of Ontario, which forms this laft great river, that runs for 20 leagues with a pretty gentle fiream, and fweeps thro® 30 more with a very rapid current, tiil it reaches the city of Montreal, into which place it is na- vigable for large veffels, but no further ; for near that town there is a dangerous cataract that interrupts the navigation: From this city to Quebec, which is upwards of 120 leagues, it continues its courfe with fome mo- deration. From Quebec to its mouth, which is 120 leagues, it is no where lefs than 4 or 5 leagues broad, till it comes juft before that city, whereit narrows fo thatitis there but a mile broad. This city is perhaps the only one in the world that can boaft of a frefh water harbour, capable of containing 100 men of war of theline, at 120 leagues dilt- ant from the fea : But itis of very difficult and dangerous navigation, (which is an in- curable evil, and has kept back their colony very much) and frozen up for almoft half a year, and covered with thick exhalations and fogs for the greater part of the reft. This is the only river upon which the French have fectlements of any note: On this great river ftands the city of Que- bec, the metropolis of New-France, and lies in lat. 40. 32. long. 60. 40. on the north fide of the river Saint Laureace, at 120 leagues diftance from the fea; itis fituated on the narroweft part of the river: between it and the Ifle of Orleans is a bafon, a full league in diameter every way, into which the niver St.Charles empties itfelf from the north-weft. gu:bcc ftands exaétly between this river and cape Diamond, which advances out behind it. The anchorage, or road, is oppofite, in 25 fathom good ground : However, when the wind blows. hard at "N. E. fhips often drive,; but without danger. GA : .Fdi”eigfl and Domeflich. Nums., 147. ETTE T TR 4 & This city was founded by Samue! Champ- lain, in 1608 : Itis divided into an upper and lower town, all built of ftore, and moft- ly in 2 bandfome manner ; the merchants live in the latter for the conveniency of the har- bour, upon which they have builc very fine houfes, three ftory high, of a fort of ftone harder than marble. There are reckoned a- beut 7000 fouls. The {orc is a handfome building with twoa wings s ¥ oa ensdt bya fpacicus 4nd segalic court, but there is no garden, becaufe it is built on the edge of a rock : This defeét is fupplied in fome meafure, by a fine gallery, with a balcony,or baluftrade,which furrounds the building, and commands the road, and from whence you fee all the lower town un- der your feet. Leaving the fort to the left, you crofs a pretty large efplanade, and by an eafy defcent you reach the fummit of Cape Diamond, which forms a natural platform : Befides - the beauty of the profpe& hence, you breathe, the pureft air, and may fee pum- bers of porpoifes, white as Snow, playing on the furface of the waters. ‘The houfe of the Intendant is, cilled the palace, becaufe the fupreme cauncil aflfemble here : It is a large building, whole two ex- tremities fink {ome fect, and to which you afcend by a double flight of fteps : The front of the garden, which has a profpeét of the river St. Charles, is much more agreeable than the place you enter at. The King's magazines from the right fide of the court, and the prifon hes behind thiem. At about a quarter of a league diftance from this place is the general hefpital : This is the moft beautiful building in Canada, and would be no difgrace to the fineft town ia France : The only fault of this edifice is its marfhy fi- tuation 3 but the river St. Laurence in this place making a turn, its waters do not flow eafily, and the evil is without remedy. - Quebec is not regularly fortified ; but they have been long at work to render it capable of bearing a fiege : The town as it is, is natu- rally ftrong ; the portis flanked by two bafti- ons, which, at high tides, are even almoit with the water, that is to fay, they are 25 feet high, which i3 the height the tide flows here at the equinozes. A lictle above the baftion to the nght, is a half baftion cut out of the rock ; and a liccle higher, nearer the fort, is 4 batcery mounted, of 24 picces of cannon: Higher flill is a fquare fort, called the cica- del, which is a regular and beautiful fortifica- tion, and in which the Governer refides: “The ways that communicate beiween thefe fortifications are extremely rugged. To thes left of the port, along the road, to the river of St. Charles, are good batteries of cannon, and fome mortars. - From the angle of the citadel, facing the town, they have drawn a curtain a-flant, which joinsa redoubc pretty fteep, on w hich is a wind-mill fortified : De- {cending from hence, you find within mufket fhot, a tower with a baftion, and at an equal diftance a fecond.—The delign was to cover all this with a counter-fcarp, having the fame angles as the batticns 5 and which fhould end at the extremity of the rock near the palace of the intendant, where there is already a {uaall redoubrt, as there is another off Cape Diamond : | koow rot why the Defign was not put in execorion.