[Gutenberg 45662] • Pioneer Life among the Loyalists in Upper Canada

PIONEER LIFE AMONG

THE LOYALISTS

CHAPTER I

THE FIRST SETTLERS OF UPPER CANADA

One of the unexpected outcomes of the Revolutionary War was the effective settlement of what afterwards became known as Upper Canada. Up to that time the greater part of this rich territory was a wilderness, to which the white man had attached little value, except in respect to the part it played, through its chain of forts, in giving access to the great fur-producing tracts of the interior of the continent. Although the French governors had frequently advocated the introduction of settlers into this part of Canada, with a view to establishing the supremacy of France more securely upon the Great Lakes, very little had been accomplished in that direction.

The net result was a few military posts along the border and a French settlement in the neighbourhood of Detroit. The entire European population grouped about a few centres did not exceed 2,000. Throughout the rest of this territory, where now we find busy towns, thriving villages, and well-equipped farms, one might have travelled for weeks without meeting a human being, save, perhaps, a solitary trapper, with a small bundle of peltries upon his back.

That the rich farm lands of what is now the banner province of Canada were apparently so long overlooked might appear strange, if we do not bear in mind that there was no shortage of territory well adapted to agricultural purposes on the Atlantic seaboard and on the lower St. Lawrence. It must also be remembered that the fur trade had for nearly two centuries held first place in the regard of the governing bodies of Canada, and that little care was bestowed upon the agricultural possibilities of the lands bordering upon the Upper St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes.

The manner in which the settlements were begun was more remarkable than the long delay in beginning them. In most instances, new territories have been opened up for settlement by a few hardy pioneers, whose numbers were added to, year after year; but here we have a whole colony, coming in as one body, taking up all the desirable lands in the front concessions of a score of townships.

The Loyalists were above the ordinary type of emigrants who, too frequently, having made a failure of life in their native surroundings, seek other fields in which to begin anew their struggle for existence. When the thirteen British colonies declared their independence, there were many thousands of their best citizens, men of means and influence, who looked upon the British flag as their best safe-guard of freedom and justice, and they declined to take up arms against their Motherland. Their loyalty brought down upon their heads the wrath of the leaders of the revolutionary movement. Their property was confiscated, some were thrown into prison, and, in a few instances, the death penalty was inflicted, for no other offence than their allegiance to the British Crown. In the face of such threatened dangers thousands rallied to the standard of the king, and many more, who for various reasons, did not enlist in the army, made no secret of their loyalty to their sovereign. When hostilities were concluded, the persecutions still continued, and the Loyalists found themselves little better than outcasts from their own homes. Giving up all hope of regaining their property or receiving compensation for their losses, they set about to seek new homes under the flag for which they had sacrificed so much. Thousands went to England, many more thousands emigrated to the British West Indies, Nova Scotia, and what is now New Brunswick, and large numbers were attracted to the rich farm lands in that territory which was afterwards known as Upper Canada.