A Yankee in Canada
by Henry D. Thoreau
A grandfatherly personage at home in his great coat, who looked as if he might be a stage proprietor, certainly a rail-road director, and knew, or had a right to know when the cars did start. Then there were two or three pale-faced, black-eyed, loquacious Canadian French gentlemen there, shrugging their shoulders; pitted, as if they had all had the small pox. In the meanwhile some soldiers, red-coats, belonging to the barracks nearby, were turned out to be drilled. At every important point in our route the soldiers showed themselves ready for us. Though they were evidently rather raw recruits here, they manoeuvred far better than our soldiers; yet, as usual, I heard some Yankees talk as if they were no great shakes, and they had seen the Acton Blues manoeuvre as well. The officers spoke sharply to them and appeared to be doing their part thoroughly. I heard one, suddenly coming to the rear, exclaim—"Michael Donolly, take his name!" though I could not see what the latter did or omitted to do. It was whispered that Michael Donolly would have to suffer for that. I heard some of our party discussing the possibility of their driving these troops off the field with their umbrellas. I thought that the Yankee, though undisciplined, had this advantage at least, that he especially is a man who, everywhere and under all circumstances, is fully resolved to better his condition essentially, and therefore he could afford to be beaten at first; while the virtue of the Irishman, and to a great extent the Englishman, consists in merely maintaining his ground, or condition. The Canadians here, a rather poor looking race clad in grey homespun, which gave them the appearance of being covered with dust, were riding about in caleches and small one-horse carts called charrettes. The Yankees assumed that all the riders were racing, or at least exhibiting the paces of their horses, and saluted them accordingly. We saw but little of the village here, for nobody could tell us when the cars would start; that was kept a profound secret, perhaps for political reasons; and therefore we were tied to our seats. The inhabitants of St. Johns and vicinity are described by an English traveller as "singularly unprepossessing," and before completing his period he adds, "besides, they are generally very much disaffected to the British Crown". I suspect that that "besides" should have been a because.
At length about noon the cars began to roll toward La Prairie. The whole distance of fifteen miles was over a remarkably level country, resembling a western prairie, with the mountains about Chambly visible in the north-east. This novel, but monotonous, scenery was exciting. At La Prairie we first took notice of the tinned roofs, but, above all, of the St. Lawrence, which looked like a lake, in fact it is considerably expanded here; it was nine miles across diagonally to Montreal. Mount Royal in the rear of the city and the island of St. Helens opposite to it, were now conspicuous. We could also see the Sault St. Louis about five miles up the river, and the Sault Norman still further eastward. The former are described as the most considerable rapids in the St. Lawrence; but we could see merely a gleam of light there as from a cobweb in the sun. Soon the city of Montreal was discovered with its tin roofs shining afar. Their reflections fell on the eye like a clash of cymbals on the ear. Above all the church of Notre Dame was conspicuous, and anon the Bonsecours Market-House occupying a commanding position on the quay, in the rear of the shipping.