| Title: | From William Radcliff, Esq., Upper Canada, to Arthur Radcliff, Esq., Dublin. |
|---|---|
| ID | 4553 |
| Collection | Authentic Letters from Upper Canada [Rev. Thomas Radcliff] |
| File | radcliff/11 |
| Year | 1832 |
| Sender | Radcliff, William |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | farmer |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Adelaide, Upper Canada |
| Destination | Dublin, Ireland |
| Recipient | Radcliff, Arthur |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | brothers? |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 1923 |
| Genre | settling, hunting, farming, emigration |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Adelaide, December, 1832. My dear Arthur, I have at last got time to write to you.—Here we are, stuck in the woods, but so differently circumstanced from others who settled before us, that I am told we are very well off; and so we are, every thing considered, The Government have cut out our roads, a task which former settlers had to perform for themselves. They also sell us provisions, so that we are in no danger of starving. Nor are we alone in the forest;—never was there a township so quickly filled up, with respectable people. We shall shortly have a thicker neighbourhood than any I know of, in the country parts of Ireland. A vast number of those who came out this year, have congregated in this township, a proof that the land b good. It is considered the best in upper Canada, and the settlement, it is thought, will be one of the most flourishing. There are still crown, and clergy reserves, which will be sold next year to gentlemen settlers, but after that, the lots here will be closed to every one, except by private purchase—my house when finished, will be comfortable, and not despicable in appearance—being forty-six feet in front with an eve projecting eighteen inches. You will be impatient to hear of the shooting; an interesting topic to a good sportsman like you. The time has been, when I should have considered it paramount to any other; but, would you believe?—I have not even had time to think about it—no one, however, goes into the woods, or any where on business, without his fowling-piece; and game, of one sort or another, is generally brought home. My occupation has almost entirely precluded this, as, being my own architect, I cannot leave the building for an hour •—my entire success in the shooting way can, therefore, be reported in a few words—in riding through one of my lots, a partridge got up, I dismounted, when another rose, which I shot flying—a great feat here, where they never attempt any thing beyond a sitting shot. This is the only game I have yet brought home—a finer bird never came to table—infinitely larger than our grouse, of the same form, but remarkably white in the flesh, and with the plumage of the common partridge. They are called pheasants, and are most numerous; I have no doubt that there are a hundred coveys within two miles of this house, but, alas, I have no dog—what would I not give now to have old Grouse? Let no one persuade you against bringing out your dogs; they would be invaluable. I have not been able to see, or hear, of a good one in this country. A flock of about thirty turkeys came round the house last week; my man fired at them, and like sportsmen that you and I have met, boasted that he had knocked as much feathers out of one of them, as would make a good pillow, but the larder fared nothing the better. They are very numerous, but very wary—and run faster than an Indian. If you were with me, we could shoot more game in a day than a good horse could carry home. When I can spare time to go out I can, without failure, bring back one, two, or three deer, any day I please. They are in hundreds in the lands all round, and nothing can be more certain than the Calderwood "fie, which I brought from home. It has obtained a great character here, from my having tried it at a mark, against an Indian Chief, whom I beat unmercifully; poor Calderwood took great pains with it, and in my mind, his workmanship cannot be exceeded. We were under a great mistake, in supposing that the woods afforded the best sport—quite the reverse; in them you have nothing but bears, wolves, deer, turkeys, partridges; whilst the cleared land abounds with birds too numerous to mention; but those for the table, which follow the settlers, are woodcock, snipe, partridge, quail, very large, and the meadow lark, a beautiful bird as large as quail; plover also, of several kinds. Then come those of ornamental plumage, the various species of woodpecker, all beautiful; with blue birds, yellow birds, red birds, and humming-birds. My discussion upon shooting must terminate, till I can send you the result of my own experience. At present I could better treat of the clearing of land, in which I am deeply engaged—but as.my brother, whose letter to my father I have read, (and which you will of course sec,) has gone minutely into that subject, and as we go hand in hand in those matters, I will not trouble you with repetitions, which ought to be avoided where so many of the same family are writing; all that I shall say upon it, is that I have already cleared five acres, and that by February, thirty are to be completed for me, and an equal number for my brother, at £1 8s. per acre, for brushing, piling ready to burn, chopping, and cutting into lengths. The drawing together, and burning, to be executed by ourselves. The workmen demanded much more, and had not we been a full party with a little steadiness, and some money stirring among us, they would have beaten us out, whereas we are now victorious, and the defeated party, perfectly contented, in the expectation of touching a little hard cash, of which they have very little, and are passionately fond. I could never have imagined that the axe could be used with such dexterity; I really think that two Canadians would clear all Gerardstown in a fortnight; they would take but two blows to every tree in the plantations. Desire all friends who come out, to bring delft, but not glass—as the latter is as cheap here as the former is extravagant in price—also, hardware of the necessary kinds, and spades and shovels, which are ill constructed in this country—but, above all, a hay-knife—here they cut their hay with an axe, and, I may say, do almost every thing with that universal implement. I have bought a waggon, and pair of horses—one of them a choice saddle horse, fully equal to my weight, which however is much decreased. He cost me a hundred dollars, and such a one would bring a hundred pounds with you. They are very good here, and very cheap. Now, my dear A-, as to advising you whether to come out or not, as I promised to do, I can safely say, from all that I have seen and heard, that if you can contrive to reach my house, with five hundred pounds in your pocket, you may, with your present experience, insure yourself a certain and gentlemanlike independence. Think what an advantage you would have over me, who have spent a little fortune in bringing out a family, and in the delays and heavy cost of their voyage, journey, lodgings, residence in towns, and charges at taverns and elsewhere, till nearly the present date, when we are at length settled, but not unexpensively till next year, when the produce of the farm will begin to tell; whereas you who are a single man, can apply all your time, and energy and money to settling yourself prudently and comfortably, and make us happy by remaining with us till you do so. I only fear that if you do not come soon, you will not be able to find land near us, so fast are the lots disposed of— you need have no scruple about adding to our establishment, if you can live on venison and many other good things that cost but little. My cellar also defies you. I have a very snug one, moderately stocked with choice Teneriffe at 7s. the gallon, Brandy at 10s., Rum at 4s. 6d. and Whiskey, (very good) at 1s. 8d.—No locks or bolts here, which is rather new to me. The Canadians never steal, but are sharp enough, and will take advantage when they can. I have now told you many of the favourable circumstances of the country, which are decidedly very great; still, however, an Irish day of recollection, sinking the spirits down, down! will occur; and sometimes, notwithstanding the outrages and the murders, the politics, and the poverty of that unhappy country, I would give all I am worth to be walking beside you, shooting the Enfield bottoms, as in those happy days we have spent together; again, these feelings vanish, when I look at my rich land, unencumbered by rent or taxes, and ask myself, if I were back again, how could I command such certain independence. If I had my friends all here, I should be the happiest man breathing. I inspect my choppers, and am much interested. They say here, that once we see the crops growing, we shall never think of home again, but this is a bold assertion. I do not feel at home here yet—my former life, my sea voyage, and travelling some seven hundred miles through a new country, appear more like a dream than reality; my very existence in these drowsy woods appears doubtful, till I rouze myself by thinking on my College friends, my hunting days, the animating hounds, the green open fields, and the scarlet coats. Thus have I been active, and depressed—-bustling, and gloomy by turns, but now that I am fairly settled in my own house, my spirits and exertions are both on the rise. I have much carpenter's work to execute, and find that I am growing more expert every day. Let my brother John know that clergymen are in great demand: had he been here he would probably have been appointed to the rectory of this township. I am informed that the governor has thirty clerical situations to fill up. If my brother comes soon, he may get one near us. They are very desirable preferments and afford a fine field for active zeal. As there is some difference of opinion as to the temporalities to be attached to those appointments, I am delicate in giving, as a certainty, what I have heard, though it has been apparently from the best authority, but all will be finally arranged shortly. What I have been told is that they are in the gift of the Governor, (with the approbation of the bishop of course,) and that the clergyman is to have 150/. a year, a house and 400 acres of land, 200 as glebe, and 200 in perpetuity. Another statement mentions house—100/. a year—200 acres of glebe—50 of which are to be cleared for the incumbent at the cost of government—but none in perpetuity.— I wish to mention both, that our friend may only calculate upon the least advantageous; by which means, when he comes, he may happen to be agreeably surprized, but cannot be disappointed. Make him bring out proper testimonials from his Bishop, &c. &c. What I have still to say may be comprized in a nut-shell; come by New York, don't loiter on the road to waste your money; bring out rape-seed, hay-seeds, garden-seeds, especially those of culinary, and aromatic herbs, and sail in April, if you can. Yours, my dear Arthur, Faithfully, W.R. |
