Those who have ever passed a winter in Canada, have by no means that dread of its severity, which some would have who have never experienced a greater degree of cold than what is commonly felt in Great Britain; and as for the Canadians themselves, they prefer the winter to every other season; indeed I never met with a Canadian, rich or poor, male or female, but what was of that opinion; nor ought this to excite our surprise, when it is considered that they pass the winter so very differently from what we do. If a Canadian were doomed to spend but six weeks only in the country parts of England, when the ground was covered with snow, I dare venture to say that he would be as heartily tired of the sameness which then pervaded the face of nature, and as desirous of beholding a green field once more, as any one of us.
Winter in Canada is the season of general amusement. The clear frosty weather no sooner commences, than all thoughts about business are laid aside, and every one devotes himself to pleasure. The inhabitants meet in convivial parties at each other’s houses, and pass the day with music, dancing, card-playing, and every social entertainment that can beguile the time. At Montreal, in particular, such a constant and friendly intercourse is kept up amongst the inhabitants, that, as I have often heard it mentioned, it appears then as if the town were inhabited but by one large family.
WINTER TRAVELLING.
By means of their carioles or sledges, the Canadians transport themselves over the snow, from place to place, in the most agreeable manner, and with a degree of swiftness that appears almost incredible; for with the same horse it is possible to go eighty miles in a day, so light is the draft of one of these carriages, and so favourable is the snow to the feet of the horse. The Canadian cariole or sledge is calculated to hold two persons and a driver; it is usually drawn by one horse; if two horses are made use of, they are put one before the other, as the track in the roads will not admit of their going abreast. The shape of the carriage is varied according to fancy, and it is a matter of emulation amongst the gentlemen, who shall have the handsomest one. There are two distinct kinds, however, of carioles, the open and the covered. The former is commonly somewhat like the body of a capriole, put upon two iron runners or slides, similar in shape to the irons of a pair of skates; the latter consists of the body of a chariot put on runners in the same manner, and covered entirely over with furs, which are found by experience to keep out the cold much better than any other covering whatsoever. Covered carioles are not much liked, except for the purpose of going to a party in the evening; for the great pleasure of carioling consists in seeing and being seen, and the ladies always go out in most superb dresses of furs. The carioles glide over the snow with great smoothness, and so little noise do they make in sliding along, that it is necessary to have a number of bells attached to the harness, or a person continually sounding a horn to guard against accidents. The rapidity of the motion, with the sound of these bells and horns, appears to be very conducive to cheerfulness, for you seldom see a dull face in a cariole. The Canadians always take advantage of the winter season to visit their friends who live at a distance, as travelling is then so very expeditious; and this is another circumstance which contributes, probably not a little, to render the winter so extremely agreeable in their eyes.
Though the cold is so very intense in Canada, yet the inhabitants never suffer from it, constant experience having taught them how to guard against it effectually.
DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
In the first place, by means of stoves they keep their habitations as warm and comfortable as can be desired. In large houses they generally have four or five stoves placed in the hall, and in the apartments on the ground floor, from whence flues pass in different directions through the upper rooms. Besides these stoves, they likewise frequently have open fires in the lower apartments; it is more, however, on account of the cheerful appearance they give to the room, than for the sake of the warmth they communicate, as by the stoves the rooms can be heated to any degree. Lest any cold blasts should penetrate from without, they have also double doors, and if the house stands exposed, even double windows, about six inches apart. The windows are made to open lengthwise in the middle, on hinges, like folding doors, and where they meet they lock together in a deep groove; windows of this description, when closed, are found to keep out the cold air much better than the common sashes, and in warm weather they are more agreeable than any other sort, as they admit more air when opened. Nor do the inhabitants suffer from cold when they go abroad; for they never stir out without first wrapping themselves up in furs from head to foot. Their caps entirely cover the ears, the back of the neck, and the greatest part of the face, leaving nothing exposed except the eyes and nose; and their large and thick cloaks effectually secure the body; besides which they wear fur gloves, muffs, and shoes. It is surprising to see how well the Canadian horses support the cold; after standing for hours together in the open air at a time when spirits will freeze, they set off as alertly as if it were summer. The French Canadians make no scruple to leave their horses standing at the door of a house, without any covering, in the coldest weather, while they are themselves taking their pleasure. None of the other domestic animals are as indifferent to the cold as the horses. During winter all the domestic animals, not excepting the poultry, are lodged together in one large stable, that they may keep each other warm; but in order to avoid the expence of feeding many through the winter, as soon as the frost sets in they generally kill cattle and poultry sufficient to last them till the return of spring. The carcases are buried in the ground, and covered with a heap of snow, and as they are wanted they are dug up; vegetables are laid up in the same manner, and they continue very good throughout the whole winter. The markets in the towns are always supplied best at this season, and provisions are then also the cheapest; for the farmers having nothing else to engage them, and having a quantity of meat on hand, that is never injured from being sent to market, flock to the towns in their carioles in great numbers, and always well supplied.
The winter generally continues till the latter end of April, and sometimes even till May, when a thaw comes on very suddenly. The snow soon disappears; but it is a long time before the immense bodies of ice in the rivers are dissolved. The scene which presents itself on the St. Lawrence at this season is most tremendous. The ice first begins to crack from side to side, with a report as loud as that of a cannon. Afterwards, as the waters become swollen by the melting of the snow, it is broken into pieces, and hurried down the stream with prodigious impetuosity; but its course is often interrupted by the islands and shallow places in the river; one large piece is perhaps first stopped, other pieces come drifting upon that, and at length prodigious heaps are accumulated, in some places rising several yards above the level of the water. Sometimes these mounds of ice are driven from the islands or rocks, upon which they have accumulated, by the wind, and are floated down to the sea in one entire body: if in going down they happen to strike against any of the rocks along the shore, the crash is horrible: at other times they remain in the same spot where they were first formed, and continue to obstruct the navigation of the river for weeks after every appearance of frost is banished on shore; so very widely also do they frequently extend in particular parts of the river, and so solid are they at the same time, that in crossing from shore to shore, the people, instead of being at the trouble of going round them, make directly for the ice, disembark upon it, drag their bateaux or canoes across, and launch them again on the opposite side. As long as the ice remains in the St. Lawrence, no ships attempt to pass up or down; for one of these large bodies of ice is equally dangerous with a rock.
THAW.
The rapid progress of vegetation in Canada, as soon as the winter is over, is most astonishing. Spring has scarcely appeared, when you find it is summer. In a few days the fields are clothed with the richest verdure, and the trees obtain their foliage. The various productions of the garden come in after each other in quick succession, and the grain sown in May affords a rich harvest by the latter end of July. This part of the year, in which spring and summer are so happily blended together, is delightful beyond description; nature then puts on her gayest attire; at the same time the heat is never found oppressive; it is seldom that the mercury in Fahrenheit’s thermometer then rises above 84°: in July and August the weather becomes warmer, and a few days often intervene when the heat is overcoming; during these months the mercury sometimes rises to 96°. There is a great difference, however, in the weather at this season in different years: during the whole of the time that I was in the country, I never observed the thermometer higher than 88°; for the greater part of the months of July and August it was not higher than 80°, and for many days together it did not rise beyond 65°, between Quebec and Montreal.