But human soul, must rise from individual to the whole.”
The Tuscarora Indians emigrated from North Carolina very early in the seventeenth century, and were adopted by the Oneidas.[[60]] It is said that they were, originally, of the same nation.
Soon after my little excursion to the Tuscaroras, I arrived at Lewistown; the place which made so great a figure in the newspaper annals of the late war.[[61]] It is a very small village. Opposite to this place, across the river Niagara, are the heights of Queenstown. The portage, rendered necessary by the falls of Niagara, commences at this part of the Straits; this being the head of ship navigation from Lake Ontario.
From Lewistown I proceeded down, along the east bank of the river, to Fort Niagara.[[62]] Colonel Pinkney, who commanded there, is a man of a noble aspect and elegant manners.[[63]] From him and his lady I experienced a hospitable and kind reception. Whilst at the Fort I was surprised to find that the River Niagara and Lake Ontario never freeze. This is a fact of which I was ignorant.
On the opposite side of the Niagara, is the field where Gen. Brock fell; and on this side is the monument of Colonel Christie:—
“I have seen a tomb by a roaring stream,
The dark dwelling of a chief.”
Colonel Christie was a truly brave and devoted soldier; and General Brock, though a foe, was distinguished for conduct, courage and humanity.[[64]] [63] Fort Niagara is situated on the east bank of the river of this name, at its junction with Lake Ontario. This is a very important post. The Fort was built by the French in 1751; and in 1759 it was taken by the British General Johnson, after defeating the French army near that place. The vicinity of the Fort was, originally, the peculiar country of the Iroquois, or Six Nations. As to the causes of Lake Ontario, never freezing, it is evident that they must be local and peculiar. Lake Erie, which is not so far north, freezes hard. This circumstance shows, that congelation does not depend so much upon latitude, as upon other circumstances. Abstractedly it is otherwise; but relative to peculiar local causes the position is correct. In Hudson’s Bay, the weather in winter is intensely cold; yet this place is only in the latitude of London. It is generally supposed to be intolerably cold at the North Pole; but the fact may be otherwise. The idea arises from an abstract survey of the nature of latitude, and from connecting it with the known temperature of a particular situation. It is known to be very cold in that part of Greenland which lies on the coast of Baffin’s Bay; and the inference drawn is, that the weather is much more so at the North Pole. But, it may as well be said that because it is cold on the river Piscataqua, it is much more so on the river Thames; and yet here the fact contradicts the argument. In some places under the Equator, the weather is as mild in summer as it is in New-England; why therefore, may it not be as warm in winter at the North Pole, as in the latter place? In point of analogy the question is unanswerable. But there is a more direct argument: in some situations under the equator, there is perpetual snow. I am aware, however, that this depends upon altitude. It is said that there is everlasting ice at the North Pole; [64] but the assertion cannot be correct. The surface of the North Pole consists either of land or ocean; if land it cannot become ice, and if ocean it must continue in a liquid state; for no ocean has ever been known to freeze: the depth of its water, and its perpetual undulation prevent such effect. Besides, in north latitudes as far as eighty or eighty-two, sea fogs are known to prevail, and these too prevent the congelation of the ocean.
The influence of the sun upon the various parts of the earth, during its annual motion, is not yet fully understood; and the effect of local causes adverse from or cooperative with such influence is yet to be learned.[[65]]
As to the mountains of ice, which have been seen in north latitudes, and which have been mentioned as evidence of the perpetual frost of the North Pole, they, probably, floated from some neighboring bays, such as Baffin’s, Hudson’s, &c. and were formed by the accumulation of several masses of ice, which were created on the surface of these bays, and also by the additions of snow and rain. This last idea seems to be sanctioned by the fact, that from these mountains, as they are called, rivulets of fresh water, produced by their gradual dissolution, have been known to distil from their summit.