Synopses & Reviews
Laurence Oliphant (1829-88) was a much-travelled British diplomat and writer. In the mid-nineteenth century, between two stints in the Caucasus, he spent several years in North America, helped Lord Elgin negotiate a trade treaty between Canada and the US, and was for a time Superintendent-General for Indian Affairs in Canada. In this book, first published in 1855, Oliphant expresses his enthusiasm for the rapid development in the American West that was being driven by industry and commerce. He documents a fact-finding journey around the Great Lakes region, travelling on the new railway and adventurously taking a bark canoe down rapids and across portages. From picnics, dances and sleigh rides to mining, forest clearance and land speculation, Oliphant conveys a vivid picture of the opportunities and hardships of the frontier society. He focuses in detail on the Native Americans he encountered, their customs, skills, way of life and future prospects.
Synopsis
Oliphant's vivid 1855 account of a trip to the booming Great Lakes region that included travel by canoe down rapids.
Synopsis
In the mid-nineteenth century, the colonial administrator and diplomat Laurence Oliphant (1829-88) spent several years in Canada. This 1855 publication vividly describes a journey around the Great Lakes region, travelling by Indian bark canoe as well as by rail. Oliphant comments enthusiastically on the booming economy of the region.
Table of Contents
Preface; Part I. Canada: 1. Across the frontier. Reciprocity; 2. Canadian politics; 3. Canadian society; 4. Canadian statistics; 5. Canadian backwoods; 6. A bark-canoe voyage down the Severn; 7. A ride to the Indian village of Saugeen; 8. The annual distribution of Indian presents at Manitoulin. Georgian Bay; Part II. Lake Superior: 9. The Sault Ste. Marie; 10. The Pictured Rocks. Father Marquette; 11. The mineral region of Lake Superior; 12. Ontonagon. The 'Sam Ward'; 13. The city of Superior. Land speculation; 14. Wisconsin. Bed and board in the far west; Part III. Minnesota: 15. Camping out on the St. Louis; 16. The Savannahs; 17. Sandy Lake; 18. Early traders. Coureurs des Bois. Chippeways; 19. The head waters of the Mississippi. Shooting the little falls in a bark canoe; 20. Winnebagoes. Indian affairs. The Sauk Rapids; 21. The falls of St. Anthony; 22. St. Paul. Locomotive doins in Minnesota; 23. Manners, customs, and political opinions of the St. Paul public; 24. Steamboat life on the Mississippi. The Bluffs; 25. Across the prairies. Chicago. Niagara.