Kingston records (regionally related)

to leeward: you and your chair follow and bang comes the chief mate and the Doctor, the knee of the one in your stomach, the leg of the other's chair in your neck - all lying a common heap on the cabin floor. If adversity makes a man acquainted with strange bed fellows - ship board brings him into close intimacy with still stranger ones.

14th Febr 1841. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon of the 14th February we experienced a tremendous heavy gale which lasted twelve hours, and blew in squalls accompanied with heavy falls of sleet and rain. The ship lay to during the gale the Engine making 6 Revolutions per minute, just sufficient power to keep her head to the sea. I was perfectly astonished at the good weather she made of it. How she could have answered had she been still loaded with her coals on board one cannot form an opinion, but now ten days of that material had been expended which of course made her ride so much more easy. The only vessel we saw during the voyage was a [underline]New York Liner[/underline] a sailing packet that left England fourteen days before us - we passed her on the edge of the banks of Newfoundland standing to the Northward under close reefed topsails & courses.

19th Febr 1841. On Friday the 19th of February we made Cape Caruso bearing West North West 3 or 4 leagues, the land which was covered with snow seemed to float along the horizion, like a white cloud and it was only experienced eye of the Krew that could discover it from its pure whiteness above the horizon. This was the only calm day we experienced during the voyage. On going on at seven o'clock AM.

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to obtain a new supply by letting out a portion of the water of Long Lake into the lake beneath by means of a trench down the intervening declivity accordingly on the 6th of June the people assembled with their tools, and began the work of cutting the trench when on a sudden the lake burst its borders and poured with its whole mass down the descent; rushing with inconceivable velocity in an immense column three quarters of a mile wide and 80 feet in depth across the country 15 miles into Lake Memphreuagog. The furious torrent tore up in its course, rocks, hills and forests, sweeping away houses, mines, cattle & roaring like thunder, and streaking the earth like a mighty earthquake. The inhabitants of Barton hearing the roar looked up toward the lake and beheld the torrent coming down upon them, bearing a whole forest upon its top. The cattle for many miles round ran bellowing to their home and all the neighbourhood were thrown the [greatest?] terror, no lives were lost, but a vast amount of damage was occasioned.

This town Burlington is situated in a small bay of the same name on the shores of Lake Champlain. This lake is 90 miles long in a direction due north, and 15 miles wide its broadest part its depth is sufficient for the longest vessel. It divides the north part of the State of New York from that of Vermont. It receives the waters of Lake George and sends its own waters a north course through Chambly river into the St. Lawrence

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delicate and difficult questions which had unhappily arisen between the two countries within the last few years acquiescing in opinion with Her Majesty's Government of Upper Canada, and in compliance to whose wishes an Officer was directed to proceed in a steam vessel to Kingston and there receive from the British authorities the person of the prisoner and conduct him to the States of New York, and there deliver him as a prisoner into the hands of the Sheriff all of which was done and in a few days the prisoner was suffered to make his escape from the custody of that Officer.

Thus terminated the seizure of Kelly a notorious Pirate and robber and thus terminated a violation of the laws of neutrality and an aggression on the sacred soil of American independence — The people of which in their own estimation they hold as the most enlightened best educated, and the free-est in the whole world.

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themselves in a fair way to recommence life anew in an honest and useful career!! In a natural point of view perhaps there is no object of greater importance than this and I was therefore anxious to examine the Prisons and investigate their system in detail

The system here is after the State-prison at Auburn in New York and is called the silent system in contradistinction to that observed in the Penitentiary at Philadelphia where each prisoner is confined in a separate cell and furnished with labour to perform alone out of the sight and hearing of any of his criminal companions

Commissioners have been appointed both by France, England and Germany to visit America - examine and report upon these two systems - and their reports have all been in favour of the solitary system - instead of the silent such as is observed in the Kingston Penitentiary.

The silent system secures the effectual punishment of the cirminal and yet preserves his health improves his habits, corrects his morals and sends him back a reformed character, is as superior to the general state of our Prisons conducted on the old plan in England as twilight is to utter darkness; but notwithstanding this admission, I am also thoroughly convinced that the silent system is as inferior to the solitary system as the twilight is to the meridian blaze of the perfect day.

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At this moment the attention of every person in the street was attracted to a man who came out of a public house opposite in a state of intoxication making a great noise mounting a horse he soon collected a crowd to whom he offered to sell the animal, announcing him to be the finest horse in all the State of new york He could go a hundred miles a day without drawing bit or bridle, or he would eat him up alive, bridle, saddle and all without a morsel of salt, a fact and no mistake Then by way of showing the horse's qualifications he rode him to and fro at a furious rate at last down he came and the horse rolled completely over him I ran to the spot to afford assistance, the poor wretch lay on his back, bleeding profusely at the mouth I directed his shirt colar to be unbuttoned, and his head to be raised up into a higher position This movement brought forth a volley of most horrid execrations against me. Supposing that I was a doctor He desired I would be gone, otherwise "he would serve me out and no mistake"

As I had no inclination to be lynched I returned to the bench under the Veranda

You are quite right Master, said the poor old black man, to come away from that set of drunken good for nothing people That drunken fellow brought a load of cheese to this town about a week since which you may be sure he has stolen from some one in the States