Quebec to Lanark

Here is a summary of the journey:

• In the port of Quebec, shift all possessions from the sailing ship to a steam boat, then transit from Quebec to Montreal on the St. Lawrence River - a distance of 190 miles, requiring two days.
• Now load possessions into wagons and walk to La Chine - 10 miles, two more days.
• Spend at least a day in La Chine, loading the flat bottom boats that will be used to ford the rapids of the St. Lawrence (which had not been dredged beyond this point for commerce).   Then, more than 100 miles laboring upstream - walking, wading, and hauling the barges.   It took one or two weeks, depending on the conditions, to reach Prescott.   By now we have many reports of illness, injuries and death.
• Once more loading wagons, then walking, to Lanark. 74 miles of miserable trails, another week.
• After Montreal, each step of this journey is in the open, "camping out" with your family and new-found friends.   Two months away from home, living in conditions never before experienced, you arrive in the middle of a pine forest, north of Buffalo and Green Bay, in the middle of September.

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This site, A McLaren Migration, is maintained by David J. McLaren.
Updated November 20, 2023
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