places, as the inevitable consequence of such a liberty would be
refusal, if not summary ejectment. It is therefore the custom, in all
southern towns and cities, for the negro population to resort to places
kept expressly for the accommodation of coloured people. These are not
always kept by men of their own complexion, but often by white men, who,
having become friendly with them, have lost caste with the whites, and
are in fact discarded by them.

In the harbour of Buffalo, I saw two brigs, that during the war in 1812
had been captured by the Americans, and sunk somewhere up the lake on
the American side. These had recently been raised by means of apparatus
invented by an ingenious American. They were strong, substantially-built
brigs, of about 250 tons burden each. I was surprised to find what a
preserving effect the lake water had upon the timber, the wood being
almost black in colour, and so hard that it was difficult to make an
impression upon it even with an axe. These vessels had been sold to a
shipping company, and were at the time employed, I think, in the Chicago
or Upper Lake trade.

I had frequently heard of the number of rattle and other snakes to be
met with on the banks of the lake, but these have been nearly
exterminated by the settlers. During my stay in the suburbs I only found
a few water-snakes, basking in the sun amongst the wilderness of
aquatic plants that cover the surface of the water in the creeks.

The superstitious dread of inhaling the east wind blowing from the mouth
of the lake, is now exploded, and is considered in the light of a
by-gone tale; although, for three-quarters of a century, it was
considered baneful even to the healthy. Consumptive patients are,
however, soon carried off, the biting blasts from the Canadian shores