Its name to the lake, on the shore of the Bay of Quinte,
and which he supplied with water by making a deep cutting from the
lake to the edge of the precipice, from whence it is conveyed in
troughs to the mill.
There is a somewhat similar lake in the township of Sidney in the
county of Hastings, covering some hundred acres. This lake is also
of great depth, though situated on the summit of a range of high
hills, from whence it gets the name of the "Oak Hill Pond."
The Bay of Quinte abounds in excellent fish of various kinds,
affording excellent sport to those who are fond of fishing. When the
ice breaks up in the spring, immense shoals of pickerel commence
running up the Moira river, at Belleville, to spawn in the interior.
At that time a number of young men amuse themselves with spearing
them, standing on the flat rocks at the end of the bridge which
crosses the river They dart their spears into the rushing waters at
hap-hazard in the darkness, bringing up a large fish at every second
or third stroke. My eldest son, a youth of fifteen, sometimes caught
so many fish in this manner in two or three hours, that we had to
send a large wheelbarrow to fetch them home. Formerly, before so
many mills were erected, the fish swarmed in incredible numbers in
all our rivers and lakes.
In the back-woods there is excellent deer-hunting, and parties are
often formed for this purpose by the young men, who bring home whole
waggon-loads of venison.
While speaking of Belleville, I may mention, as one of its chief
advantages, the long period for which the sleighing continues in
this part of the country, when compared with other places on the
shore of Lake Ontario. Nearly the whole winter there is excellent
sleighing on the Bay of Quinte; and on the land we have weeks of
good sleighing for days in most other places. This is owing to the
influence of a large sheet of frozen water interposed between us
and Lake Ontario, which is never frozen.
The county of Prince Edward is a peninsula connected with the main
land by a narrow isthmus of low swampy land about four miles wide.
Through this neck of land it has long been in contemplation to cut
a canal to enable the lake steam-boats to take Belleville in their
route between Kingston and Toronto, thus affording a safe navigation
in stormy weather. The effect of such a work on the prosperity of
the counties of Hastings and Prince Edward would be very great, as
European emigrants would have an opportunity of seeing a country
which has hitherto escaped their notice, from the causes already
mentioned.
