35i 



CANADIAN LOCAL HISTORY 



from tlio oast and west boing ottVetually Ivm-od. rrior to the eivotion of this liridg-e on the 

 Kingston Roivit, the river was crossed near the same spot by a seow, worked by the assisfcuico 

 of a rope stretolied aoross the stream. In ISIO, we observe that the Humber was also ei\>ssed 

 by means of a feriy. In that year the inhabitants of Etobieoke eomphiined to the magistrates 

 iu session at York of the excessive toll demanded there ; and it was agived tliat for the future 

 the following should be the ehai-ges :— For each foot passenger, 2Jd ; for every hog, Id ; for 

 every sheep, the same ; for horned cattle, -J^i each ; for every horse and rider, 5d ; for every 

 carriage drawn by two horses. Is. Sd. (wliich included t!\P driver); for every carriage with one 

 hoi-se. Is. It is presumed that the same tolls were exacted at the ferry over the Don, while in 

 operation. In lSii4 not only was the Don bridge in bad repair, but, as we learn ft\im a petition 

 addressed by the magisti-atcs to Sir Peregrine Maitland in that year, the bridge over the Ronge 

 in Pidcering, also, is said tci be, "IVom its decayed state, almost impassable, and if not reme- 

 died," tlie document goes on to shite, "the communicatioii between this to^v^l (York) and the 

 eastern parts of tiie Province, as well as with Lower Canada by landl will be entirely obstructed." 

 At lengtli the present earthwork across the marsh at the Don was thrown np, and tlie river 

 itself spanned by a long wooden tube, put together on a suspension principle, ivofed over and 

 closed in on the sides, with the exception of oblong apertures for light. It resembled iu some 

 decree tlie bridges to bo soon over the Rouss at Lucerne and elsewhere in Switzerland, though 

 not decorated with paintings in the interior, as they are. Stone piers Vniilt on piles sustained 

 it at either end. All was done under the superintendence of a United States contractor, named 

 Lewis. It was at him that the italics in Mr. Angt^l's advertisements glanced. The innuendo 

 was tliat, for engineering purposes, there was no necessity for calling in the aid of outsiders. 

 From a kind of small Friar Bacon's study, occupied iu former years by oni-selyes, situated ou 

 a bold point some distance northwards, up the valley, we remember watching the i->ile-driver at 

 work in preparing the foundation of tlie two stone piers of the Don bridge : from where we sat 

 at our books we could see the heavy mallet descend ; and then, after a considerable interval, 

 we would hear the sharp stroke on the end of the piece of timber which was being driven 

 down. Fivm the same elevated position also, previously, we used to see the teams crossing 

 the high fi-ame-work over the marsh on their way to and tVom Town, and hoar the distant 

 clatter of the horses' feet on the loosely-laid planks. The tubular structure that succeeded 

 the tressle-work bridge did not retAiu its position very long. The pier at its western 

 extremity was undermined by the water during a spring freshet, and gave way. The bridge, of 

 coui-se, fell down into the swirling tide below, and was carried bodily away, looking like a 

 second ;u"k as it floated along towards the mouth of the river, where at length it stranded and 

 became a wreck. On the breaking up of the ice every spring the Don, as is well known, 

 becomes a mighty rushing river, stretching acivss fi-om hill to hill. Onlinarily, it occupies 

 but a small portion of its proper valley, meandering along, like an English tide-stream when 

 the tide is out. The bridge carried away ou this occasion was notable so long as it stood, for 

 retaining visible marks of an attempt to set lire to it during the troubles of 1S37. The next 

 ajH^liance for crossing the river was another tubular frame of thnbcr, longer tlian the former 

 one ; but it was never provided with a roof, and never closed in at tJie sides. Up to the time 

 that it began to show signs of decay, and to require cribs to be built underueatli it in the 

 middle of the stxeam, it had an unfinished, disi-eputable look. It acquired a tragic interest iu 

 1S5P, from being the scene of the niunler, by drowning, of a young Irishman named Hogan, a 

 barrister, and, at the time, a member of the Parliament of Canada. — When crossing the high 

 tresslework which preceded the present earth-bank, the traveller, on looking down into the 

 niai-sh below, on the south side, could see the remains of a still earlier structure, a causeway 

 formed of unhewn logs laid side by side in the usual manner, but decayed, and for the most 

 part submei-ged in water, resembling, as seen from above, some of the lately discovered 

 substructions in the lakes of Switzerland. This was probably the first road by which wheeled 

 vehicles ever crossed the v;\lley of the Don here. On tlie protruding ends of some of tJie logs 

 of this causeway would be always seen basking, on a warm summer's day, many fi-esli-water 

 turtles ; amongst which, as also amongst the blacJv snakes, which were likewise always to 

 be seen coiled up iu numbers here, and among tlie shoiils of sunfish in tlie surrounding pools, 

 a great eounnotion would fcvlce place when the jar was felt of a waggon passing over on tlia 

 framework above. The rest of the mai-sli, with tJie exception of the space occupied by the 



