I was very sorry to hear of Mr. Galt's retirement. He had always acted
in a kind and liberal manner towards me; and, indeed, when he left the
Company, I considered that I had lost a true and affectionate friend. I
could not help, therefore, noticing with regret that, although most of
the clerks belonging to the office were at that time in Toronto, only
Dr. Dunlop, Mr. Reid* [* Mr. Galt's friend and ornate secretary.] and
myself accompanied Mr. Galt to the landing-place to see him depart and
cry "God speed!" But this is the way of the world. Those who should be
most grateful when the hour of adversity dawns on their benefactor, are
often the first to desert him.

On the same day the Doctor introduced me to one of our new
Commissioners, Thomas Mercer Jones, Esq., a fine gentlemanly-looking
person. The other Commissioner was the Hon. William Allen. These
gentlemen were appointed by the directors to supersede Mr. Galt in the
direction of the Company's affairs in Canada. On my return to Guelph, I
received an intimation that I must prepare to take up my residence in
Goderich, as my services in future would be required in the Huron
tract.

A few days before my departure, I witnessed the most appalling land
tornado (if so I may term it), I ever saw in my life. As this is a
phenomenon seldom if ever witnessed in England, I think a particular
description may possibly interest those readers who are unaccustomed to
such eccentricities of Nature.

In my hunting excursions and rambles through the Upper Canadian
forests, I had frequently met with extensive windfalls; and observed
with some surprise that the fallen trees appeared to have been twisted
off at the stumps, for they lay strewn in a succession of circles. I
also remarked, that these windfalls were generally narrow, and had the
appearance of a wide road slashed through the forest.

From observations made at the time, and since confirmed, I have no
doubt Colonel Reid's theory of storms is a correct one, viz.:--"That
all windstorms move in a circular direction, and the nearer the centre,
the more violent the wind." Having seen the effects of several similar
hurricanes since my residence in Canada West, I shall describe one
which happened in the township of Guelph, during the early part of the
summer of 1829.

The weather, for the season of the year (May) had been hot and sultry,
with scarcely a breath of wind stirring. I had heard distant thunder
from an early hour of the