ceased, the thunder's roar--
The glorious sun resumes his golden car.*

[* My description of this whirlwind, and the accompanying lines, have
already appeared in the "Victoria Magazine," published in Canada West,
under the signature of "Pioneer."]

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE HURON TRACT. -- JOURNAL OF DR. DUNLOP. -- HIS HARDSHIPS. -- I LEAVE
GUELPH FOR GODERICH. -- WANT OF ACCOMODATION. -- CURIOUS SUPPER. --
REMARKABLE TREES. -- THE BEVERLY OAK. -- NOBLE BUTTER-WOOD TREES. --
GODERICH. -- FINE WHEAT CROP. -- PURCHASE A LOG-HOUSE. -- CONSTRUCTION
OF A RAFT.

I HAD always wished to go to the Huron tract, whose fine lake, noble
forests, and productive soil, have made it a source of wealth to many a
settler. The climate too, was mild, and I had heard a great deal about
it from my gifted and facetious friend Dr. Dunlop, whose services in
exploring that part of their possessions were not only useful but
inestimable to the Company, and, in fact, to emigration in general.

"Dr. Dunlop, the Warden of the Company's Woods and Forests, surveyed
the great Huron tract in the summer of 1827, assisted by the Chief of
the Mohawk nation, and Messrs. Sproat and MacDonald. They penetrated
the huge untravelled wilderness in all directions, until they came out
on the shores of the Huron, having experienced and withstood every
privation that wanderers can possibly be subject to in such places."*
[* Mac Taggart's "Three Years in Canada."]

The Doctor himself has given a very accurate account of the valuable
resources of the Huron tract. He says in his journal--"I have already
adverted to its nature and fertility, and think I may be justified in
adding, such is the general excellence of the land, that if ordinary
care can be taken to give each lot no more than its own share of any
small swamp in its vicinity, it would be difficult, if not impossible,
to find two hundred acres together in the whole territory, that would
make a bad farm. Although the land may be capable of raising any kind
of produce usual in that country, yet some spots are more particularly
advantageous for particular crops. The black ash-swales (a kind of
swamp) make the best ground for hemp; as by the scourging effect of two
or three crops, the ground will be made more fit for the raising of
wheat, for which, in the original state, it is too strong. The rich
meadows by the side of the rivers, (more especially such as are
annually overflowed,) are ready without farther pre