Little Trinity (Trinity East) was home to slavery escapees.
They had no children; never learned to read or write; no photo of them has come to light.
Like so many of God’s saints they were almost forgotten.
But Lucie & Thornton Blackburn’s
silent story says much about the spiritual heritage of Toronto.
When Lucie's Kentucky owner decided to sell her "down the river" in the brutal slave markets of the Deep South, they escaped from slavery. Slave hunters tracked them down to Detroit, Michigan in 1833 and re-captured them. Their crime: stealing the property of their slave owners (that is, themselves). A friend, Mrs. French, brought Lucie a change of clothes. Thus disguised Lucie escaped across the Detroit River to Canada and safety.
Meanwhile, heavily guarded, bound and shackled ,Thornton found his escape more traumatic. The day before he was to be returned to Kentucky, Detroit's African American community rose up in protest. Four hundred men stormed the jail. The commotion turned into a two day riot during which the local sheriff was killed. It was the first race riot in Detroit, resulting in the first ever Riot Commission formed in the U.S.
During the commotion, Sleepy Polly and Daddy Walker helped Thornton escape to Canada. The Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, Major General Sir John Colborne, twice refused to extradite Lucie and Thornton back to the United States, noting that a person could not steal himself.
Once safely in Canada and reunited with his wife, Thornton settled in the new city of Toronto in 1834. He formed Toronto's first taxicab company, designing, building, and operating a very successful horse-drawn carriage service. He who had been transported to freedom, now drove others to their destination for a fee yes but yet in freedom.
The name of his red and yellow box cab: The City.
Lucie and Thornton's commitment to Christ built deep fellowship across Toronto. Their financial contributions helped build Little Trinity Anglican Church in 1842 just around the corner from their home, now the south-east corner of the playground of the Sackville Street School.
Canada and Toronto have thus been a refuge throughout its life for hundreds of refugees of all kinds.
It was for freedom that Christ has set us free,
no longer to be subject to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
adapted from "I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad" by Adrienne Shadd, Afua Cooper and Karolyn Smardz
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Sunday, July 31, 2011
PILGRIMAGE
BTW these posts are listed in reverse chronological order. The date at the top of what Blogspot posts is almost never the date it was posted. What remains is less a blog and more an organized passing on of experience had and insights gained through reading, research and walking the trails!
ANCIENT PATHS OF THE TORONTO CHRISTIAN SPIRIT
Sedulius of Liège, a 9th century Irish Celtic scholar, wrote this gloss on the margin of a manuscript he was transcribing about a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Rome
Techt do Róim, mór saítho, becc torbai;
in Rí con-daigi i foss,
manim bera latt ní fhogbai.
"To go to Rome is little profit, endless pain;
the master that you seek in Rome
you find at home or seek in vain."
The postings on this blog witness to the truth that God can be found here in Toronto.
PILGRIMAGE
For ancient Celts, “life was seen as a pilgrimage.” The Northumbria Community speaks both of “the inner journey - the landscape of the heart - and the outer journey – the landscape of the land”. Each is “part of the same life embracing/expressing availability to God and to others.” www.northumbriacommunity.org/sharing-wisdom/428-what-can-we-learn-from-celtic-spirituality?showall=1
WALK THE ANCIENT PATHS
Columba (Colum Cille) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columba founder of the monastery / mission outpost on Iona on which the gospel was lived and from which it spread throughout what would become Scotland and England, gave this blessing to his disciples just before he died:
See that you be at peace among yourselves, my children, and love one another.
Follow the example of good [ones] of old,
and God will comfort you and help you,
both in this world and in the world which is to come. Amen.
Ancient Paths Of The Toronto Christian Spirit attempts to trace the ways of some of the good ones of old in the city which is my home. It is my aim both literally and figuratively to walk such paths.
By “Toronto” is meant the region embraced by the ancient name the Toronto Carrying Place. Physically its boundaries are...
South – the Shores of Lake Ontario including Toronto Island
North - the Narrows from which Toronto derives its name above Lake Simcoe
East - the Rouge River Valley watershed
West – the Humber River and associated watersheds
Not by accident the Carrying Place is also the name of a local expression of the Northumbria Community here in Canada. We carry each other in prayer as we walk the ancient paths all the while God carrying us in mercy and grace.
This summer with the Holy Spirit, and miniature schnauzer Zephyr as constant companions, I walked partially up the western side of the Toronto Carrying Place and finished to the east at the mouth of the rouge. These walks have been added to journeys previously done. To date (July 21, 2011) on the "western outer journey" we covered about 28ks as the crow flies - much longer on foot - from the mouth of the Humber to Major Mackenzie (adding a short walk in Nobleton and King City). Easterly we managed a walk in Newmarket and from the Zoo to the mouth of the rouge.
The inner journey will take some explaining.
With the help of historians The Rev Dr. Alan Hayes (Wycliffe), The Rev'd Ed Hird, Wikipedia, Heather Robertson's Walking Into Wilderness, The Toronto Region Conservation Authority's The Humber:the Toronto Carrying Place, a growing number of self-correcting internet sources and other sources, the following brief accounts have been assembled.
The breath of God has long renewed and transformed people of Toronto. The following godly souls lived in or near this city for some part of their lives. My initial hope was eventually to have one story to ponder for each day of the year. These 11 posts are a long way from that.
But a pilgrimage is marked one step at a time.
ANCIENT PATHS OF THE TORONTO CHRISTIAN SPIRIT
Sedulius of Liège, a 9th century Irish Celtic scholar, wrote this gloss on the margin of a manuscript he was transcribing about a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Rome
Techt do Róim, mór saítho, becc torbai;
in Rí con-daigi i foss,
manim bera latt ní fhogbai.
"To go to Rome is little profit, endless pain;
the master that you seek in Rome
you find at home or seek in vain."
The postings on this blog witness to the truth that God can be found here in Toronto.
PILGRIMAGE
For ancient Celts, “life was seen as a pilgrimage.” The Northumbria Community speaks both of “the inner journey - the landscape of the heart - and the outer journey – the landscape of the land”. Each is “part of the same life embracing/expressing availability to God and to others.” www.northumbriacommunity.org/sharing-wisdom/428-what-can-we-learn-from-celtic-spirituality?showall=1
WALK THE ANCIENT PATHS
Columba (Colum Cille) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columba founder of the monastery / mission outpost on Iona on which the gospel was lived and from which it spread throughout what would become Scotland and England, gave this blessing to his disciples just before he died:
See that you be at peace among yourselves, my children, and love one another.
Follow the example of good [ones] of old,
and God will comfort you and help you,
both in this world and in the world which is to come. Amen.
Ancient Paths Of The Toronto Christian Spirit attempts to trace the ways of some of the good ones of old in the city which is my home. It is my aim both literally and figuratively to walk such paths.
By “Toronto” is meant the region embraced by the ancient name the Toronto Carrying Place. Physically its boundaries are...
South – the Shores of Lake Ontario including Toronto Island
North - the Narrows from which Toronto derives its name above Lake Simcoe
East - the Rouge River Valley watershed
West – the Humber River and associated watersheds
Not by accident the Carrying Place is also the name of a local expression of the Northumbria Community here in Canada. We carry each other in prayer as we walk the ancient paths all the while God carrying us in mercy and grace.
This summer with the Holy Spirit, and miniature schnauzer Zephyr as constant companions, I walked partially up the western side of the Toronto Carrying Place and finished to the east at the mouth of the rouge. These walks have been added to journeys previously done. To date (July 21, 2011) on the "western outer journey" we covered about 28ks as the crow flies - much longer on foot - from the mouth of the Humber to Major Mackenzie (adding a short walk in Nobleton and King City). Easterly we managed a walk in Newmarket and from the Zoo to the mouth of the rouge.
The inner journey will take some explaining.
With the help of historians The Rev Dr. Alan Hayes (Wycliffe), The Rev'd Ed Hird, Wikipedia, Heather Robertson's Walking Into Wilderness, The Toronto Region Conservation Authority's The Humber:the Toronto Carrying Place, a growing number of self-correcting internet sources and other sources, the following brief accounts have been assembled.
The breath of God has long renewed and transformed people of Toronto. The following godly souls lived in or near this city for some part of their lives. My initial hope was eventually to have one story to ponder for each day of the year. These 11 posts are a long way from that.
But a pilgrimage is marked one step at a time.
LET THE PEOPLE LOVE ONE ANOTHER
For centuries the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) dominated the region we now know as upper New York and Ontario (and Toronto).
They celebrated “The Great Peacemaker,” Deganawida, and his disciple Hiawatha. “Deganawida” (or Tekanawite) means “Two River Currents Flowing Together.” A prophet from the Huron wing of confederacy, his origins (some say as early as 1090- 1150 CE) remain obscure.
When warfare between the people of the five nations was most intense, Tekanawite appeared in one settlement after another, bearing the message of the Longhouse, the Good Message of Great Peace (Gayanashagowa), and the Power of the Good Mind.
The people listened and were impressed, for in their hearts they were tired of the bloodshed. The Great Peace was accepted across North America by all of the native nations.
Though warfare between first nations in various confederacies would resume, the Great Peacemaker was a beacon of hope and peace. In that sense, he paved the way for the reception of the good news of Jesus when it did come.
What was his message?
"Let the people love one another…We are all children of the great Spirit. We are brothers and sisters. Forego and forget your revenge. Let us live in peace."
God is not without witness: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:20.
'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:18
Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Romans 8:16
One life, with each other, sisters, brothers. “One” by U2
They celebrated “The Great Peacemaker,” Deganawida, and his disciple Hiawatha. “Deganawida” (or Tekanawite) means “Two River Currents Flowing Together.” A prophet from the Huron wing of confederacy, his origins (some say as early as 1090- 1150 CE) remain obscure.
When warfare between the people of the five nations was most intense, Tekanawite appeared in one settlement after another, bearing the message of the Longhouse, the Good Message of Great Peace (Gayanashagowa), and the Power of the Good Mind.
The people listened and were impressed, for in their hearts they were tired of the bloodshed. The Great Peace was accepted across North America by all of the native nations.
Though warfare between first nations in various confederacies would resume, the Great Peacemaker was a beacon of hope and peace. In that sense, he paved the way for the reception of the good news of Jesus when it did come.
What was his message?
"Let the people love one another…We are all children of the great Spirit. We are brothers and sisters. Forego and forget your revenge. Let us live in peace."
God is not without witness: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:20.
'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:18
Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Romans 8:16
One life, with each other, sisters, brothers. “One” by U2
Saturday, July 23, 2011
The Globe and Mail
Seems my walk is timely. This from July 23 Globe and Mail in the News / Heritage section covers the ancient ground nicely:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/history-runs-deep-in-torontos-humber-river/article2107315/
The trail is called Toronto Carrying Place, a portage and canoe route that followed the Humber River from Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe and the upper Great Lakes.
Ms. McDowell reads from fur trader Alexander Henry’s diary from 1765 as he crossed the height of land to enter the Humber watershed.
“At [Lake Simcoe’s] farther end we came to the carrying-place of Toronto. … The woods and marshes abounded with mosquitoes. … The whole country was a thick forest, through which our only road was a foot-path.”
Ms. McDowell explains the footpath would have been well worn even then.
The Huron and Petun First Nations established fishing camps in the young Humber Valley as the ancient Lake Iroquois receded 12,000 years ago. Archaeologists have unearthed 4,000-year-old spear tips just a kilometre away at James Gardens, where Black Creek meets the Humber.
Corn has been grown here for 1,600 years, according to archaeologist Ronald Williamson, author of Toronto: a Short Illustrated History of its First 12,000 Years. By the beginning of the 13th century, the migrant camps along the Humber had become small permanent settlements. By the early 16th century, they were home to 2,000 people.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/history-runs-deep-in-torontos-humber-river/article2107315/
The trail is called Toronto Carrying Place, a portage and canoe route that followed the Humber River from Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe and the upper Great Lakes.
Ms. McDowell reads from fur trader Alexander Henry’s diary from 1765 as he crossed the height of land to enter the Humber watershed.
“At [Lake Simcoe’s] farther end we came to the carrying-place of Toronto. … The woods and marshes abounded with mosquitoes. … The whole country was a thick forest, through which our only road was a foot-path.”
Ms. McDowell explains the footpath would have been well worn even then.
The Huron and Petun First Nations established fishing camps in the young Humber Valley as the ancient Lake Iroquois receded 12,000 years ago. Archaeologists have unearthed 4,000-year-old spear tips just a kilometre away at James Gardens, where Black Creek meets the Humber.
Corn has been grown here for 1,600 years, according to archaeologist Ronald Williamson, author of Toronto: a Short Illustrated History of its First 12,000 Years. By the beginning of the 13th century, the migrant camps along the Humber had become small permanent settlements. By the early 16th century, they were home to 2,000 people.
Friday, July 22, 2011
TRUE RELIGION
That’s what the sign says above the jeans store. We saw it yesterday at massive air conditioned Yorkdale mall, a mecca of commercial pleasure – retail therapy at its best. The Apple store was packed with eager devotees, competing for the privilege of sitting at the feet of the techno shamans who enable their newest gadgets. The many stalls and money changers in the temple offered to grant our every prayer for relief from the heat and to slake our thirst with cool waters courtesy of the corporate world – for a small fee of course.
The website graphics of the retail chain paint an unmistakable picture of what is meant by “True Religion:” gorgeous hunks, incarnations of the gods, tough and sensitive, enraptured locking eyes with fair divas with pursed lips, wondering – a spiritual haze rising from the mountain stream – a vision of nirvana made possible presumably by the stylish, rugged clothes you can buy at “True Religion”.
The Sociology of Religion, my first university course in that field, underlined one principle above all others: you will never understand how a religion functions for a people until you understand their economy. The point of faith in something beyond just matter is to give you an edge on life. The pie is only so big. You and I – and everyone must divide it between us. So if you can reach beyond the ordinary and gain an advantage, you might claim a superior piece of the pie for you and yours.
Some of the first Europeans who made first contact with the First Nations peoples genuinely did have compassion for the souls of their new friends. They really did believe they could make their lives better both in this world and the next. But make no mistake they received the royal funding for the journey more on the prospects of imperial expansion, colonization and economic gain. It was the 17th century way of the world.
The name “Toronto”, as we shall see did not originally mean gathering place as has been supposed. It means “a great place to fish” – an economic boon to whoever can claim and secure it. The various Carrying Places along the northern coast of Lake Ontario – The Scugog / Oshawa Trail, the dual path of the Toronto Carrying Place, more westerly routes along the Credit River and to Burlington/Hamilton – these long preceded the arrival of either French or English. Rather they were ancient routes for commerce or traveling to summer dwellings to beat the heat or winter ones to draw near to the warmth of the lake! The commercial enterprises flourishing in all the regions embraced by those trails today differ on a matter of scale but still manifest that same ancient longing to live well.
How you live with your things now IS a spiritual issue.
It may seem crass - not like the stuff of True Religion as we learned it in Sunday School. Yet faith is not just about eternal rewards but also much about this life. Jesus spoke much more about how we should then live here and now in the light of who He is and of his revelation to us than He did about the afterlife. His concern was how we relate to the stuff God made, especially other people. "Love one another" means for Jesus not the acquisition of stuff but of friends by personal sacrifice for them.
Wrote his brother,
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27
Amen.
The website graphics of the retail chain paint an unmistakable picture of what is meant by “True Religion:” gorgeous hunks, incarnations of the gods, tough and sensitive, enraptured locking eyes with fair divas with pursed lips, wondering – a spiritual haze rising from the mountain stream – a vision of nirvana made possible presumably by the stylish, rugged clothes you can buy at “True Religion”.
The Sociology of Religion, my first university course in that field, underlined one principle above all others: you will never understand how a religion functions for a people until you understand their economy. The point of faith in something beyond just matter is to give you an edge on life. The pie is only so big. You and I – and everyone must divide it between us. So if you can reach beyond the ordinary and gain an advantage, you might claim a superior piece of the pie for you and yours.
Some of the first Europeans who made first contact with the First Nations peoples genuinely did have compassion for the souls of their new friends. They really did believe they could make their lives better both in this world and the next. But make no mistake they received the royal funding for the journey more on the prospects of imperial expansion, colonization and economic gain. It was the 17th century way of the world.
The name “Toronto”, as we shall see did not originally mean gathering place as has been supposed. It means “a great place to fish” – an economic boon to whoever can claim and secure it. The various Carrying Places along the northern coast of Lake Ontario – The Scugog / Oshawa Trail, the dual path of the Toronto Carrying Place, more westerly routes along the Credit River and to Burlington/Hamilton – these long preceded the arrival of either French or English. Rather they were ancient routes for commerce or traveling to summer dwellings to beat the heat or winter ones to draw near to the warmth of the lake! The commercial enterprises flourishing in all the regions embraced by those trails today differ on a matter of scale but still manifest that same ancient longing to live well.
How you live with your things now IS a spiritual issue.
It may seem crass - not like the stuff of True Religion as we learned it in Sunday School. Yet faith is not just about eternal rewards but also much about this life. Jesus spoke much more about how we should then live here and now in the light of who He is and of his revelation to us than He did about the afterlife. His concern was how we relate to the stuff God made, especially other people. "Love one another" means for Jesus not the acquisition of stuff but of friends by personal sacrifice for them.
Wrote his brother,
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27
Amen.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Zephyr The Wonder Dog Takes a Break
Micah 2:
In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and peoples will stream to it.
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
and under their own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
for the LORD Almighty has spoken.
5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.
Well, the best laid plans of dog and me.. orphan go astray.
Zephyr and I, over the last few years, have twice walked twice around Toronto (yeah that's four times!). We did this by driving to point A walking a short distance to Point B then walking back to A to ride home in the car. Its amazing the distances we covered by accumulating short doable walks in the cool of the evenings.
This wondrous miniature schnauzer has come to love the hikes as much as I. After sniffing everything with an odour - that's just about everything - she gets into a rhythm as if in training for the marathon - often leading the way.
To illustrate, this last Wednesday morning, July 20th, I put on my walking hat - the black one with the oversized goose feathers that I always wear - and pretty much only wear - on our adventures. Instead of going for a walk, because of the heat I grabbed my CDP (Celtic Daily Prayer) and sat on the living room couch in our AC'd house for morning devotions. Zephyr pranced to my feet, patiently waited, then jumped up on the coach, stared at me intently and managed a muffled "Bark"! Her message was unmistakable: "If you wear that hat, Dad, it's time to walk - move it!"
Alas, the heat outside prevented that. In spite of her insistence, we did no walking that day - or the next or the next or the next. The adventure hat languished outside hung on a canoe oar - it was just way too hot for either of us.
Then she lost her appetite - other than nibbling a wee bit. While we continue to keep her out of the sun and the Vet coaches her to health, Zephyr has to bow out of our walks till she regains her strength.
Facing long walks without my canine companion feels a bit like Atreyu continuing without Artax (see Never-Ending Story). It might allow for longer, more adventurous trips and she can join me later when the Carrying Place Trail goes through the cooler Ontario woodland - but I will miss the company.
Reading the early European explorations of this part of the new world, one is awed by what they accomplished. As Heather Robertson reports in her excellent Walking Into Wilderness, John Graves Simcoe's initial (1783) travels up the Carrying Place were short jaunts as far as they could go through untamed country -on a thinly worn footpath. Four days it took him to arrive at Holland Marsh then on by canoe to Georgian Bay. On the return trip from the Hollland River it took just three days to proceed down what would become Yonge Street. An accident to one of their men caused them to go slowly! People - and dogs - and their health are more important than timely distance covered.
That's nothing compared to Robert Livingston who during the war of 1812 traveled from Fort Willow near Barrie to Fort Mackinac in Sault St Marie and back - in winter - on snowshoe!
All of these pale in comparison to the first nations peoples - who most Europeans beginning with Étienne Brûlé (1593-1633) struggled to keep up with.
Courage on your walk - one step at a time.
All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.
In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and peoples will stream to it.
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
and under their own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
for the LORD Almighty has spoken.
5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.
Well, the best laid plans of dog and me.. orphan go astray.
Zephyr and I, over the last few years, have twice walked twice around Toronto (yeah that's four times!). We did this by driving to point A walking a short distance to Point B then walking back to A to ride home in the car. Its amazing the distances we covered by accumulating short doable walks in the cool of the evenings.
This wondrous miniature schnauzer has come to love the hikes as much as I. After sniffing everything with an odour - that's just about everything - she gets into a rhythm as if in training for the marathon - often leading the way.
To illustrate, this last Wednesday morning, July 20th, I put on my walking hat - the black one with the oversized goose feathers that I always wear - and pretty much only wear - on our adventures. Instead of going for a walk, because of the heat I grabbed my CDP (Celtic Daily Prayer) and sat on the living room couch in our AC'd house for morning devotions. Zephyr pranced to my feet, patiently waited, then jumped up on the coach, stared at me intently and managed a muffled "Bark"! Her message was unmistakable: "If you wear that hat, Dad, it's time to walk - move it!"
Alas, the heat outside prevented that. In spite of her insistence, we did no walking that day - or the next or the next or the next. The adventure hat languished outside hung on a canoe oar - it was just way too hot for either of us.
Then she lost her appetite - other than nibbling a wee bit. While we continue to keep her out of the sun and the Vet coaches her to health, Zephyr has to bow out of our walks till she regains her strength.
Facing long walks without my canine companion feels a bit like Atreyu continuing without Artax (see Never-Ending Story). It might allow for longer, more adventurous trips and she can join me later when the Carrying Place Trail goes through the cooler Ontario woodland - but I will miss the company.
Reading the early European explorations of this part of the new world, one is awed by what they accomplished. As Heather Robertson reports in her excellent Walking Into Wilderness, John Graves Simcoe's initial (1783) travels up the Carrying Place were short jaunts as far as they could go through untamed country -on a thinly worn footpath. Four days it took him to arrive at Holland Marsh then on by canoe to Georgian Bay. On the return trip from the Hollland River it took just three days to proceed down what would become Yonge Street. An accident to one of their men caused them to go slowly! People - and dogs - and their health are more important than timely distance covered.
That's nothing compared to Robert Livingston who during the war of 1812 traveled from Fort Willow near Barrie to Fort Mackinac in Sault St Marie and back - in winter - on snowshoe!
All of these pale in comparison to the first nations peoples - who most Europeans beginning with Étienne Brûlé (1593-1633) struggled to keep up with.
Courage on your walk - one step at a time.
All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
THE TORONTO CARRYING PLACE: TWO PATHS
Zephyr was feeling better today (yay) so our brief outing took us along the Rouge end of the Carrying Place Trail.
NOTE ON TRAILS: HUMBER-side
We already have walked the Humber Portage part of the Toronto Passage up to Major Mac. Along that section between the 1660's-1670's and the late 1680's a village called "Teiaiagon" (more in the next post) sat atop what is now Baby Point. Sometimes called "the shared path" the Humber portion of the Carrying Place was widely used by both French and English fur traders until Toronto started to be permanently settled in the late 18th, early 19th century.
A comprehensive list of trails along the Humber can be found in the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority's For the Living City
http://trca.on.ca/dotAsset/50127.pdf
NOTE ON TRAILS: ROUGE-side
Under a canopy of trees embracing the sky, the lack of sun making it hard but for the largest flora to flourish, shaded most of the way and much easy walking, the Little Rouge Trail is likely most similar of those I walked to the sort traveled by first nations peoples around the time they first encountered Europeans - though without the helpful signs and white paint path markers on trees! Trails back then were often through think brush!
For a complete list of Rouge Trails, see the Rouge Park Visitors Guide:
http://www.rougepark.com/explore/adventures/Rouge_Park_Visitor_Guide_web.pdf
Now dog and I are now following the east end of the Carrying Place trail along the Rouge to the Oak Ridges Moraine. I have signed up to canoe later from the mouth of the Rouge through the marsh and beach. Other Rouge Park paths will take you to the edge of the Toronto Zoo (dog's aren't allowed at the zoo so we'll have to bypass that). Miles of private property and commercial land are between there and the trail called "Nokiidaa" (Ojibwa for "walking Together") linking Aurora, Newmarket and East Gwillimbury along the East Holland River. http://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/trails-a-z/nokiidaa-trail-association/ (See "ETERNAL PEACE")
Ganatsekwyagon
In 1669-1671 "Sulpician Fathers under Francois d’Urfe" went on mission to "the Seneca village of Ganatswekwyagon" Father Claude Trouvé (1644-1704) also was invited by the Iroquois confederacy to instruct them in the Gospel.
Heritage Toronto says about Ganatsekwyagon: This post-contact Seneca village, which has been designated as a National Historic Site, was established in the late 1660s by the New York Iroquois. However it shows evidence of previous occupations between 9,000 to 4,000 years ago.
http://www.heritagetoronto.org/discover-toronto/map/archaeological/ganatsekwyagon. The village was abandoned by the Iroquois in 1687, after which it was occupied by the Mississaugas. Forming the entry point to the east branch of the Toronto Carrying Place, the village became a major trans-shipment point in the fur trade between the upper Great Lakes and Albany, New York. A Sulpician mission was established at the settlement between 1669 and 1671.
Where Ganatsekwyagon is exactly is debated. Some put it along the coast where two french canon balls (but nothing else) were found on a farm. Others suggest "Bead Hill", a site somewhere near the Rouge whose precise location is a carefully guarded secret. Others favour still other sites.
Wikipedia fills in the history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Carrying-Place_Trail
Another good timeline can be found at Southwestern Ontario: The First 12,000 Years Historic: http://diggingontario.uwo.ca/Historic.html
A 1680 map showing the location of both villages can be viewed at
http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/image_galleries/history_and_heritage
TWO BECOME ONE
Both trails merge north of Aurora at the Holland River. At Lake Simcoe the Carrying Place continues to the narrows at Couchiching. Says Wikipedia, "These straits, an important fishing area, gives rise to the name Toronto, from the Mohawk term toron-ten, as this is 'the place where the trees grow over the water'. The First Nations peoples had planted trees in the narrows between the lakes to act as a weir to catch fish." I have yet to figure out how to make that keg of the trip!
Toronto is a great place for fishing for people! Maybe I can catch a ride on a boat or something. Following the Severn River to Georgian Bay completes the Carrying Place Trail.
BACK ON THE ROUGE
Zephyr and I today met a young family from the UK hiking the Rouge and we shared a bit of the story of the trail. I prayed silently for them as was done by Sulpicians so long ago. They focused their teaching on the devotional life of the faithful, on a personal experience of the person of Jesus and on the quest for personal holiness. The Sulpician pursuit of holiness, as severe as the Canadian winter, was warmed by their love of his First Nations hosts and of Jesus. They prayed in Adoration (Jesus before my eyes), in Communion (Jesus drawn into my heart) and in Cooperation (Jesus in my hands).
As Jean Jacque Olier, founder of the order, had taught them to pray:
O Jesus…
Come and live in Thy servants,
In the spirit of Thy holiness,
In the fullness of Thy might,
In the truth of Thy virtues,
In the perfection of Thy ways,
In the communion of Thy mysteries.
Subdue every hostile power
In Thy spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen.
NOTE ON TRAILS: HUMBER-side
We already have walked the Humber Portage part of the Toronto Passage up to Major Mac. Along that section between the 1660's-1670's and the late 1680's a village called "Teiaiagon" (more in the next post) sat atop what is now Baby Point. Sometimes called "the shared path" the Humber portion of the Carrying Place was widely used by both French and English fur traders until Toronto started to be permanently settled in the late 18th, early 19th century.
A comprehensive list of trails along the Humber can be found in the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority's For the Living City
http://trca.on.ca/dotAsset/50127.pdf
NOTE ON TRAILS: ROUGE-side
Under a canopy of trees embracing the sky, the lack of sun making it hard but for the largest flora to flourish, shaded most of the way and much easy walking, the Little Rouge Trail is likely most similar of those I walked to the sort traveled by first nations peoples around the time they first encountered Europeans - though without the helpful signs and white paint path markers on trees! Trails back then were often through think brush!
For a complete list of Rouge Trails, see the Rouge Park Visitors Guide:
http://www.rougepark.com/explore/adventures/Rouge_Park_Visitor_Guide_web.pdf
Now dog and I are now following the east end of the Carrying Place trail along the Rouge to the Oak Ridges Moraine. I have signed up to canoe later from the mouth of the Rouge through the marsh and beach. Other Rouge Park paths will take you to the edge of the Toronto Zoo (dog's aren't allowed at the zoo so we'll have to bypass that). Miles of private property and commercial land are between there and the trail called "Nokiidaa" (Ojibwa for "walking Together") linking Aurora, Newmarket and East Gwillimbury along the East Holland River. http://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/trails-a-z/nokiidaa-trail-association/ (See "ETERNAL PEACE")
Ganatsekwyagon
In 1669-1671 "Sulpician Fathers under Francois d’Urfe" went on mission to "the Seneca village of Ganatswekwyagon" Father Claude Trouvé (1644-1704) also was invited by the Iroquois confederacy to instruct them in the Gospel.
Heritage Toronto says about Ganatsekwyagon: This post-contact Seneca village, which has been designated as a National Historic Site, was established in the late 1660s by the New York Iroquois. However it shows evidence of previous occupations between 9,000 to 4,000 years ago.
http://www.heritagetoronto.org/discover-toronto/map/archaeological/ganatsekwyagon. The village was abandoned by the Iroquois in 1687, after which it was occupied by the Mississaugas. Forming the entry point to the east branch of the Toronto Carrying Place, the village became a major trans-shipment point in the fur trade between the upper Great Lakes and Albany, New York. A Sulpician mission was established at the settlement between 1669 and 1671.
Where Ganatsekwyagon is exactly is debated. Some put it along the coast where two french canon balls (but nothing else) were found on a farm. Others suggest "Bead Hill", a site somewhere near the Rouge whose precise location is a carefully guarded secret. Others favour still other sites.
Wikipedia fills in the history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Carrying-Place_Trail
Another good timeline can be found at Southwestern Ontario: The First 12,000 Years Historic: http://diggingontario.uwo.ca/Historic.html
A 1680 map showing the location of both villages can be viewed at
http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/image_galleries/history_and_heritage
TWO BECOME ONE
Both trails merge north of Aurora at the Holland River. At Lake Simcoe the Carrying Place continues to the narrows at Couchiching. Says Wikipedia, "These straits, an important fishing area, gives rise to the name Toronto, from the Mohawk term toron-ten, as this is 'the place where the trees grow over the water'. The First Nations peoples had planted trees in the narrows between the lakes to act as a weir to catch fish." I have yet to figure out how to make that keg of the trip!
Toronto is a great place for fishing for people! Maybe I can catch a ride on a boat or something. Following the Severn River to Georgian Bay completes the Carrying Place Trail.
BACK ON THE ROUGE
Zephyr and I today met a young family from the UK hiking the Rouge and we shared a bit of the story of the trail. I prayed silently for them as was done by Sulpicians so long ago. They focused their teaching on the devotional life of the faithful, on a personal experience of the person of Jesus and on the quest for personal holiness. The Sulpician pursuit of holiness, as severe as the Canadian winter, was warmed by their love of his First Nations hosts and of Jesus. They prayed in Adoration (Jesus before my eyes), in Communion (Jesus drawn into my heart) and in Cooperation (Jesus in my hands).
As Jean Jacque Olier, founder of the order, had taught them to pray:
O Jesus…
Come and live in Thy servants,
In the spirit of Thy holiness,
In the fullness of Thy might,
In the truth of Thy virtues,
In the perfection of Thy ways,
In the communion of Thy mysteries.
Subdue every hostile power
In Thy spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen.
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