News of the discovery prompted people throughout the county to provide information about other possible mounds and village sites in the area. Soon, Boyle was back to do a field survey of the Rice Lake– Trent River shoreline and islands. At the mouth of the Otonabee River, he found three burial mounds. It was there that he discovered a large engraved stone, resembling a turtle, the back of which was crudely ornamented with concentric circles, scrolls, and shallow depressions or borings. Burial mounds were also discovered on some of islands of Rice Lake. One site revealed a half-seated skeleton with its legs drawn up and its hands on its breast. Around the neck was an eight-strand necklace of copper beads and shell disks, and near the right arm was a perfect tablet, a biconcave gorget, or armour plate, of translucent Mexican onyx.
Boyle believed he had discovered structures that had been made by Middle Point Peninsula people who were indigenous to the Trent water system and who had in some way been influenced by the Ohio Hopewell Indians.
There is a recorded oral account by Paudash, son of Paudash, son of Cheneebeesh, son of Gemoghpenassess. It states, “I, Robert Paudash, with my son Johnson Paudash, am desirous of putting on record for the first time the solemn traditions of the Mississaugas with respect to their present place of settlement in Ontario, and the migration which led them thither. No word of what I am about to say has come from reading, or in any other way than from the mouth of Paudash, my father, who died, aged 75 in the year 1893, the last hereditary chief of the tribe of Mississaugas, situated at Rice Lake, and from the mouth of Cheneebeesh, my grandfather, who died in 1869, at the age of 104, the last sachem, or head chief, of all the Mississaugas [Ojibwa].”
The story refers to the migration of the Ojibwa into southern Ontario around 1690 and what happened in the Rice Lake district. According to Robert Paudash, the Mississaugas held a great council of war and decided to attack the Mohawks and drive them out of what is now southern Ontario. The Mohawks, a fierce and warlike nation, resisted. The Mississaugas travelled down the Severn River to Shunyung (Lake Simcoe) and stopped at Machickning (which means Fish Fence) in the narrows between Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching to get supplies of food. There they also received reinforcements, made preparations for a campaign, and divided into two parties. The main body proceeded along the portage, now called Portage Road, to Balsam Lake, while the other party went south to what is now Toronto. After a number of skirmishes, the Mohawks retreated down the valley of the Otanabee and onto Rice Lake. Several battles were fought until they made a stand at what is now Keene.
Robert Paudash adds, “There was a Mohawk village in front of the former site which is a mound in the shape of a serpent, and having four small mounds about its head and body in the form of turtles. These mounds are a pictorial representation of Mohawk totems placed there by the Mississaugas in memory of the occurrence and of the Mohawks. It has been supposed by some to mean more than this, but my father has so stated it.
“The Mohawks fought well, but the Mississaugas were just as good. An attack having been made upon this village the Mohawks were compelled once more to retreat.”
Back now, to my personal story.
When I first approached Serpent Mounds, I had a feeling that I had been there before. Climbing up the path, I came to an historic plaque and read the inscription. When I saw the name David Boyle, I knew there had to be a connection. I approached the mounds and then caught sight of the oak trees. I knew immediately that these trees somehow played a significant role in this site, as did the view of Rice Lake. You could sense the sacredness. No words needed to be spoken. Serpent Mounds left me with an impression of beauty, reverence, and mystery.
Serpent Mounds inspired me to learn more about David Boyle and the oak trees. On a trip south, I stopped at a burial mound in the state of Michigan. I needed to compare it to the mound at Keene. Sure enough, the mounds were located in a grove of oaks and were also close to water. The sites looked and felt the same. Coincidences?
If you visit Serpent Mounds, or Keene, or perhaps another place to which you find yourself drawn, don’t ignore your feelings. Explore them and you may unlock some mysteries of your own.
Kingston
Exploring the north shore of Lake Ontario in 1671, Sieur de la Salle recommended the building of a fort and fur-trading post at the present site of Kingston. The Natives called this location Cataraqui, meaning “rocks standing in water.” On July 12, 1673, Count Frontenac, governor of New France, arrived with a flotilla at Cataraqui and met the local Native chiefs, assuring them of his peaceful intentions. Frontenac then proceeded to construct a fort. The next year, La Salle was appointed commandant of the fort and the beginning of a settlement took place.
When La Salle was away on one of his expeditions, the fort was taken over by Governor de La Barre, Frontenac’s successor. The next governor, the Marquis de Denonville, imprisoned two Native chiefs and, in reprisal, the Natives of the district burned the settlers’ homes and crops. They besieged the fort for two months. In 1689, Denonville ordered the destruction of the fort and moved the garrison to Montreal. When Count Frontenac again became governor, the fort at Cataraqui was restored. In 1756, the fort was used as a base by French commander-in-chief Montcalm during a battle of the Seven Years’ War, fought between the British and the French for the control of what is now Canada. During the war, 1,600 British prisoners were housed at the fort after the French victory of Oswego. One prisoner, by the name of Michael Grass, survived this ordeal to become one of the founders of Kingston. The British captured the fort in 1758, destroyed the fortification, and moved the garrison to Montreal.
For the next 25 years, the area remained deserted. On nearby Carleton Island, a fort was built and many United Empire Loyalists sought refuge here during the American Revolution. Meanwhile, in 1783, Major John Ross had restored the old fort at Cataraqui and became the first commandant of the Imperial Garrison. The fort was renamed Tete-de-Pont Barracks. Surveyor John Collins arrived at the same time and laid out the original town plot of Kingston. When Carleton Island became part of the United States, by the Treaty of Paris, many of the Loyalists moved to the fort at Cataraqui.
Captain Michael Grass arrived in June 1784, with the first group of Loyalists, who lived temporarily in the fort. By October the settlers had built their first homes.
Kingston was originally named King’s Town by the United Empire Loyalists who settled there. By the early 1790s, the community boasted 50 homes and stores, including the government store at the lower end of Store Street (now Princess Street). The government established a naval dockyard on Point Frederick, on a site now occupied by the Royal Military College. The marines and shipyard workers at this site were connected by ferry to Kingston. In 1792, Kingston became the seat of government of Upper Canada. The first Executive Council met here on July 17 under Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe. However, Simcoe did not feel Kingston was a suitable capital and soon moved the government to Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) and later York (Toronto).
The geographical location of Kingston, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, meant that goods were transferred here from river boats to lake boats; this made it a major trading centre between Montreal and the Lakehead. By 1800 Kingston was a regular customs port for American goods.
Kingston was one of the few settlements in Upper Canada where marriage licences were issued. The community, as a result, became known as something of a honeymoon resort.
During the War of 1812, five wooden blockhouses were constructed around the settlement, and the first Fort Henry was built. Although Kingston was never assaulted by American troops during the war, the community did experience some prosperity as a result of troops, sailors, and shipbuilding activities in the vicinity. By then the population had increased to 2,250.
In 1828, a serious bout of typhus broke out among the Irish families brought here during the construction