Document generated on 09/26/2021 7:53 a.m. Ontario History “A journey undertaken under peculiar circumstances” The Perilous Escape of William Lyon Mackenzie December 7 to 11, 1837 Christopher Raible Volume 108, Number 2, Fall 2016 Article abstract When his 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion came to a sudden end with the routing URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1050592ar of rebels at Montgomery’s Tavern on 7 December, William Lyon Mackenzie DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1050592ar was forced to run for his life. With a price on his head, travelling mostly by night—west toward the Niagara Escarpment, south around the end of Lake See table of contents Ontario and then east across the Niagara peninsula—the rebel leader made his way from a village north of Toronto to safety across the Niagara River in the United States. His journey of more than 150 miles took five days ( four nights) Publisher(s) on foot, on horseback, and on wagon or sleigh, was aided by more than thirty different individuals and families. At great personal risk, they fed him, nursed The Ontario Historical Society him, hid him, advised him, accompanied him. This article maps Mackenzie’s exact route, identifies those who helped him, and reflects on the natural ISSN hazards and human perils he encountered. 0030-2953 (print) 2371-4654 (digital) Explore this journal Cite this article Raible, C. (2016). “A journey undertaken under peculiar circumstances”: The Perilous Escape of William Lyon Mackenzie December 7 to 11, 1837. Ontario History, 108(2), 131–155. https://doi.org/10.7202/1050592ar Copyright © The Ontario Historical Society, 2016 This document is protected by copyright law. Use of the services of Érudit (including reproduction) is subject to its terms and conditions, which can be viewed online. https://apropos.erudit.org/en/users/policy-on-use/ This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ “A journey undertaken under peculiar circumstances” The Perilous Escape of William Lyon Mackenzie December 7 to 11, 1837 by Christopher Raible Prologue rom the day he arrived in Canada in 1820, William Lyon Mackenzie was a man on the move: seeking Fwork, visiting friends and family, meet- ing customers and suppliers, observing important events, conferring with politi- cal associates, speaking at public gather- ings, circulating petitions, canvassing voters, talking with constituents, expe- riencing the province first hand. Three times he travelled across New York State to New York City (the second time, con- tinuing on to Washington; the third, on to England and Scotland). He made an- nual visits to Kingston; half a dozen or William Lyon Mackenzie flees in the night (plaster stage more trips to Montreal; multiple treks to for a bronze statuette) Ralph Mackern Sketch, ca. 1980 Queenston and/or Dundas. There was and know about—him. By nature and nothing clandestine or covert about these by chosen occupation, Mackenzie was a journeys. Indeed, he filled the columns of public personality. By the mid 1830s, he his newspapers with details of the places was perhaps the most famous and most he visited and the persons he met.1 The familiar figure in the province. purpose of his touring was to know—and But his 1837 flight—7 December to know about—his fellow inhabitants of 11 December—was a journey of a very Upper Canada and for them to know— different nature. 1 Many travel reports were “letters” from “Peter Russell,” one of several Mackenzie editorial pseudo- nyms. Ontario History / Volume CVIII, No. 2 / Autumn 2016 32 ONTARIO HISTORY The Story of Mackenzie’s Abstract Escape, 7 to 11 December When his 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion 18372 came to a sudden end with the routing of rebels at Montgomery’s Tavern on 7 Decem- ber, William Lyon Mackenzie was forced to Thursday afternoon run for his life. With a price on his head, he Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 travelling mostly by night—west toward the was over: ill-conceived, ill-timed, Niagara Escarpment, south around the end T of Lake Ontario and then east across the ill-equipped, ill-led, ill-fated. An armed Niagara peninsula—the rebel leader made insurrection, this attempted coup d’état his way from a village north of Toronto to dissolved into disaster. For a few final safety across the Niagara River in the Unit- minutes on the afternoon of Thursday, 7 ed States. His journey of more than 150 miles took five days (four nights) on foot, December, at John Montgomery’s Tavern on horseback, and on wagon or sleigh, was on Yonge Street, a remnant rebel force of aided by more than thirty different indi- viduals and families. At great personal risk, 2 This account of the escape relies heavily, they fed him, nursed him, hid him, advised but by no means exclusively, on Mackenzie’s two him, accompanied him. This article maps published narratives. The two are similar, but not Mackenzie’s exact route, identifies those identical. who helped him, and reflects on the natural The first (hereafter M-1847):Winter Wander- hazards and human perils he encountered. ings Ten Years Since; Being a Narrative of Remarka- ble Adventures during a Five Days’ Journey between Résumé: William Lyon Mackenzie a dû the Cities of Toronto and Buffalo, undertaken under fuir lorsque sa révolte s’était terminée par la peculiar circumstances in the month of December, défaite des rebelles près de la Taverne Mont- 1837; by William L. Mackenzie, formerly Mayor gomery le 7 décembre 1837. Avec sa tête mise of Toronto, and member of the Legislature of à prix, il a été forcé de se déplacer surtout la Upper Canada.” First printed in the New York nuit – à l’Ouest vers l’escarpement du Nia- Daily Tribune, 29 September 1847; reprinted, The gara, au Sud autour du bout du lac Ontario [Toronto] Examiner, 6 October 1847; reprinted, et à l’Est à travers la péninsule du Niagara. [Toronto] Globe, later the same month. Con- En partant d’un village au Nord de Toron- densed versions were published: London Express, to, le chef rebelle s’est frayé un chemin vers la 2 November 1847; Chambers Edinburgh Journal, sécurité de l’autre bord de la rivière du Nia- 14 December 1847; Littell’s Living Age, No. 96, gara aux États-Unis. Son parcours de plus (12 February 1848); Charles Lindsey, The Life and de 150 miles dura cinq jours (quatre nuits) Times of Wm. Lyon Mackenzie and the Rebellion à pied, à cheval, dans un wagon ou sur un of 1837-38, Vol. 2 (Toronto: P. R. Randall, 1862), traîneau et fut aidé par plus de trente in- 102-122; The Italian’s Child and Other Tales(Lon - don & Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers, 1870); dividus et familles qui l’ont nourri, secouru, and very likely elsewhere in the United States and caché, conseillé et accompagné dans sa fuite. Great Britain in 1847 and 1848. The second (here- Dans cet article nous allons retracer le plan after M-1853):Winter Wanderings Sixteen Years exact du chemin de Mackenzie, identifier Since; Being A Narrative of Remarkable Adventures ceux qui l’ont aidé et nous pencher sur les during a Five Days’ Journey between Toronto and aléas de son voyage. Buffalo undertaken under peculiar circumstances in December, 1837 was published in Mackenzie’s To- ronto Weekly Message, 8 & 15 September 1853. The Perilous Escape of William Lyon Mackenzie 33 Map designed by Thomas F. McIlwraith, University of Toronto, and drawn at the GIS and Cartography Office, Department of Geography, University of Toronto.” William Lyon Macken- zie. Faced with an artil- lery-armed advancing foe, he ran for his life. Abandoning his papers, forgetting his cloak, he took to his heels. Ac- companied by “a trusty Argyleshire man,” a young Markham man named McLean,3 he ran through a field to the next road (today’s Duplex Avenue), then north to the first cross- road (today’s Castle- field Avenue), then east to the farm of James Hervey Price, on the southwest corner at Yonge Street. Out of breath from running, he was in desperate need of a horse. Amazingly— perhaps two hundred men made a futile, saddled and bridled—one was provided final stand and then fled. No negotiated by local farmer Stillwell Wilson. “Look cease-fire, no dramatic surrender, no stra- out,” he warned, “you are in more danger tegic withdrawal, no plan B—they bolted. than any of us—it’s you they want!”4 Among the last to leave the scene was “The horse was true as steel, sure the man most responsible for the debacle, footed, spirited,” Mackenzie would later 3 All quotations and all names of persons encountered, unless otherwise noted, are from Mackenzie’s second narrative: M-1853. Nothing more is known about McLean, who was apparently left to fend for himself. 4 Mackenzie’s Gazette, 12 May 1838. 34 ONTARIO HISTORY recall. At full speed, the rebel leader gal- enue, alerted by someone, they quickly loped north on Yonge Street. He looked turned westward, riding hard and firing back, no one was in pursuit, but a rising repeatedly, “like fox hunters in pursuit of cloud of smoke and flame told him the the brush”8 they chased the fleeing pair. tavern had been torched. As Mackenzie neared the Don River ra- In the vicinity of Hogg’s Hollow, he vine—an area known as “Chuckle Hol- encountered Newmarket doctor John low” and the site of Shepard’s9 Mills—he McCormack, who boasted another “sixty abruptly abandoned his horse and rushed armed friends” were on their way.